The National Library of the Kyrgyz Republic is the legal deposit and copyright agency for

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

. It was founded in 1934. It has a collection of 6 million documents in 89 languages from around the world. Since 2005 the head of the Kyrgyz National Library is Dr. Jyldyz Bakashova. According to the website, some of the primary functions of the National Library in Kyrgyzstan are “preserving the cultural wealth and traditions of the peoples of our country, collecting and accumulating human knowledge.”

History

The Library was established in 1934 under Soviet Rule in the capital city of Frunze (modern day

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

). Formed from the joining of the Central City library and the Scientific Library it was then renamed the N.G. Chernyshevsky State Library of the Kyrgyz USSR.

Nikolay Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism. He was t ...

was a radical Russian journalist in the mid 1800’s who is thought to be a forerunner to Lenin, so the library being named after him pays homage to the ideologies funding the project. In 1939, the Chernyshevsky Library started to function as a book depository, receiving mandatory copies of items published in the USSR, and then in 1940, also mandatory copies of domestic publications. Bibliographic work soon got underway, and in 1950, the Department of Local Studies and Kyrgyz Books was created. This division was established to identify, record, and promote the press of the Kyrgyz USSR and local history literature. The National Bibliography Department was formed in 1961, which supported the Soviet Centralized Bibliography. Lev Vladmirov, in his article published in the

College & Research Libraries ''College & Research Libraries'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Association of College and Research Libraries. History It was established in December 1939 and was published quarterly for its first 18 years, then b ...

Journal, noted the vast scope and value of the “supranational” bibliography of the USSR. The National Bibliography supported the documentation of works being published in Kyrgyzstan, making those records accessible to citizens and the centralized authorities in Moscow. In 1984, the library moved into a large, 7 story building designed for the storage of 3 million storage units and named after

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

. This building is the current location. After the break from the Soviet Union, the library was renamed the National Library of the Kyrgyz Republic, and “classified as a particularly valuable object of national heritage, representing the historical and cultural heritage of Kyrgyzstan”. Today, the National Library is named after a Kyrgyz poet,

Alykul Osmonov Alykul Osmonov ( ky, Алыкул Осмонов, properly transliterated: Alıqul Osmonov; 21 March 1915 – 12 December 1950) was a Kyrgyz poet, significant for his efforts to modernizing poetry in Kyrgyzstan. His main accomplishments were ...

. The library has continued with displaying the collections, and uses social media to showcase these holdings in a broader way. On the Instagram page, the National Library of the Kyrgyz Republic posts photos of displays and collection holdings, complete with detailed descriptions of the post. This current trend shows the modernization of the library system, and its commitment to preserving the cultural history. In 2013, the library marked the 75th birthday of Kyrgyz poet

Gulsaira Momunova Gulsaira Momunova, in Kyrgyz: Гүлсайра Момунова (30 December 1937 – 12 August 2020) was a Kyrgyz journalist, translator and poet. In 2011, she was given the title 'People's Poet of Kyrgyzstan'. Biography Momunova was born on 3 ...

with an exhibition of her works.

References

External links

Official site

Official site (Russian)
{{coord, 42.881392, 74.610824, display=title Libraries established in 1934 1934 establishments in the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic Buildings and structures in Bishkek Government of Kyrgyzstan Libraries in Kyrgyzstan Education in Bishkek Culture in Bishkek