On February 22 on the initiative of NA Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture and Youth parliamentary hearing were held in NA to discuss the drafts of the two homonymic laws on Libraries and Library Science, presented by Heghine Bisharyan, Samvel Balasanyan, Mekhak Mkhitaryan and Hovhannes Margaryan, NA deputies and RA government.

MPs, the representatives of RA government and the specialists of library science attended the parliamentary hearings.

Hranush Hakobyan, Chairwoman of NA Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture and Youth congratulated those present on the occasion of the Mother tongue and Vardanants holiday, the latter to be held the next day and expressed her conviction that the longevity of the spiritual values and the faith of the nation is conditioned by the activities of each person, particularly of those people who are devoted to their culture and nation.

As to clergyman Asoghik, representative of St. Echmiadzin, if we present ourselves to the world as a national state, which was the first to adopt Christianity, we are obliged not only to class the holiday Vardanants with the state holidays, which has already been done, but also to present ourselves as bearers of the mystery of faith observance and strengthening in order not to resemble a person who has lost his memory. It’s the responsibility of each Armenian to be guided by the Vardanants spirit.

Artur Baghdasaryan, NA President highlighted the hearings on the legislative regulation, calling for specialists to be zealous, to come up with suggestions and statements on sphere regulating distinct solutions, henceforth, to exclude the vicious phenomena of the closing of libraries and the selling of buildings, not to violate the rights of the citizens, who make use of the library.

Anahit Galstyan, Head of the Department of Libraries and Museums of RA Ministry of Culture and Youth submitted RA government draft.

Samvel Balasanyan, MP asked how the problems of the appointment and educational conformity of the library staff as well as the pensioners’ labour problems will be solved and how the privatization processes of the library buildings will be prevented and the speaker said that as far as the library is not a trade organization, the election of its head should be regulated by the corresponding law, and as for the problem of librarians to have a compulsory professional education, it isn’t solved yet by the law: they can be set out in transitional provisions and be given the opportunity of retraining.

Ararat Malkhasyan, MP asked if the problems of building conditions, technical re-armament and librarians’ retraining shouldn’t be also regulated by the law and Anahit Galstyan observed that those problems are set out in the law, though she agreed that they are general and need to be privatized and made distinct.

Heghine Bisharyan, MP expressed anxiety on the sad state and dissolution of libraries, the sale and purchase of library buildings and conditioned the respective initiative of the Country of law faction to regulate the sphere according to the law, as soon as possible by the created situation.

Rafik Ghazaryan, Deputy Director of RA National Library highly appreciated the two legislative initiatives, which have much in common. He presented approximately two dozens of suggestions mainly on library collections, the involvement and management of the library’s financial means and services requiring payment. Mr. Ghazaryan proposed to allocate certain sums from the budget to replenish the library fund. Speaking about the sad state of libraries, he informed that during the years of independence 300 million books decreased in the libraries, 156 community libraries were closed.

Nerses Hayrapetyan, Head of US Embassy Information Center thinks expedient to unite the best elements of the drafts. In his estimation that libraries themselves should decide their policy: the founder should only supervise it. The reader’s demands should be taken into account particularly in replenishing the library with corresponding books and subscribing for newspapers. It was mentioned that state responsibilities are few in both of the drafts and that the idea of digital library is not set out.

Vram Gyulzadyan, MP believes that uniting village and small community school libraries is expedient but some librarians didn’t accept this on the grounds that they have different functions and serve different age groups.

There voiced other speeches in which the problems on the salary of librarians, organizing the work, the specialists’ retraining, relations with international organizations and inter-library ties were highlighted.

Hranush Hakobyan, Committee Chairwoman thanked for interested discussions and called for the specialists of the library work to actively participate in improving the draft law before the third reading, to introduce concrete written suggestions and observations, assuring that they will be thoroughly discussed, and that the effective suggestions will be included in the draft.