SYKTYVKAR /Komi Region/, March 10. /TASS/. Authorities of Vorkuta, a mono-industrial city in the Komi Region, began to renovate a library, which will be the first modern library, upgraded under the Culture national project. The renovation will be completed by October, the director of the city’s library network, Natalya Kuzmina told TASS.
"The library in Vorgashor [Vorkuta district] will be the first model library, renovated under the national project and at the expense of federal and local budgets. Last year, our application was among the best across the country, I believe because we had been working on it thoroughly for two years," Kuzmina said. "The project takes into account suggestions from the staff on how to organize zones for readers of different ages and interests. Vorgashor is Vorkuta’s northernmost and the most remote district, and we shall try to make the library there bright, warm and cozy."
The federal budget allocates 5 million rubles ($68.7 thousand), and another 1.5 million rubles ($20.6 thousand) will come from the municipal budget, Kuzmina said.
"The first stage is almost complete — we have replaced windows and radiators, and inner works are about to begin," she continued. "We pay special attention to energy saving technologies — <...> we shall have LED lamps, all electric grids will be replaced, and we shall be saving a lot on electricity bills."
The snowstorms, which have become frequent in Vorkuta, do not affect the works. However, contractors and suppliers sometimes find it hard to get to the library.
For kids and adults
The project was developed by a designer from St. Petersburg, Nadezhda Karpova, a specialist in library construction. Earlier, she implemented a project to renovate Syktyvkar’s central library, which was welcomed by the local public. Vorgashor’s librarians had earlier presented their ideas of how work at the new library should be organized, including the zones it must have.
The library will have two traditional halls — for adults and for children. The hall for children will sport soft cozy furniture with bean bag chairs and different shelving units. The zone for adults will feature armchairs and sofas. Other two zones with screens and projectors will host events. The reading hall will have zones for co-working and IT activities. The library will additionally buy game stations and complexes for children.
"Different zones, modern technologies, comfort and a good look — we shall do our best to make sure that readers will want to come here more often and stay longer," Natalya Kuzmina said.
Clubs and online meetings with writers
Presently, the library’s book collection consists of 35,000 volumes. "We have analyzed the collection <...> and we shall spend more than 500,000 rubles ($6,800) to buy new books," the director of the Vorkuta library network commented.
The library’s staff is taking training courses at the federal expense. At the same time, the Russian State Library and other big libraries offer free courses for specialists, working at upgraded libraries.
"The modernized library will open before October 1, 2020," the official said. "Presently, there are about 1,600 readers in Vorgashor, including about 800 children. Vorkuta’s six libraries have an audience of about 12,000 readers. We hope to attract more visitors, which is not easy in a polar city with shrinking population. However, the experience of other libraries shows that the number of readers grows significantly following overhaul, including in the polar regions."
"In Vorgashor, the staff organize captivating club events. They have a wonderful sewing club for adults and another one for children," she continued. "They also plan to organize online meetings with writers, as it is obviously problematic to have writers travel to Vorkuta. Thus, we begin working via the Internet platform."
Library for locals
Vorgashor is the most remote settlement from Vorkuta. The distance makes about 20km. In view of this the authorities have been doing their best to make sure that the local people do not feel isolated from the rest of the world, the city’s Mayor Igor Guryev told TASS.
"Vorgashor is the biggest settlement, where almost 9,000 people live, including about 1,000 children, who are the target group of such projects," he said. "Teenagers will not hang around, <...> they will spend time at the library, where they can watch movies, participate in events, talk about books."
In 2019, the settlement beautified its central square. "The library is another step, so that our people do not feel abandoned. We shall continue to renovate settlements," the mayor said. "Vorkuta and the settlements have future, and stable jobs will be reality here."
Vorkuta is a polar coal-mining mono-industrial city in the Komi Region. It is the fourth largest city north of the Arctic Circle. Greater Vorkuta includes seven localities — the city and settlements. About 7,000 people are employed in coal mining. Vorkuta produces valuable grades of coal, which almost entirely are used in metallurgy.