<TITLE: Russian Libraries - Past and Present
ACADEMIC DOMAIN: social sciences
DISCIPLINE: Russian studies
EVENT TYPE: lecture discussion
FILE ID: ULECD040
NOTES: continuation of ULEC030

RECORDING DURATION: 13 min 19 sec

RECORDING DATE: 11.3.2004

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: unknown

NUMBER OF SPEAKERS: 4

S1: NATIVE-SPEAKER STATUS: Russian; ACADEMIC ROLE: junior staff; GENDER: male; AGE: 51-over

S2: NATIVE-SPEAKER STATUS: Finnish; ACADEMIC ROLE: unknown; GENDER: male; AGE: unknown

S3: NATIVE-SPEAKER STATUS: Finnish; ACADEMIC ROLE: unknown; GENDER: female; AGE: unknown

S4: NATIVE-SPEAKER STATUS: Finnish; ACADEMIC ROLE: unknown; GENDER: male; AGE: unknown>


<LECTURE ULEC030 by S1>
<S4> have you made any user studies how people use the libraries in russia research libraries public libraries have you any data on that how people use the services , have you made any [surveys] </S4>
<S1> [w- w-] what do you mean the catalogues the (xx) catalogues or to be the user of the library </S1>
<S4> services in general </S4>
<S1> in general </S1>
<S4> yes [and] </S4>
<S1> [er] in principle every library is free , if you , the users are paying nothing for library service in my library as well and in other libraries also public libraries and research libraries , as for my library it's everybody everybody not only the , researchers er may er use er the (book) (xx) and they have the same opportunities as the professors of university and the school (girl school) all are same no difference and every- everything is free except books er and the internet is free also , but only our (xx) still </S1>
<S2> er er i think that er <NAME S4> meant er studies that have been used er made how people use <S1> uh-huh </S1> these services er <S4> yes </S4> how many per cent of people use catalogues how many people er borrow books and how much and and </S2>
<S1> mhm , now it's actually difficult to me to to introduce but all the places and (terms) are occupied in the old <S4> [mhm] </S4> [building] . er in (xx) room you may see crowds of people downstairs wanting to <S4> mhm </S4> er possibility , er to come into our library , as for new building we have er a lot of free places and er no problem er but er , in regions i visited during er recent years er a lot of different regions , <SIGH> the more far from the centre situated the library you see more and more users , sometimes i see that the people are (xx) everywhere , but the usage of the stocks it's a great problem because er such public libraries has no money for new publications it's a kind of er so-called er subscription library but other form er the library , initiates er purchases er the library er receives er most interesting most er expensive books and every user must pay for using the reading hall and er and so on (xx) er , we have no any d- decision what er the main difference between the past and the this time , in the past all the public masses library were the same everywhere now they are absolutely different in one city , every library has er other (phase) other system other opportunities and not (at all) but er no recommendations , and they're free but sometimes they are free of everything and er free of finance (xx) , freedom dangerous sometime in some cases and er but it is a struggle against , misery against er state policy at everyday struggle of librarians , this generation which we have now they are little bit , not typical librarian they are not realistic they are have task to serve the nation to er all the people in the world and so on they have great ideas idealistic ideas it's not bad but the next generation new generation they started in the library information faculty in (modern) university of culture but nobody sometimes come to the library comes to the library , they have they're very pragmatic it's also good i'm not going to criticise but they don't er they are not er not going to follow this way and in some years we'll have much more complicated audience with users and with library service and so on , but er and (xx) don't forget i i didn't (xx) , russian is a very great country territory territory and er that's why we have some er territories er with very good library systems moscow petersburg and some cities also from central and s- and s- siberia some cities , but some situation is so awful so dangerous , it's very compli- because er er in comparison with france or other western countries er , we have no support in in the state level , but it's impossible , to hear only , you are free you are free and you may find your solution yourself , ministry of culture , hasn't er lot of money er it's easy to criticise of course er this ministry but we have ministries which are more rich than er some ministries in other european countries they have a lot of money , lot of contradictions in the same (capital) <P:06> yes please </S1>
<S3> er it's er was a bit er unclear for me whether this mass library and public library concepts <S1> yes </S1> are your own interpretation or if they were they er are they general concepts <S1> yes </S1> i mean the mass library </S3>
<S1> certainly er , i was the first library scientist who has done comments to this question in the year 1991 it was in moscow it was the first conference er was decision to find way from the mass library to the public library , i have done , have er proposed my understanding to the colleagues at a publication and now er we have er the same , or not everybody there was very good er comrades from the soviet time who have other understanding but er the most progressive part or many of er for example ministry of culture and the russian library association have the same er understanding and the citation (with) my work is must er much more higher s- citation citation of my other publications er , it was attempt to ask this question but in the concept of the , information society in russia now is used the term mass library , and not occasionally because the creators of this project think also about such , and in one er document are the (xx) , it's the (xx) library , oh , i have forgotten it's also possible to use mass libraries too but not public libraries , but as for library association never more mass library it is er t- er term of totalitarian society is a member of communist party and so on it's in the library er communities really forbidden to use such not official but , (often) <P:13> i understand that er @@ problems of your native country is @@ too difficult to @@ er understand that from the point of view of normal life but er one problem more , i'm er not only sci- er library scientist i er in russia we must er live and receive salary i have other job i also er work in er the cultural centre in my library at the evening i er show different erm films projects with different cultural (xx) and as as well with finnish institute in st petersburg , and i have shown er in the (xx) i showed er screen versions of my favourite finnish <SIC> playwriter </SIC> hella wuolijoki and er the audience was so much surprised after the presentation of the film <FOREIGN> juurakon hulda </FOREIGN> the play was written at the end of 30s , and they have heard er the name of s- snellman of of great finnish er er persons and they thought my god it was in the 30s what we had now and but er , and all everyone (goes oh) no connections with their past with other generation , the bridge between generations has broken and in finland now , er some weeks ago the people were surprised and er some have told me now we understand why finland is er fin- finnish society is so good organised because this tradition er has continued during decades , i know er erm erm there were other problems every country have er has a lot of problems and er difficulties and financial also but in comparison with er russian situation , we have , nostalgia such feelings of er this broken connections and we try to rebuild but to rebuild it is very difficult , for example small countries estonia it is much easy because it was official soviet republic but in the reality it (xx) , in the russian er what was destroyed mentality is gone , it was much more dangerous with er ma- m- mass library such public institutions because without critical thinking without , <SIGH> normal attitude to the history to the (conflicts) in the world we have other results , in petersburg in moscow i think that er , we have other society first of all in moscow there's erm r- (old russian) very great difference </S1>
<P:10>
<S2> okay thank you very much we [hope that] </S2>
<S1> [thank] you for your attention </S1>
<S2> something of this could be published in some some day </S2>
