The article analyzes changes in state cultural policy over the last three decades and the role of libraries in its implementation. The basic constitutional norms that enshrine the powers of state authorities at different levels in the sphere of culture have been identified. Libraries are seen as both an object of cultural policy and a subject that plays a significant role in its implementation. Two main stages of the state cultural policy are distinguished: 1) from 1992 (adoption of the “Fundamentals of Legislation of the Russian Federation on Culture”) to 2014; 2) from 2014 (Presidential Decree “On Approval of the Fundamentals of State Cultural Policy”) to the present. The relationship between legislation in the sphere of culture and legislation in the sphere of librarianship is presented. The refusal of value-oriented functions of libraries and understanding of the library as a service provider is highlighted as a characteristic feature of libraries in the time of the first stage. The limitations of this approach are demonstrated. An analysis has been made of the tasks of libraries in an environment where culture is defined as one of the national development priorities, contributing to consolidation and cultural continuity. It shows how the Strategy for Development of Librarianship in the Russian Federation until 2030 relates to the tasks of cultural policy. The relevance of librariesʼ educational work in the formation of a fully developed and socially responsible personality is emphasized. It justifies the need to develop a state programme for acquiring literature for public libraries, which will help consolidate the peoples of the Russian Federation on the basis of a unified system of values and continuity of cultural development. This direction is historically characteristic for the development of public libraries in Russia. Russia’s national libraries bear special responsibility for the development and implementation of the state cultural policy.

A priority for modern libraries is the comprehensive transformation of the library and information service model in the context of universal digitalization. Digitalization of the library and information sphere is expressed in the emergence of new methods involving the use of innovative software tools as an alternative to the traditional approach. Through the implementation of digitalization initiatives, libraries are creating managed electronic environments with a wide range of digital library and information services. Software tools oriented towards the provision of these kinds of services include the creation of a user’s personal account on the library website. Today a personal account is an essential attribute of the websites of many national and university libraries, both local and foreign. The aim of the article is to analyze the possibilities of a personal account in terms of providing library and information services, including bibliographic ones, to remote library users. The article discusses ways of online registration and authorization in a personal account, its services available to users, as well as software tools to make the user’s work comfortable. Personal account is a tool for managing a set of connected services, which is constantly being improved and supplemented with new services. The range of services available to the user can vary, reflecting the specifics and size of the library. The features of the personal account are illustrated by examples from Russian and foreign libraries. The personal account has been successfully used to provide bibliographic services to support research and teaching activities. Based on the results of the analysis of the information in the personal account, libraries make decisions aimed at increasing loyalty, formation of individual offers to improve the comfort of service for users. The personal account is predominantly used in university libraries, where it is a part of the integrated information and educational environment. Using the potential of the virtual working environment is an opportunity for libraries to find their place in the digital world.

The far reaching changes in reading practices associated with the explosive spread of screen culture have become a challenge both for specialists faced with the outflow of readers from libraries and the decline of in print circulation, and for researchers who need to conceptualize these changes from a theoretical perspective. The aim of the article is to identify possible points of growth for interdisciplinary research into the phenomenon of reading.

The presentations at the 4th International Scholarly and Practice Conference “Homo legens in the past and present”, held on 23—25 March 2023 in Novosibirsk and Nizhny Tagil in inperson and remote formats, are reviewed. The event was attended by scholars representing various academic disciplines (cultural history, book studies, sociology, philology, library science, art studies, pedagogy, psychology) and specialists engaged in serving readers and popularizing reading.

The method of thematic analysis allowed to identify five trends in studying of reading and reading practices: 1) the use of theoretical approaches inherent in various socio-humanitarian disciplines, which are applicable to the understanding of reading activity; 2) the study of historical aspects of reading; 3) studies formed by representatives of contemporary socio-humanitarian knowledge, who study the phenomenon of reading with the orientation on the use their findings in professional practices; 4) transformations produced by librarians and educators who implement various socio-cultural projects to promote reading; 5) the development of science at the intersection of art studies, literary studies, cultural studies and museum practices. Since the reading is the most important practice that provides the mass audience with socially meaningful information, the authors believe that the scholarly forum, which brought together specialists related to the study of the Reading Man, should serve not only to demonstrate the already achieved scholarly and practice-based results, but also to form the prospects for further research on reading as a complex interdisciplinary phenomenon.

This review may be helpful both to scholars and practitioners to working in the field of book and library science to engage readers.

The biography of Colonel Grigory Alexandrovich Pushkin (1868—1940), grandson of Alexander Pushkin, is reconstructed on the basis of unknown materials of the Manuscripts Department and the Archive of the Russian State Library (RSL). The article told about his service in the Imperial and Red Armies, his family and difficult financial situation after 1917. It is shown what bureaucratic difficulties accompanied the assignment of his personal pension in 1923 and subsequent assistance. Particular attention is paid to the solution of the housing problem and obtaining accommodation in Moscow.

