GBUK RK “Crimean Republican Universal Scientific Library named after I. Ya. Franko ”is a leading multifunctional cultural, educational, scientific and information center with a diversified fund and a reference and bibliographic apparatus of universal subjects, as well as the largest book depository in Crimea. The documentary fund of the library is about 1 million publications. The services of industry and specialized departments of the library with traditional services and in an automated mode are used by scientists, teachers of educational institutions, representatives of the business community, entrepreneurs, and students.

The library’s activities are aimed at preserving book collections, ensuring free and prompt access of citizens to information and knowledge, promoting the development of a solidarity society, innovative scientific and production potential of the region; creation of conditions for the intellectual and creative development of each person based on the formation of a single library and information space of the Republic of Crimea.

The scientific and methodological activity of the library is aimed at the implementation of state policy in the field of librarianship. The library is a methodological center for 661 public libraries of the republic: initiates and coordinates the implementation of a number of network and corporate projects, participates in the implementation of state programs in the field of information and library activities, conducts research in the framework of scientific and methodological and scientific research, organizes the system continuing library education, represents the library community outside the peninsula.

History of the Crimean Republican Universal Scientific Library named after I. Ya. Franko is inextricably linked with the history of the city of Simferopol, its famous people, including the name of Sergei Borisovich Tumanov, a bookseller, ascetic and philanthropist, who in 1884 opened a paid library and a free reading room, later bequeathed to the city. The book wealth of the Tumanov library, as well as the collections of many other libraries along with private collections, will form the basis of the fund of the Regional Exemplary Central Library, the order for the opening of which was issued by the Crimean Revolutionary Committee on December 24, 1920.

The newly created library, which opened its doors for readers on November 7, 1921, is located in a small room on the street. Gorky, 5. Thus began the history of the gradual formation and development of the library, which after years turned into the spiritual and intellectual center of Crimea.

Starting in 1925, the library was located in the very center of Simferopol - in the building of the former Noble Assembly (on Gorky Street, 10), which has become a historical and memorial monument today, famous for its original exquisite architecture and rich history. It was built in 1848 - 1850 by the St. Petersburg architect Konstantin Ivanovich Gonyaev. Here, during the Crimean War, a hospital was located in which the famous surgeon NI Pirogov and the first Russian mercy sisters worked to save the wounded defenders of Sevastopol.

The Great Patriotic War was a huge test for the library. She was destined to go through all the hardships of war: the horror of occupation, fires and looting. The fund of the Crimean regional library has been repeatedly subjected to both authorized and spontaneous robbery. During the occupation, about 150 thousand books were seized from the central library by the Germans. And yet, thanks to true heroism, love of the book, dedication to their profession, library staff managed to save and preserve a significant part of the fund.

Almost immediately after the liberation of Simferopol from the German invaders in April 1944, the library began to serve readers. Organized work on the restoration of the building and inventory of funds, the creation of new catalogs; The work of the bibliographic and methodological departments was resumed. Already in 1945, the pre-war structure was completely restored in the library.

In the post-war years, thanks to the help of the state and residents of the Crimea, the library began to develop rapidly, the pace of these transformations was rapid. Much attention was paid to the development and improvement of local history activities. Scientific auxiliary and recommendatory bibliographic indexes, methodological manuals are issued. One of the most significant manuals of this period is the scientific and auxiliary index “History of Cities and Villages of the Crimean Region”, which has become a significant event in the development of the local history bibliography of Crimea and an example of interagency coordination.

In 1956, in connection with the centenary of the birth of the Ukrainian writer I. Ya. Franko, the library was named after him. During the existence of the library, its status has repeatedly changed: in 1966, it became a universal scientific library, since 1992 continued its further development as a republican universal scientific library, and in 2015 the library was given the status of the Central Library of the Republic of Crimea.

The beginning of the new millennium was marked by a number of qualitative changes in the library. The year 2007 became a landmark in the history of the library: the library moved to a new, modern building, designed by the famous Crimean architect Vyacheslav Sheremet. Moving to a new home has become a powerful incentive for moving to a new level of library development. She received the long-awaited opportunity to fully realize her mission of the informational, cultural and spiritual symbol of the Republic of Crimea.

The increased information needs of recent decades have set new challenges for the main library of the region: in recent years, considerable efforts have been focused on issues of its technical equipment and the development of digital technologies. The Central Library of Crimea, retaining its best traditions, has become a navigator in the world of information.

Following the path of introducing new information technologies, the library since 2003 has introduced and distributes the IRBIS library automation system in Crimea.

In 2010, the Republican training center for teaching library specialists of the republic and library users the basics of computer literacy and Internet skills was opened in the library.

A powerful incentive for moving to a qualitatively new level of library development was the entry of Crimea into the Russian Federation and integration into the all-Russian library space. The library was given complex tasks, the solution of which required the active modernization of all production processes.

Today, the State budgetary institution of culture of the Republic of Crimea "Crimean Republican Universal Scientific Library named after I. Ya. Franko ”is in constant dynamics, searching for new interesting, alternative ideas - funds are replenished, new structural divisions are opened, interiors are updated, new types of services appear.

In recent years, the following have been created: Reading Advancement Center, Digital Resources Department, Digitization Hall, Coworking Area, Museum Room.

