Russian State Children’s Library (RSCL) is the world’s largest library for children. It was founded on 30 December 1969 by Order of the RSFSR Minister of Culture.
RSCL is member of the Russian Library Association, Library Assembly of Eurasia, and Russian Section of the International Board on Books for Young People.
Since 1987 the Library has been housed in a unique building (total area is 10 thousand sq.m) designed by an architect Yakov Belopolskiy, a member of the Academy of Architecture. The premises were designed in accordance with recommendations of librarians.
Facts and figures
The Library has:
over 40 years of uninterrupted work;
over 45 thousand visitors annually;
over 530 thousand visitors of the Library’s website;
5 specialized circulation libraries;
20 studios, groups, clubs for children;
over 500 thousand books, newspapers, magazines, note scores, movie/photo/audio items.
Today, the Library acts as a:
cultural and educational centre for children and parents;
research and development centre specializing in teaching, psychology and sociology of children’s reading;
consulting centre on legal issues;
information partner of regional and federal libraries, research and education centers, international institutions, newspapers and magazines for children and teachers.
The Library offers the following to its visitors:
books, magazines, scores, discs, slide films, projection slides;
rare and valuable editions, albums, CD audio records;
assistance in retrieval of publications using bibliographic aids, electronic catalogue;
training in clubs and studios for kids and teenagers;
communication and personal development training, individual and family consulting, carrier guidance, special needs correction and development training;
exhibitions of books, works by artists and book illustrators, kid’s creative work;
literature festivals, competitions, meetings with writers, actors, translators, literature reviews, lectures, concerts, excursions around the Library, including excursions in English;
book presentations, quizzes, festivals;
bibliographic and methodological aids developed by the Library’s staff;
free Internet access.
For information on our events and projects, see the Library’s website: www.rgdb.ru
