Date: 17.05.2018
To strengthen intercultural and international relations, on 28 – 31 March 2018, specialists of the Russian State Art Library (RSAL) went on a professional visit to the National Library of Armenia (NLA).
Director of RSAL Ada Kolgonova held talks with the Director of the National Library of Armenia Tigran Zargaryan. Issues of mutually beneficial cooperation in cultural, educational, and exhibition activities of the two libraries were touched upon.
Libraries occupy an important place in the cultural landscape of both countries.
The National Library of Armenia is the largest library in the country with collections comprised of more than 6.6 million publications. It contains the first printed books in Armenian, which were published in Venice, in 1512-1513; the first map of Armenia, published in Amsterdam in 1695; the first periodical published in 1794 in Madras; and other rare editions. As a major cultural centre of the country, the NLA organises over 100 events a year: exhibitions, book presentations, meetings with famous cultural figures, and science and literary evenings.
RSAL is an information and methodological center for libraries that work in the field of culture and art, including departments of literature on art. The rich cultural and educational work of the library gives an idea of how wide and varied the range of its readerships’ creative interests are.
RSAL Director Ada Kolgonova gave the presentation, "Art in the Format of a Library," which discussed issues related to the innovative activities of art libraries, as well as the traditional forms and directions of work.
During the meeting on 29 March 2018, RSAL specialists held the seminar "Resources of a Specialised Arts Library in Culture, Science, and Education."
At the seminar, Deputy Director for Informatisation Inna Vaganova made a presentation "Information Resources on Art: Creation and Use."
RSAL’s head of the Visual Information Centre Elena Haplanova discussed the visual information that is widely used and is becoming increasingly popular as a means of communication.
The NLA specialists showed interest in cooperation with RSAL. During RSAL’s visit, it was decided to prepare projects for the implementation of various programmes aimed at developing Armenian-Russian relations. On 31 March, RSAL specialists visited the home-museum of Sergei Parajanov.
Ada Kolganova held talks with the museum’s director Zaven Sargisian. It was decided to hold cultural and educational events, exhibitions, and meetings with interesting people who play a significant role in the social life of the two countries.