In 2015, on the basis of the rare book department, the Regional Center for Work with Book Monuments was opened, the priority of which is the preservation of library collections as part of the cultural heritage and information resource of the region. This project will allow the creation of the Electronic Regional Codex Book Book of the Republic, which will give a holistic view of the book monuments stored in the republic, inform about the availability of funds of rare and valuable publications, and will also contribute to their preservation and use.

In order to create conditions for ensuring free and unhindered access to information for the visually impaired, in 2015, a library was opened in the library for the blind and visually impaired.

In 2016, the Grand Opening of the Regional Center for Access to Information Resources of the Presidential Library took place, which allows in-depth research to scientists, graduate students and students, to improve the educational process; opens the way for students to knowledge through contests, competitions and lectures organized by the Presidential Library.

In 2018, the grand opening of the updated department of documents on art, which became the modern exhibition and exhibition site of the republic, took place.

In order to improve the information and library service, expand access to information resources of the Central Library, cooperation agreements were concluded with the Russian State Library, the Russian National Library, and the Presidential Library. B. N. Yeltsin, the National Electronic Library, thanks to which free access to the collections of public libraries at the federal, regional, municipal levels, libraries of scientific and educational institutions is open.

Visitors to the library are given remote access to the electronic library of dissertations of the RSL, the National Electronic Library, the Presidential Library, the legal systems “Consultant +”, “Consultant. Region ”“ Guarantor ”, the media database“ Polpred.com”, educational electronic libraries“ Znanium ”,“ IPRbooks ”,“ Grebennikon ”,“ LitRes ”,“ University online library ”, the electronic library system“ Lan Publishing House, etc. .

Crimean Republican Universal Scientific Library named after I. Ya. Franko is a participant in projects to create the “Consolidated Catalog of Russian Libraries”, the corporate full-text database “Central Libraries of the Subjects of the Russian Federation”, and the ARBICON MARS international project to create a consolidated database of analytical painting of articles from periodicals.

More than 10 regional and intra-library projects are implemented annually. Work has begun on the creation of an electronic library of the Republic of Crimea “Crimea”, the digitization of rare and valuable books of the local history fund. The regional project “The Consolidated Electronic Local Lore Catalog of Libraries of the Republic of Crimea”, the republican projects of the library “Reading Crimea”, “Crimeans in Russian History”, and others are being implemented.

The library is actively engaged in cultural, educational and intellectual-leisure activities. In addition to traditional (Days of Slavic writing and culture in Crimea, the Book Festival within the framework of the International Festival “The Great Russian Word”, the International Gumilev Poetry Festival “Koktebel Spring”, the local history readings Danilev, literary Dombrov readings, etc.) the library introduces new forms of attracting readers, inviting them to become active participants in events and discussion platforms: the Crimean BookFest literary festival, the Biblionoch, the Night of Arts, and the Total Dictation socio-cultural events "" Big ethnographic dictation "bukkrossingovoy action" Crimean knigovorot "as well as a number of interesting art projects.

The library has 14 interest clubs focused on readers of different generations. Modern telecommunication and multimedia technologies allow holding meetings of a number of clubs in an interactive format.

Developing its own potential and initiating the introduction of numerous innovations, the library seeks to convey the accumulated experience by conducting numerous activities aimed at improving the skills of library personnel - Business clubs of directors of central libraries and centralized library systems, Joint methodological councils, School of curators, School of methodologists, republican and regional seminars, trainings and workshops that provide the professional community with the opportunity to communicate and exchange experiences on a ba e Crimea Central Library.

Within the framework of the International Conference “Crimea” (Sudak), the library annually organizes and conducts the Day of Crimean Libraries, which is a real school of innovation for library specialists in Crimea.

Having listed the significant events in the history and development of the library, in conclusion I would like to add that at the origins of its formation and at all stages of its existence there were wonderful, proactive, enthusiastic leaders - V. Kulakova, A. S. Domanskaya, R. E. Lukomsky, E K. Pakhomova, A. Ya. Slesarenko, N. L. Rozanov, L. A. Ermolenko, S. P. Morozova, I. A. Rigin, A. A. Mishchenko, T. S. Zhukovskaya, L. N Drozdova, S. N. Nemirovich. Since December 2016, the library has been headed by Elena Valentinovna Yasinova.

The library pays tribute to the merits of librarians of library science - G. S. Antonovich, I. A. Birdus, Z. L. Borodina, G. K. Bortnikova, A. P. Burkovskaya, I. V. Bulanova, E. S. Verbe, N. F. Gnilovskaya, L. A. Goryanoy, A. E. Gorban, L. P. Grigorenko, L. M. Demidova, N. M. Dmitrieva, M. I. Ivanova, T. E. Kurochkina, A. G. Loze, G.P. Lozinskaya, N.V. Malysheva, R.V. Margolina, S.P. Morozova, E.M. Norman, T.V. Pavlova, V.A. Odnokolova, E.V. Selishcheva, S. G. Spilnoy, L. A. Stepanova, G. I. Tkachev, L. N. Trufanova, L. L. Falkovich, L. A. Shamruk and m ogim others.

Today, the library employs energetic and talented young professionals who worthily continue the baton of the Librarian profession.

The collective of the Crimean Republican Universal Scientific Library named after I. Ya. Franko has enough professionalism, competence, ability to create and develop new innovative models of library functioning, so that in the future it would have the opportunity to strengthen its position, making a significant contribution to the development of education, science and culture.