30 May, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. The Vitebsk region is conducting an experiment on the centralised procurement of books for public libraries from publishing houses. This was announced today at a meeting of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee by Vladimir Terentyev, Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. Since the current year, a portion of books for the region's library system has been purchased directly from one of the Belarusian publishing houses. According to preliminary estimates, this will allow for savings of 35-40% of budget funds compared to the conventional scheme of purchasing books through library aggregators or bookshops. According to Vladimir Terentyev, if the estimates are confirmed, the region will transition to centralised procurement of books from publishing houses. For more efficient use of the regional budget funds, the Culture Department of the Regional Executive Committee has been acquiring legal publications directly from the Vitebsk Regional Centre for Legal Information since 2009, which allows for a 30% saving of funds. This experience has received support from the Ministry of Culture and is recommended for implementation in other regions of the country. A total of Br11.4 billion is planned to be allocated from various sources for the replenishment of public library collections in the Vitebsk region in 2012. During the first quarter, Br1.1 billion was allocated for the replenishment of public library collections, of which almost 44% was for the purchase of books, and the remainder for subscribing to periodicals.-0-

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