The Central Library of the Subject of the Russian Federation: The Role in the Preservation and Development of Municipal Libraries in the Region

Since the early 1990s, the network of municipal public libraries in Russia has been undergoing negative transformations: decentralization, loss of autonomy, and reduction in number, especially in the segment of rural libraries. They are being reorganized into separate libraries or subdivisions of cultural and leisure institutions of various formats: clubs, municipal cultural centers, multifunctional associations of socio-cultural institutions, etc. In this problematic situation, the role of central libraries (CL) of the subjects of the Russian Federation as actors of regional library policy is reconsidered from the point of view of further preservation of municipal libraries not only as separate institutions, but also as links of the unified network of the region for its subsequent overall phased modernization. Based on current management practices and the realities of municipal librarianship, the concept of a new functional-role model for optimizing the interaction between the Central Library of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and public libraries of the region and their founders is presented. The model focuses on the triad of zones: responsibility, influence, agreement (compromise). A zone is understood as a part (area) of the CL’s activity with certain powers and intentions, which are established on the basis of the current federal and regional legal and regulatory acts in the field of librarianship, as well as the objectives of the CL’s practical activity in the field of development of library organisations. The extra zones depending on regional differences is determined independently by the Central Library.