The pandemic and the new information technology reduced twice the number of readers in libraries. To cope with the situation, these had to move to the online, while the librarians had to adjust themselves so as to be at the distance of one click from consumers of information. Even the cultural events are today organized online for the lovers of beauty, National Library director Elena Pintilei stated for IPN when been contacted for a comment on the occasion of the International Librarian’s Day and World Book Day.
In 2019, the National Library of the Republic of Moldova was visited by over 70,000 visitors, but this year the figure declined to almost 30,000. “If we speak about 2020, the number of physical entrances into the library declined. This was typical for all the institutions of culture. Even if the number of entrances decreased slightly, the number of virtual visits to the website of the National Library and the institution’s accounts on different social networking sites increased,” stated Elena Pintilei, noting the visitors of the National Library are mainly students, scientific researchers or legal entities that can find here information for studies, research of professional activity.
To cope with the new requirements on the information market, the public libraries laid emphasis on electronic services. The Târgoviște Library of Chisinau did the same. “We also moved to the online. I refer not only to the services, but also to communication through messages or email, eservations or information about particular titles. Evidently, the readers changed and want to be served promptly. Until now we weren’t so connected with them,” said Liliana Juc, director of the Târgoviște Library, the branch of the Municipal Library “B. P. Hajdeu”, adding the children, teens and young people remain the most faithful visitors of their library and the age and new realities determine readers’ preferences.
On the International Librarian’s Day and World Book Day that are annually marked on April 23, the librarians’ greatest wish is to return to the activity before the pandemic so that the reading halls are full of readers. According to the National Library, in Moldova there are over 2,600 libraries that employ more than 4,000 librarians.
