Union of facts and technology: experts at the National Centre RUSSIA discussed the digital future of libraries
The ways libraries are changing in the digital era and what development spaces they are creating were discussed by experts at the open dialogue "Library in Developer Mode" on 26 November at the National Centre RUSSIA. The live discussion on how IT and libraries can jointly build a comfortable ecosystem for young people marked the launch of the 3rd All-Russian Library Campaign with international participation, "Youth Digital Technologies Week".
Participants discussed the benefits young people gain from cooperation between libraries and the IT sector, how to make library spaces more convenient and functional, and what horizons tomorrow holds for libraries. The meeting was moderated by futurologist and digital transformation expert Ruslan Yusufov.
Opening the discussion, Director of the Russian State Library for Young Adults Anton Purnik read a welcome message from the State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Zhanna Alekseyeva, which outlined the strategic guidelines for library development.
"In our country, we have almost 42,000 libraries employing more than 100,000 staff. This is already a ready-made, unique infrastructure for digitalisation. And digital information today is indeed one of the strongest trends in library development, while the digitisation of collections and the automation of library networks form the foundation laid by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation together with library colleagues under the national project 'Culture' in 2019. Today, this work continues under the 'Family' project. The Strategy for the Development of Librarianship until 2030 sets the task not only to provide access to digital content but also to involve the younger generation in the very process of shaping a holistic digital culture, where technologies are used creatively and consciously. Thus, our common task is to make young people our co-creators in the development of content. And it is important that the library is a space of trust and a safe environment where parents feel comfortable letting their children go. That is why it becomes an ideal entry point into the digital world," Zhanna Alekseyeva noted in her address.
Anton Purnik discussed how developer mode differs from the current state of libraries and how cooperation with the IT sector should be built.
Our task is not to behave like little dwarves or magpies rushing around the marketplace grabbing anything that looks appealing, sometimes without even knowing how to integrate it or use it. We must consistently and consciously work out common solutions that will allow us to create genuinely smart and modern products relevant to people of all ages, especially young people," Anton Purnik said.
Director General of the Centre for Technologies of Artificial Intelligence "NeuroLab", Vyacheslav Beresnev, shared his view on the key tasks of modern library spaces and the areas of human development in the era of technology.
"We need to ‘strain’ and make an effort to develop those parts of our organism that artificial intelligence is already replacing today. As for the transformation of library spaces in the modern world, I would highlight two main tasks. The first is the preservation and transmission of cultural codes and the teaching of digital hygiene. And the second is the formation of a kind of offline anchor — a point of attraction that young people today so desperately need for normal socialisation and face-to-face communication," Vyacheslav Beresnev said.
Andrei Komissarov, Lead Consultant on AI in Education at SberUniversity, reflected on the challenges of teaching effective AI use and developing creativity in conditions of digital abundance. He stressed that digital systems will always rely on expert texts created by real people, and in this regard the library serves as an essential repository and a vast layer of knowledge, undistorted facts and cultural codes. According to the expert, all generative products — including personal digital avatars — contain a significant amount of "hallucinations", may exhibit bias and can transmit the ideology and values of the states that create them.
The Head of the "Moscow Youth" project, Margarita Savinkina, explained how to speak the same language as young people and involve them in investment projects as co-authors. An important aspect of such cooperation, she said, is building trust so that young people do not fear their ideas will disappear into a void.
Concluding the meeting, the experts agreed that in ten years the library should become a universal place of knowledge and live communication between different generations — a grounding point capable of slowing down the flow of time, as well as a place of historical truth in the context of the growing number of deepfakes and generative content.
The All-Russian campaign with international participation "Youth Digital Technologies Week" will be held from 26 November to 2 December in libraries across Russia and Belarus. As part of the Russia–China Cross Year of Culture, the Library of Hubei Province (PRC) will, for the first time, take part in the campaign. The main goal of the initiative is to promote digital literacy among young people, unlock the potential of libraries and popularise all types of IT technologies.
The initiator and organiser of the campaign is the Russian State Library for Young Adults, supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Russian Library Association, the Belarusian Library Association, the BRICS Youth Council, the CIS Executive Committee and the portal "Culture.RF". The partners of Youth Digital Technologies Week 2025 include leading technology companies, educational and educational outreach organisations, and youth communities.
Event photobank
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