Russian Libraries for Young Adults: Proper Response to the Challenges of the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all public libraries in Russia had to temporally stop providing services and conducting events at their physical spaces from mid-March up to mid-June 2020. However, the work of library specialists did not stop at that moment, it switched quickly to the online mode. Libraries used this extraordinary situation for developing new types and forms of their activities and services. The Russian State Library for Young Adults (RSLYA) is the largest library dedicated to young adults in Russia and one of the eight Russian federal-level libraries. Since the RSLYA acts as an information and consulting centre for the Russian young adult library network, as well as other libraries serving young people, it has been monitoring, aggregating, and sharing information on library activities and services during the whole period of the lockdown. The article highlights the best and successful practices of online and digital services for young library users. We are convinced that most of the proposed cases can be adapted and implemented in libraries working with young people in different countries.