From “the region of readers” to “the nation of readers”: The conclusions of the “Book Siberia” International Festival

The Book Siberia International Festival is held in Siberia since 2014. Since 2017, it coincides with the scientific forum “Region of readers: The books in the life of the contemporaries” which comprises the business and professional program. At the forum plenary meetings, the professionals interested in reading promotion spoke and made their presentations. The reviews and information materials on book fairs and festivals make the tradition of academic periodicals promoting best practices among the professionals. Reading is an important social practice supported and promoted by the library community, public figures in culture and education, as well as by the state agencies. To analyze the projects implemented in Novosibirsk region, Republic of Kazakhstan and People’s Republic of China, the sociocultural approach is applied: it enables to reflect the joint efforts of the governments, professional communities, art and public organizations, ITcompanies, book publishers, and bookselling organizations. The authors focus in particular on Kazakhstan’s national project “The nation of readers”. The PISA method is used to assess the project effectiveness. The PISA study results evidence on the importance of family reading in educating readers in cooperation with the libraries and educational institutions.