Murmansk State Universal Scientific Library

The Murmansk State Regional Universal Scientific Library was founded on 28 November 1938 in connection with the foundation of Murmansk Region as an independent administrative territorial formation.

The Murmansk State Regional Universal Scientific Library is one of the most important centers of information, education and culture on the Kola Peninsula. It is the largest library in the region and the main depository of regional literature. Besides the library is the important research and method centre for other libraries in the Murmansk Region and centre of interlibrary loan. The library is a public one (that means free of payment).

The total number of readers is more than 50.5 thousands. The annual attendance is near 230 thousands. The annual circulation of books is 1 million 170 thousands. The daily attendance is more than 1.000. The library's staff is near 180.

The basis of informational resources of the library is its funds, which regularly expand and develop. Now it is 2,6 mln copies including more than 700 titles of newspapers and magazines, audio, video and electronic materials.

The library serves readers with the help of system of special departments, reading rooms, informational centers. The library makes informational support to the local authorities, public organizations, business enterprises and other regional organizations.

The library was honored with some rewards, such as "The best library of the year" (1997), "The best business library of Russia" (1998), "For achievements in ecological education" (1998, 2001).

The structure of the library consists of 16 departments. Each one has its own head and chief librarians.

The library's stock is universal. The total collection is about 2 and a half million copies including books, periodicals, special kinds of technical literature, audio-visual materials. Also it has the unique stock of rare books published in 18-19th centuries including editions on foreign languages and the rare editions about the Murmansk Region.

The stock of regional and Saami literature

The Department of regional and Saami literature owns the collections of books, journals, newspapers and other documents devoted to the history of the Kola Peninsula. The main function of the library as regional centre is collecting local literature, including materials in Saami, received under the legal deposit of Murmansk Region. Nowadays its stock contains more than 26 thousands 760 printed items. The collection of rare books in this department is unique as well. There is more than 284 rare books. Some of them were published in last centuries. Most of them were written by the explorers of the Kola Peninsula, such as Ozeretskowskii, Reineke, Knipovich, Breitfus, Maksimov, Sluchevskii, Nemirovich-Danchenko and ethnographers: Haruzin, Kelsiev. The earliest edition is "The description of Kola and Astrahan" by N. Ozeretskowski (1804.) - the first printed material about Kola land. The books devoted to the local history are very famous among historians, local historians, writers, journalists, teachers and students.

Besides there is the union systematic catalog "Murmansk Region", the alphabetic catalog and electronic catalog of regional and Saami literature, which would help the users to find the information in all fields of knowledge. Each year librarians prepare and publish about 20 methodological, bibliographical, local and reference materials. Among them bio-bibliographies: "Local historians of Kola land", "Writers of Kola land", "Scientists of Kola land", "From books' collection of MSRUSL", The Calendar of memorial dates "From the history of Murmansk" and catalogue "The Murmansk book". The popular indexes are about the history and culture of Saami and the culture of Pomors (people lived in Tersky coast on the Kola Peninsula). More over there is alphabetical catalogue of local literature. The librarians arrange the meetings for the readers with local writers, poets, heads of organizations and authorities.

The rare book collection

The library is proud of its fund of rare books. It has rare books published in 17th, 18th, 19th and in the beginning of 20th century. Among them there are books of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Nekrasov, Turgenev published in days of their life. About 1000 of them are published on foreign languages. A part of this fund is the collection of miniature books. Collections of famous Murmansk poet V. A. Smirnov and explorer of Russian Lapland A. I. Mineev are kept in our library. Readers can familiarize with rare local literature presentated on microfilms and microfiches.

The Information Service Division

The Information Service Division includes the sector of business and legal information, the center of informational service, the department of interlibrary loan, informational and bibliographical sector, the sector of databases.

You may see here many computers because the department provides the information services due to legal databases and special research systems, electronic versions of journals, newspapers and other recourses via Internet. Over there readers can do their own work via Internet and other databases; these services are paid by users. Users have free access to the legal databases such as "Consulter plus", "Guarantor", and so on.

It provides reference and information services. There are alphabetic and systematic catalogues, the catalogue of periodicals and card files here. As you see this department has a wide choice of reference literature such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographical indexes, official documents and so on. The bibliographer on duty helps the readers to find the necessary information or provide how to use the catalogues including electronic catalogue. It includes the literature from 1992. Besides the department has a special database on legislative documents of the Russian Parliament, of our Regional Administration and also the Russian National Bibliography on CD-ROM. The library has its own network. All the work connected with it is coordinated by the department of automation of the library processes.

