The All-Russia Library of Foreign Literature, or VGBIL, was founded in 1921 by Margarita
Ivanovna Rudomino; in 1990, it was named after its founder. VGBIL is a major international cultural
and research centre whose activities are based on a publicly available multilingual collection covering
the broad area of the humanities. The Library holds more than 4.5 million items in 140 languages; the accession
rate is about 90,000 items a year, of which 40,000 items represent new titles. The Library maintains
exchange relations with 1300 organisations in 90 countries world-wide and with more than 350 libraries
in Russia and countries of the former Soviet Union. The number of registered users is over 150,000; the
personal loan facility is enjoyed by more than 16500 individuals; and interlending operations are carried
out with more than 150 organisations in Moscow and 1060 organisations outside Moscow. The Library
has a staff of 500.
The Library has nearly 20 conventional reading rooms. Over the last three years it has broadened
its role as a cross-cultural centre to open new specialised reading rooms: the American literature reading
room, the USIA/IREX research exchanges centre, the Centre Culturel Francais library, the Japanese
Embassy Information Department reading room, the BBC sound stand, and the British Council reference
library.
The Library's principal research areas are international librarianship, cultural studies, book
science, and book conservation and restoration.
Being a guidance centre for foreign literature VGBIL acts as a facilitator in the dissemination of
international book publishers' output among libraries in Russia and helps Rusian libraries in establishing
international contacts.
The Library has its own publishing house, RUDOMINO, which relies on its collections and
internatioonal links to publish new titles.
VGBIL has an internationally composed Board of Trustees.
The Library offers every interested individual and organisation its help and co-operation in the
following areas:
- the launching and carrying out of international cultural programmes;
- promotion of all kinds of books and book art (publishing, selling, exhibition and restauration);
- international book exchange;
- development and implementation of foreign-book-related research programmes;
- a variety of library and information services.
