• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.23-40
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• 2004

The purpose of this paper is to overview the administrative system and legislation of Russia's libraries with priority given to public library. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia began to set up a new political, legal, and economic system. Russia has about 51,000 public libraries. Most towns and large villages have a public library As a rule, public libraries are unified in centralized systems coincident in their location with administrative regions. The great majority of public libraries are part of a network subordinated to the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Library legislation is an important guarantee of the success of library service. Two definitive federal laws were enacted in 1994, Library Law and Legal Deposit Copy Law. In 2001, the Russian Library Association adopted the Model Standard for Public Library. It has a recommendatory character and it is addressed to both librarians and local authorities.