President in digital form

A branch of the World Digital Library will open in St. Petersburg

The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library in St. Petersburg will become the Russian part of the World Digital Library. Vladimir Kozhin, Administrative Officer of the President of the Russian Federation, told reporters about this yesterday. In addition, he expressed confidence that he would retain his position under the new head of state.

While in the Synod building, where the Boris Yeltsin library will be located, work continues to transform the ancient architectural complex into a modern repository of book artifacts dedicated to the history of the Russian state. In addition, an archival and library server will be created to which electronic versions of some of the “presidential” books and documents will be transferred.

Vladimir Kozhin told Vremya Novostey that such a concept for organizing a global book depository in the presidential administration did not come immediately. First, in December 2006, an agreement was signed between the Russian National Library and the Library of Congress of the United States on the participation of the Russian side in the organization of the World Digital Library (WDL). This project, carried out under the auspices of UNESCO, intends to digitize and provide free access to citizens to the materials of the world's largest book depositories and archives. The process took its course. But a year ago, after the decision was made to create a library named after Boris Yeltsin, it was decided to make it the center of the Russian part of the ICB.

According to Vladimir Kozhin, an academic council will be created at the Boris Yeltsin Library to determine the volume and subject matter of the necessary materials. The funds will be replenished with materials from the Russian State Historical Archive, as well as leading national libraries. Negotiations on the terms of use of these materials are ongoing with the US Library of Congress and the archives of European countries.

Two more problems have not been resolved. The first is purely technical. Most of the materials are scanned documents, both printed and handwritten. Therefore, it is necessary to develop software that would be capable of indexing text images in various fonts and styles. The second problem concerns copyright and related rights laws. Lawyers will have to approach thousands of copyright holders to obtain their permission to post books and documents on servers and in the public domain.

In addition, a regional branch of the presidential library will be created in each subject of the Russian Federation. The pilot project will be carried out in Tyumen. At the first stage, financing will be provided from the federal budget, and subsequently - with the involvement of funds from the regions.

But it is too early to talk about these details of the development of the electronic version of the book depository. First, according to Vladimir Kozhin, it is necessary to open the institution for ordinary visitors. In the meantime, construction and restoration work is underway. The initial estimate is about 5 billion rubles. The money is allocated from the federal budget. At the same time, Mr. Kozhin confirmed that the original project contained violations - the central hall provided for an elevation of the roof above the courtyard by 2.5 m relative to the historical structure. However, after a comment from the management of the now former Rossvyazohrankultura, this discrepancy was eliminated. Also, according to Mr. Kozhin, dismantling and excavation work has now been suspended, since brickwork and foundations of old structures were discovered in the Synod courtyard. The architects confirmed the value of the find, and the government decided to museumify the masonry. Only after this process is completed will work on arranging the library continue.

Mikhail TELEKHOV, St. Petersburg