The Letters of G.A. Pushkin to G.P. Georgievsky (1919), V.D. Bonch-Bruevich (1933) and P.S. Popov (1933), are published in full for the first time, as well as letters from Yu.N. Pushkina to V.S. Nechaeva (1936) and from V.D. Bonch-Bruevich to G.A. Pushkin (1933), which are kept in the Manuscript Department of Russian State Library.

Article restores the history of G.A. Pushkinʼs working at the State Library of the USSR named after V.I. Lenin based on the Personnel Files. From 1936 till 1938 he signed temporary employment contracts, while he worked on a permanent position only from January 1939 to January 1940.

G.A. Pushkin’s biography is analyzed in the context of the social history of the Russian nobility after 1917 and its adaptation to the Soviet reality. The author concludes that the official persecution of the former elite promoted the appearance of the staff with wide knowledge, proficiency in foreign languages and organizational experience in the State Library of the USSR named after V.I. Lenin. They influenced the development of the library as a research center.

Due to the lack of a comprehensive study of the employees of the Library of the General and Main Staff, this article is the first to provide the most comprehensive list of its leaders and library personnel and to describe them by such criteria as education, military or civilian rank, military experience, scientific publications, historical research, membership in the Imperial Russian Military Historical Society. The primary objectives of this study were: to identify the names of librarians and their assistants, to chronicle their occupation of these positions and to determine the time frame of each of them in their post. The article uses chronological, source and comparative analysis methods. For the solution of the problem we assembled a large representative source base including 68 address calendars, 22 monthly calendars, 10 yearbooks, 7 lists of books received by the Library of the General and Main Staff between 1911 and 1917, as well as pre-revolutionary publications on the history of the General Staff and its book collection.

For the first time the author divides into periods the history of the Library of the General and Main Staff in pre-revolutionary period of its existence — from 1811 to 1917. The most important result of the research, new for historiography, is the full reconstruction of the list of librarians and library personnel and chronicle of their posts, which are set out in accordance with the worked out periodization. Within each of the periods, the most important events in the history of the library are indicated, which enables the contribution of librarians and librarians in its functioning and development to be evaluated.

The Russian State Library hosted the annual International Scientific and Practical Conference “Rumyantsev Readings” on 18—20 April 2023. The event was organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Library and the Library Assembly of Eurasia. This conference has been held for more than 40 years, and it covers the wide range of topics which invariably attracts a large number of specialists from different regions of Russia and other countries. In 2023 it was attended by representatives of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. 282 people were present in person; 2,102 connections were recorded during the broadcasting of the sessions.

The conference topics covered a wide range of issues on the theory and practice of library science, bibliography science and book science. Among its main directions: the history of libraries, as well as pages of life and activities of people associated with them, disclosure of book depository funds, research of collections and individual copies of manuscript and printed monuments, multifaceted activities of modern libraries. One of the main goals of the conference is to expand intercultural interaction and co-operation between cultural, educational and scientific institutions. Within the framework of the Rumyantsev Readings, the work of the sections, which have been traditional for many years, as well as timed to the dates and events of 2023, was organized. This year, special emphasis was placed on the topics “Enlightening and Educational Mission of Libraries (for the Year of Teacher and Mentor in Russia)” and “The Role of Libraries in Preserving and Developing Intercultural Communication (for the Year of Russian as a Language of Interethnic Communication in the Commonwealth of Independent States)”. In addition to the plenary session, the conference program included 12 sections, round tables and special events. By the beginning of the conference, a collection of its materials was published in three parts, including 160 articles by 174 authors.

The Rumyantsev Readings continue to be a popular scientific and practical event among library professionals and representatives of other educational, scientific and cultural institutions, contributing to the development of scientific research, as well as to the development of the library’s research in the field of librarianship.

On 23—24 May 2023 the Russian State Library (RSL) hosted the International Scientific and Practical Conference “History of Libraries: New Approaches, Methods, Sources, Results” in a face-to-face format. It was organized by RSL and the Russian Library Association. The aim of the event was to contribute to the development of research work in the field of library history. The conference brought together over 200 representatives of public, academic, higher education and school libraries, institutes of culture, institutes of the Russian Academy of Science and other cultural, education and science institutions from seven CIS countries, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirgizia, Uzbekistan and 44 Russian regions. According to the results of online broadcasting of the sessions, organised on the YouTube channel of RSL, more than 1280 views were recorded. The conference program included plenary and breakout sessions (“Library as an Object of Historical and Library Studies”, “Library Biography as a Field of Historical and Library Studies”, “History of a Single Library”, “Current State and Prospects of Research in the Field of Library History”). A special conference session was dedicated to the study of library’s history during the Great Patriotic War (1941—1945). A total of 53 reports were presented by full-time and distance participants from Azerbaijan, Belarus and 18 Russian regions. The reports of the Conference discussed the theoretical and methodological grounds for studying the history of libraries as an interdisciplinary scientific field; presented the experience and results of the research conducted both by the largest libraries — centers of library science (national and academic libraries, institutes of culture of Russia, Azerbaijan and Belarus) and other libraries of CIS member states (central regional, city, rural, university and museum libraries).