As ancient Russian saying states, one of the toughest problems of Russia is bad roads. Communities suffer from bad transport connectivity, inability to commute and to get information quickly and effectively. One-day people in the township of Bogolubovo outside the ancient city of Vladimir were amused and excited: private fences and roads were renovated by local government with passion and readiness, not a usual thing to see. The outstanding construction activity was undertaken to build a road to the library.
Bogolubovo library has always been a great asset to local users, however, it didn’t have enough resources to deliver comprehensive services. An old building, no internet connection, insufficient collections and, as a result – underserved groups of the population. Everything changed when a young and dedicated librarian engaged the community in the process of transforming the library into an inclusive and welcoming space where cost and access issues are not a barrier to information, new knowledge and skills.
Bogolubovo township library was selected as a pilot site for a project which broke from the past, initiated by the M.Rudomino All Russia State Library for Foreign Literature who designed the plan of transformation.
Inhabitants of Bogolubovo live next door to some of the most beautiful monuments of Russian culture located on the famous Golden Ring – the best known touristic route in Russia. They have a great feeling of being part of history, but they also would like to be part of the modern information society and to be able to develop their knowledge and transmit their cultural heritage to others. The shortage of public venues for community to meet, organise, share and learn is obvious; there are not enough public spaces for community to meet, to access information, to develop new skills, to communicate with the rest of the world, to discuss problems and to work out strategies to build a better community, to talk to authorities and to keep the young population interested in living in Bogolubovo.
As the result of the pilot project that involved the transformation of library facilities into modern and welcoming spaces and the improvement of library activities and training of library staff, Bogolubovo library has become a vibrant community centre. After the opening of renovated premises in May 2016, the library welcomes ten times more visitors per day than before.
The pilot project in Bogolubovo became a trigger to the modernization of regional libraries and resulted in a national trend of regional libraries’ renovation supported by the Russian Ministry of Culture who added the results to the new edition of the document “Model Standard for public libraries”. It became clear to authorities that libraries are a great resource and can have a considerable impact on the life of the communities they serve.
Bogolubovo library supports community development by:
- Ensuring equitable education (SDG 4); the library has become a provider of knowledge, developing its collections, holding consultations on higher education, helping children to do their homework and integrating library activities into the local educational network.
- Providing comfortable, inclusive, safe and neutral space to all groups of the population (SDG 11), helping the community to identify members in social and physical need in order to help them and include them in public life.
- Promoting a peaceful society for sustainable development (SDG16). Bogolubovo library is a place for people to meet and talk and try to address issues that might create obstacles on the way the community wishes to develop. Representatives of public organizations, educators, local administrators and local business meet in the library to discuss the ways the community should take to develop and thrive. A centre of local heritage is being organised in the library to foster local tourism and help local artisans and tourists.
By providing all these services and resources that have not been available to the local community before, Bogolubovo library helps to build new beautiful roads to information, human communication and to the better world in the place you live.
