A look inside the world's second biggest library

The Russian State Library houses a unique collection of domestic and foreign documents in 367 languages of the world, with more than 45.5 million units in storage. It is situated in the center of Moscow (Vozdvizhenka, 3/5;nearest tube stations: 'Arbatskaya', 'Aleksandrovsky Sad', 'Borovitskaya', 'Biblioteka Imeni Lenina')

There are specialized collections of maps, music scores, sound recordings, rare books, dissertations, newspapers, and other publications.

Anyone can join the library, Russian or foreign, as long as they are at least 18 years old or in college. About 200 new readers sign up every single day.

The Library receives around 4000 visitors per day, while its virtual reading rooms located in 80 cities across Russia and the CIS serve another 8000.

The Library’s collection has been used by a wide variety of people for more than a century. They include world-renowned academics, practitioners, and thinkers.

Visitors have access to 36 reading rooms, able to accommodate 2277 people at once. The 200-plus reading seats are equipped with computers connected to the local network...

All the Library’s computers enjoy online access to the databases of the largest Russian and foreign producers of electronic information: magazines; newspapers; newswires; TV and radio; e-books; conference materials; standards; separate bibliographic databases.

The Russian State Library’s abundant collection is accessible via a system of directories and card indexes.

Educative events are held regularly with the participation of scientists, writers, artists, and performers, including presentations of new books, reader conferences, public debates, concerts, and other occasions.

The Russian State Library carries out unique research and practical work in the field of conservation and restoration of documents.

The Library is actively involved in digital heritage projects to preserve and provide access to texts, databases, sound recordings, films, and images.

The Russian State Library maintains permanent contact with various international libraries and professional organizations, including the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the International Standards Organization, and UNESCO.

The Russian State Library is the headquarters of the Library Assembly of Eurasia. In 2006, by decision of the Council of Heads of Governments of the CIS, the Library was assigned the status of a core organization for cooperation among CIS member states in the field of library science.