The Department of Interlibrary Loan and Electronic Delivery of Documents

The department connects our library with the other libraries on the Kola Peninsula and the main state ones in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Everyone can order the necessary edition from these libraries.

The Department of Literature on Foreign Languages

The fund of this department is nearly 25 thousands copies on 40 languages of the world, it includes educational and reference literature, dictionaries, encyclopedias, literature in aid of foreign languages teachers, modern and classic fiction and also the courses for study of foreign languages( audio-visual-electronic versions). Among the most valuable editions there is "Britannica" encyclopedia in 32 volumes (also including an electronic version on CD-Rom), "Millennium library" collection "Great books of West civilization" published in English, which includes 517 works of 130 famous authors, "Scandinavian archive" presented on microfiches which includes interesting information about famous people of Scandinavia.

Readers of this department have an opportunity to study language and culture of foreign countries. They also have an opportunity of access to the informational recourses of other libraries by Internet. Nowadays our readers are very interested in culture, history, economy of the Barents Region's countries. The department has some permanent exhibitions devoted to these countries and international cooperation between them. The department is involved in international culture cooperation within the Barents Region and it has got the relationships with librarians from neighbour-countries. The librarians arrange the festivals of culture and literature of Scandinavian countries and Finland, exhibit the collections of books received with the international agreement between our library and the libraries from Vadso, Luleo and Rovaniemi. Besides this, the Esperanto club collaborates with this department almost 15 years.

The Department of Natural Science and Medical Literature

It works as a special library and serves the medical personnel from the same organizations and students from Murmansk medical college. The fund of this department is about 60 thousands books on medicine, ecology, biology and so on. It's regularly expands by new books, Internet, electronic databases "Russian medicine" and "Kokranovsk's library". One of the main goals of this department is an ecological education among the population. That's why the department has so-called "Centre of ecological culture". Also this department has its own databases, special catalogues on medicine literature, video materials. The collection of the department consists of periodicals and editions on medicine, biology, anatomy, physiology and so on.

The Department of Literature on Art

It contains a wide collection of books, magazines, music records, compact disks, slide and video films about theatre, cinema, classic and popular music, painting , etc. There are several interesting exhibitions here devoted to the different fields of arts. The department has its own alphabetic and systematic catalogues of audio materials, CD, musical, paintings, etc. Also there are subject card- file, called "The music of the Kola North" and electronic catalogue of musical and audio-visual materials. The librarians arrange here very interesting meetings with our local composers, painters, artists. The sector of science information about culture and art collects materials about culture and art which are not published yet. This sector publishes bibliographical indexes of culture and art and informational collection "The panorama of cultural life of Murmansk region".

The Research and Method Department

It works as a methodological centre for librarians in Murmansk and within this region as well. Also the students of the library faculty are served here. The department provides an interesting research activity with other regional libraries.

Service departments.

The Lending Department

You can find books on various subjects, for instance, from biology to fiction literature here. Its fund is about 200 thousands books. All of them are on open access. The qualified librarians provide here book reviews. All books are available for borrowing.

Отдел абонемента

Региональный центр чтения

Other departments

In the Department of Periodicals users can read as local press as the central one. Our library subscribes now more than 700 periodicals which contains the information about different branches of industry, computer technologies, navigation, ship building and others.

In the reading room the librarians of this department arrange many interesting presentations of books, literature discussions, creative meetings with famous poets, writers, and other artists. Also it provides here the openings of Days of culture and interesting exhibitions. Besides "The Literary Hall" is located on this floor.

In 2002 Murmansk State Universal Scientific library won the grant of the institute "The Open Society" (The fund of Soros, Russia) in order to realize a project to create a regional centre of reading "The Open Book". The aim of this project is creation of positive image of reading man. Many cultural events are organized within the framework of this project such as the premium for most popular book, literature marathon Murmansk - Umba - Kandalaksha - Polyarnie Zori - Monchegorsk - Olenegorsk - Murmansk and the action "The reading champion".

External links

• http://mgounb.ru - Murmansk State Universal Scientific Library

Coordinates: 68°58′12″N 33°05′16″E / 68.97°N 33.08778°E / 68.97; 33.08778