30 May, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. The material and technical condition of rural libraries in the Vitebsk region and the working conditions of their staff will be studied in the near future. This instruction was given today at a meeting of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee by its Chairman, Alexander Kosinets, during the consideration of the implementation of the Year of the Book events in the region, BELTA correspondent reports. "Fostering a love for books and reading must begin with the condition of libraries, primarily in rural areas and educational institutions," the governor emphasised. He gave an unsatisfactory assessment of the material and technical condition of libraries in some settlements and demanded that the Culture Department of the Regional Executive Committee study the material and technical situation of the institutions and the working conditions of librarians as soon as possible. Alexander Kosinets also demanded that local authorities consider the issues of financing repair work and make the necessary adjustments to the current year's budget, as well as study the possibility of merging school and public libraries in villages if the repair of the latter is not feasible. According to Vladimir Terentyev, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, an experiment on merging school and rural libraries is currently underway in the Braslav district. Conclusions on the feasibility of such a step will be drawn based on its results. -0-

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