This year’s theme of the forum: “Library of free people”.
Today, September 19, the XIII Lviv International Library Forum began. The Library Forum is a meeting place for leaders and leading specialists of libraries, scientists, teachers of higher education institutions, publishers, authors, readers, information service providers, members and partners of the Ukrainian Library Association. The event, organized by the Ukrainian Library Association, will be held live this year for four days at the Ukrainian Catholic University and the libraries of the city of Lviv.
During his welcome speech, Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Rostyslav Karandeev said that more than 200 libraries were destroyed by the Russian invaders as a result of a full-scale invasion.
“Twice as many library premises were damaged as a result of shelling and enemy attacks. The program of de-occupation of bookshelves from Russian literature and the spread of the Ukrainian language in all spheres are among the most priority areas of activity of our ministry. Involvement of adults in reading Ukrainian literature is also one of our priorities. Today, the library community demonstrates its unity and desire to implement new projects. Despite the war, the loss of library holdings, and all other challenges, your community remains strong and resilient. I am grateful to you for this, because only by uniting together will we be able to endure and win,” said Rostislav Karandeev.
Ivan Sobko, the deputy head of the Lviv OVA, emphasized during his speech that it is worth developing a regional concept for the development of libraries and librarianship.
“The network of library institutions of the Lviv region includes more than 1,100 libraries. Now, most of them are definitely not what they should be, not because of the fault of their employees, but now we are gradually introducing the practice with the communities of regularly allocating funds from the regional and local budgets for the development and improvement of these institutions. On the initiative of the head of the Lviv OVA, Maksym Kozytskyi, the contest “Model of a modern library” was launched, within the framework of which we open small local spaces in libraries, where they are extremely necessary, in libraries that are most in need of updating. The library should be a modern place where people want to go. The facility should be created for comfortable leisure time. There should be readers, there should be visitors, there should be openness, accessibility, barrier-free, there should be thinking about development. If it exists, then it is a modern library space,” summed up Ivan Sobko.
In the program of the Forum: an international scientific and practical conference on the current problems of the development of the library business “Free indomitable people of the future. Role, mission of the library”, “Cultural rear in the conditions of war”, plenary session “Library. Indomitable for the sake of the future”, section “Friendly, strong, united: a word to foreign partners”, presentation of the self-published exhibition of 1988-1990 from the fund of old prints and special collections of the UCU Library “Free people: then and now”, round tables “Libraries as Digital Hubs education”, “Support for Action”, “Working for Victory”, meetings with key speakers and “star” participants, discussions on current issues, exchange of experience with Ukrainian and foreign colleagues, master classes in “on time” areas, meaningful leisure time.
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The Lviv International Library Forum was launched in 2010 by the NGO “Publishers’ Forum” and UBA (Ukrainian Library Association) as a library platform for discussing topical issues of library development in Ukraine. Every year, the Library Forum was held within the framework of the Publishers’ Book Forum in Lviv. This year, for the first time, the Ukrainian Library Association is holding the Lviv International Library Forum as a separate event in a mixed format.