Solutions to win: Kyiv region tosses away 400,000 library books in Russian
The Kyiv region libraries are massively removing Russian-language literature from their collections and trying to replace it with Ukrainian-language publications.
Authorities reported over 400,000 copies of Russian books being removed, the press release says.
What is the problem?
Ukraine's Kyiv region has 817 libraries with a total collection of about 7 million books. Around 400,000 people use the region's libraries, and more than 2.5 million people visit them every year.
Today, libraries are used not only to store books. They have become a place of resistance and points of resilience during the full-scale war.
What is the solution?
The whole campaign of disposing Russian-language literature and replenishing the collections of the region's libraries takes much time, Anna Kutsenko, director of the Kyiv Department of Culture and Tourism, believes.
How does it work?
This campaign also includes increasing the number of Ukrainian books in libraries. The Kyiv Regional Library received and sent more than 9,000 copies to local community libraries under the State Program for Replenishment of Library Collections and other sources.
In June of this year, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law on banning of literature import from Russia, Belarus and the occupied territories.
Ukraine's Ministry of Culture assures this will help strengthen national security, popularize the Ukrainian language and develop the national publishing industry. The new law will also protect the Ukrainian population from the influence of the "Russian world" and allow for a better fight against piracy.
Before the full-scale war, the ministry adds, there were 14,351 library institutions (village, town, city, and regional) in Ukraine.
As of the end of June 2023, their number has decreased by 2,560 institutions and now stands at 11,791.
