State budgetary institution of culture

Orenburg Regional Library
n. a. N. K. Krupskaya

20,Sovetskaya st., Orenburg, Russian Federation
RU / EN

ph./fax: +7(3532) 77-06-76
e-mail: orenlib@bk.ru

About Library

The Orenburg Regional Library has been an essential provider of free books, information, ideas, and education for more than 100 years. Founded on the 19 February 1888, ORL is the largest public library system, bringing an extraordinary richness of resources and opportunities available to all. The Library offers to readers the largest system of the specialized divisions and reading rooms. The bibliographic and reference division with the local history study unit, law search resource centre, Internet access room, periodicals reading room, loan division. The library structure contains 129 persons, 74 of them have degree.

In 2007 the library recorded 128 thousand visits, the number of readers totaled 24 thousand persons, and they have been given more than 500 thousand printed items. Library possesses more than 2,3 million items including 30 000 publications in 100 foreign languages. The Library keeps an universal collection, which contains literature in all areas of knowledge, The library subscribes more than 1000 titles of magazines and newspapers.

A collection of the rare book’s unit (13 thousand documents) has a special historical, cultural and scientific value: manuscripts, where particularly valuable is the ever oldest book preserved in the library, books from XVII-XIX century editions, 111 periodicals titles, lifetime editions by literary classics – A. S. Pushkin 1830., Derzhavin 1808., L. N. Tolstoy 1864, books with autographs of scholars, writers, public activists, miniature editions.

Of great value is the collection of local history publications, totaling 16 thousand items. Those books feature many editions with autographs of reckonable public activists works by researchers I. I. Lepekhin, V. N. Tatishchev and a collection of local periodicals, library keeps the most complete in our region collections of the Russian patent (more than 1,5 million items). The Musical Division has in its possession the largest collection of music editions (25 thousand items – sheet music, scores for all kind of music interpretation). In the last few years, a mediateque is being set up. Readers can get access to a collection of legal documents ranging from "Complete code of laws of the Russian Empire", and up to the law search resource systems "Consultant Plus", "Garant".

Today’s library transformed into true Orenburg’s cultural center that provides far more than just free books and materials. Numerous public events held by the ORL, such as scientific conferences, meetings, congresses, international readings, round tables, scientific workshops and seminars – are very popular with the people of Orenburg.

At present the Library’s central mission as 100 years ago is to provide the people with a rich, diverse, and enduring source of knowledge that can be relied upon to inform, inspire, and engage them, and support their intellectual and creative endeavors.