Национальная библиотека Республики Карелия

The well-deserved fame of the Department was created and is being created by specialists of different years – professionals of the highest level.

Since 1959, the National Library of Karelia has been the centre for archival storage of local publications, state bibliography and press statistics. The Book Chamber, which is a part of the Department, creates a state bibliographic index of documents published on the territory of our republic – Chronicle of the Press of the Republic of Karelia.

Since 1970, the Department of National and Local Literature and Bibliography has been making an annual Calendar of Significant Dates of Karelia, which enjoys unprecedented popularity among readers.

The collection of the Department includes more than 90 thousand publications, including 2000 in Karelian, 400 in Vepsian, and more than 1700 in Finnish. The National Library of Karelia houses the Olonets Provincial Sheets, the Red Karelia newspaper (since 1924), the Totuus newspaper, the newspapers from the Great Patriotic War and regional and large-circulation newspapers (more than 150 titles).

The book collection of the Department contains a unique collection of Kalevala epic poem in different languages. Among valuable publications, there are the first Kalevala edition in Finnish. Besides, the collection includes translations of Kalevala into the languages of the peoples of the world. The library has translations into more than 20 languages.

Since 1988, Krayeved (Eng. Local Historian) club has united all lovers of history and culture of Karelia at the Department of National and Local Literature. The meetings of the club are dedicated to the famous people of Petrozavodsk and the republic, nature, folklore, traditions and holidays of the Karelian land.

Every year since 2000, the library holds the Book of the Year of the Republic of Karelia contest. The summing up of the contest and the solemn awarding ceremony take place on the 23^rd of April, on the World Book Day.

Since 2007, the Department has organized the Local Studies Days. The scientific conference gathers together scientists and local historians from all over Karelia. According to the results of the conference, collection of materials Local Studies Days is published.

Names in the History of Karelia is one of the electronic projects of the Department. This is an encyclopaedia of famous people of Karelia, which helps to preserve historical memory about persons who are the national treasure of the republic.

Finally, the Department works on the project Read Streets like Books! – local history excursions for residents and guests of Petrozavodsk on 14 routes. The Department conceived the project in 2013 and it was the first such project in Karelia and in Russia. Every year, the employees of the Department create new routes.