Centralization of the library network in the Penza region (second half of the 1970s - early 1980s)

Abstract

The subject of the study is the process of centralization of the network of state mass libraries in the Penza region. The research was carried out on the basis of analysis and generalization of documents of the State Archive of the Penza region (the Penza Regional Executive Committee Cultural Management Fund) using the principles of historicism and scientific objectivity and consistency. The author gives a brief overview of domestic (Soviet and post-Soviet) and foreign historiography on the problem of research. Special attention is paid to the preparatory work for the centralization of the library system in the region, in particular, familiarization with this practice in other regions; interaction and support of local Soviet-party bodies; the results obtained from the reorganization of the network. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that for the first time a study of the formation of centralized library systems in the Penza region has been undertaken. In the second half of the 1970s, state mass libraries in the region began to unite into a single library structure - a centralized library system that functioned on the basis of a single administrative and methodological manual, a common staff, centralization of the processes of formation and circulation of funds, their profiling and the possibility of mutual use. By centralizing libraries, the authorities hoped to strengthen political propaganda through the book's reading, expand the functions of library institutions in the information and reference field of serving citizens and providing them with more diverse services, eliminate parallelism in their activities, improve the management model and use of allocated funds, promote better implementation and optimization of library processes. The effectiveness of the centralization of libraries decreased from the prevailing attitude at that time that it should be carried out without additional financial investments.