The book is a great creation of human culture, and the most important thing in the culture of any country is the library. D.S. Likhachev said that if all institutions and universities suddenly perish, then culture can be restored by well-organized libraries.
In ancient times, libraries were a repository of records, in ancient times they became community centers, the main task of which was the dissemination of knowledge. The first libraries in Russia appeared in the XI - XII centuries in Kievan Rus. Today libraries are a place where it is possible to find a book on any branch of knowledge necessary for work, study or entertainment.
The main task of libraries is to organize the collection, storage and public use of books and other printed publications. All modern libraries can be divided into two types: mass (urban, district), which are multidirectional and designed for readers of all ages and professions, and scientific (university, industry, technical), which collect publications of the corresponding areas and branches of knowledge.
Library activities are carried out in two directions: the delivery of books to the house (subscription) and the work of the reading room, when work with especially valuable and rare editions takes place right in the library.
A new round in the development of librarianship was the opening of virtual libraries. On specialized sites, every Internet user can find almost any book he needs, including rare ones, and download it to his computer.
Libraries are needed, first of all, to gain knowledge and engage in self-education. They are senior citizens, from ordinary students to eminent scientists. After all, as you know, who owns the information, he owns the world.
According to the assurances of neurophysiologists, the human brain can store information many times greater than the storage of the Library of Congress. But until people learn how to use the unique opportunity of their brain, libraries will be necessary for man and will not die.
And in the entire history of mankind, a more perfect method for storing accessible information has not yet been invented.
