Library Services for the Population of the BAM Construction Areas (1970s—1980s)

Abstract

The historical experience of library services for the population, accumulated in the areas of new economic development of the late Soviet era, needs to be generalized. At the same time, the processes of formation and development of libraries in sparsely populated territories of Siberia and the Far East have not received sufficient coverage in the special literature. This paper examines the features of the libraries organization in the construction areas of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) in the period of the 1970s — 1980s. The research materials include archival documents, most of which are introduced into research discourse for the first time, as well as oral stories of participants in the all-Union construction project, collected by the author in the BAM regions. The libraries formation in the mainline construction zone was carried out at an accelerated pace within the framework of the state network of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR and the trade union system of transport builders. As a result, the provision of library services to builders was higher than in neighboring regions. However, the accessibility of libraries remained low, because the construction areas were characterized by a low population density, poor development of transport and infrastructure facilities, personnel shortage, and insufficient material and technical support. At first, the book collections were acquired spontaneously from the number of the publications donated or collected from the local population. As soon as the library systems stabilized, the central organizations “Soyuzkniga” and “Roskniga” became the main sources of book supplies, but they could not meet the reader’s demand of the mainline builders. The BAM had formed a special readership, which was distinguished by a high educational level, cultural and linguistic diversity, and the shaped reader’s interests and needs. This was due to the careful selection of those arriving at the construction site as part of Komsomol detachments. Along with their main functions, the libraries were a place for communication and leisure for workers, which compensated for the lack of other social and cultural institutions. Due to the weakness of the Party and state control, they had greater independence in cultural and mass work, which was reflected in the widespread distribution of different associations and library clubs, the acquaintance of readers with the works of authors banned by the Soviet censorship, and the development of amateur literary creativity.