Ryazan Regional Library named after Gorky

The Ryazan Regional Universal Scientific Library named after Gorky was opened in 1858. Then it was called the Ryazan Public Library. Initially, the library was located in the apartment of the merchant Solovyova. At that time, its collections included 609 books in 1,275 volumes and 4,300 periodicals.

In the 70s of the XIX century, the library experienced a period of decline. The number of allocations received from residents of Ryazan and trustees decreased, the receipt of new publications decreased. There are fewer readers. In 1917 the library became the Provincial Central, and in 1923 it was merged with two other libraries. In 1928 it was given the name M. Gorky. In 1938, after the formation of the Ryazan region, the library became a regional one. In all subsequent years, the library actively developed, the number of books stored in its collections grew, as well as the number of readers.

Currently, the library is a major educational, cultural, scientific and methodological center. It works with the use of modern information technologies. It holds over 1 million copies of books. Annually the library serves more than 50 thousand people, and the total number of visits is 320 thousand. The library employs 158 people. In 2011, a new library building was built.