Libraries

St. Petersburg is known as the Library Capital of Russia. The total number of libraries in the city is about 1200, including 190 state public libraries.

St. Petersburg is a home of the oldest state libraries in the country, which were established more than 200 years ago. These are the Library of the Russian Academy of Science, the Russian National Library, and the St. Petersburg State Theater Library. Many libraries of national significance, including the Library of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts, the Central Agricultural Library, the Central Library on Science and Technology, the Naval Library, and the Russian Geological Library are also located in the city.

St. Petersburg’s libraries contain major collections of precious books, which have been granted the official status of national treasures.

The largest city-owned public libraries are Mayakovsky City Public Library, Lermontov Central Public Library, and Pushkin Central Children’s Library — the Centralized Chain of Children’s Libraries. They are open for visitors daily.

The St. Petersburg Library Society was established in 1989 for institutions and individuals. It was the first non-governmental professional association of librarians re-established in Russian.

One of the new directions for development in this sphere is the city’s program entitled “Modernization of Saint Petersburg’s Public Libraries”. Its goal is to improve the libraries’ services by efficient utilization of information technologies, and to create an integrated informational space.