On September 30, Ukraine celebrates Library Day, a holiday established by presidential decree on May 14, 1998, to honor the significant contributions of libraries to education, science, and culture.
Currently, there are over 30,000 libraries in Ukraine, including national, university, children's, and specialized libraries. The largest is the V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.
On September 26 and 30, 2024, festive events dedicated to Library Day took place in the libraries of Odesa.
The Director of the Department of Culture of the Odesa City Council, Ivan Liptuga, awarded the best librarians.
“You are doing invaluable work, and it is encouraging to see professionals in libraries. The city government supports libraries, and this year the budget for library collections has increased nearly fourfold to purchase quality Ukrainian literature. Libraries today are not just storage spaces for books; they are also venues that need to engage the youth. We see them organizing meetings, promoting their libraries on social media, and creating youth clubs. Our librarians have also contributed to the city almanac 'Deribasivska-Richelievska,' which publishes works by Ukrainian authors and representatives of various nationalities living in our city,” noted Ivan Liptuga.
In the first nine months of this year, 207,000 adults visited the Central Library System, while 529,000 children attended children's libraries.
According to the Department of Culture, 1,292,821 books were issued to adult readers in Odesa libraries, and children's libraries issued another 1,599,000 books.
Since the beginning of this year, library collections have been replenished with diverse Ukrainian literature by 35%.
