Training sessions held to improve Koha system in libraries wrap up

Azerbaijan National Library has hosted a closing ceremony for training sessions conducted by Turkish specialists aimed at improving the Koha Automated Library Management System, Azernews reports.

At the event, the director of the National Library, Professor Karim Tahirov, spoke about the advantages of the program and the efforts made to develop work processes. He stated that the main goal of the practical training conducted by the invited specialists from Turkiye is to collaboratively address the challenges that arise.

He noted that the program integrates all libraries through a unified description based on standards, allowing each library to view the collections and electronic databases of others, providing access to readers.

The director mentioned that there would be changes in the program based on suggestions starting from the new year, including an expansion of the interface, an increase in the number of operations, and efforts to promote the user page.

Hülya Dirican, the head of the Technical Services Department of the Directorate of Libraries and Publications of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, discussed the advantages of the program and its implementation in the brotherly country for the past 13 years.

Employees from libraries under the Baku City Culture Department participated in the ceremony.

It should be noted that the training sessions covered not only the city of Baku but also regional libraries.

Azerbaijan National Library is a treasure trove of knowledge for bookworms.

With over 5 million books, manuscripts, and maps, the Azerbaijan National Library is considered one of the largest libraries in the Caucasus region. Since 1939, the library has borne the name of the eminent playwright Mirza Fatali Akhundov.

The library has an extensive collection of literature in Azerbaijani, Russian, English, and other languages. It has collected and preserved national editions, works of Azerbaijani and foreign authors about Azerbaijan published abroad.

The National Leader, Heydar Aliyev, visited the National Library four times in 1995-1997 and donated nearly 300 books from his personal library.

In 2004, the Mirza Fatali Akhundov Library was granted the status of a national library by the decision of Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers.

The building of the library is no less impressive. The library's fa?ade is decorated with the statues of eminent poets and writers like Nizami Ganjavi, Mahsati Ganjavi, Uzeyir Hajibayli, Shota Rustaveli, Alexander Pushkin and many others.

The scope of the library's activities is constantly expanding. In 2005, on the basis of legal copies received from publishing houses and printing companies, the library published the yearbook "Books of Azerbaijan" for 1990, 1991, 2000, and 2001.

Over the past years, the National Library has signed a memorandum on bilateral mutual cooperation with about 80 libraries.

In 2021, the Culture Ministry and Mirza Fatali Akhundov Library launched a joint campaign, "Let's go to Garabagh with a book", to restore libraries in the Garabagh region.

A large number of books were donated to the Garabagh Book Fund by a number of international organizations working in the field of culture, Turkic-speaking countries, famous foreign and local authors, publishers, and print houses.

Since 1992, the Kazakhstan National Academic Library has been a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL).

Morevoer, it has been part of the Non-Profit Partnership "Library Assembly of Eurasia" (BAE) since 1993.

In 2002, the library took the lead in the Kazakhstan National Committee for the UNESCO program "Memory of the World," which aims to preserve documentary heritage.

Furthermore, in 2008, it became the regional center for the IFLA PAC (Preservation and Conservation) core program, which focuses on the preservation of library materials and ensuring their accessibility for future generations.

As of now, the collection of the Kazakhstan National Academic Library boasts approximately seven million books.