The Moscow Manifesto:
Recommendations for international co-operation in the
development of digital libraries, museums and archives in Russia

MOSCOW MANIFESTO

Russian Libraries, Museums and Archives of the Third Millennium
and their role in the Global Information and Knowledge Society

From 17^th to 19^th April 2000, more than 300 experts and policy makers from all over the Russian Federation and 19 other countries met at the International Conference ‘Managing the Digital Future of Libraries’ held at the Russian State Library in Moscow, to consider the current state of practice and the potential contribution Russian libraries, museums and archives can make in the context of the Information Society.

• DEMOCRACY AND CITIZENSHIP – Publicly accessible libraries, museums and archives have a strategic opportunity to improve the quality of life and democratic opportunities of all citizens by providing free and equal access to high-quality information and to diverse opinion, helping to overcome inequalities of wealth and location.
• ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT FOR INDUSTRY – Libraries, museums and archives support wealth creation by ensuring efficient access to information and the opportunities afforded by knowledge. They can be important tools for reducing disparity between the information rich and the information poor citizens of Russia.
• RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING – Libraries, museums and archives provide, through their widespread physical network, a cost-effective infrastructure for both formal education and lifelong learning. They support students and researchers at all levels of formal education and scholarship.
• CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY – Libraries, museums and archives are cultural institutions in the widest sense. They support, preserve and promote the cultural heritage and provide access to knowledge in all forms of cultural expression.

The Conference noted and supported the following key documents:

General documents

• FLA/FAIFE Statement on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom
• Report on the Role of Libraries in the Modern World of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media of the European Parliament
• Council of Europe Cultural Committee report: Library Legislation and Policy in Europe
• IFLA/UNESCO Public Library Manifesto
• European Commission’s study – Public Libraries and the Information Society And the Copenhagen Declaration

Russian documents

• Concept of the State Information Policy
• Concept of Information Society Development in Russia
• Concept of the ‘Russian Digital Libraries Programme’

The underlying conviction of the Conference, supported by much evidence is that the information and communications technologies provide an unprecedented opportunity to enhance the contribution which libraries, museums and archives can make to contemporary society in Russia.

At the end of the meeting those present agreed the following recommendations regarding digital libraries development in Russia and the role of international co-operation:

That it should seek to:

• Recognise the Russian Digital Libraries Programme as a federal programme and render appropriate political and financial support
• Improve the legal basis in Russia on all aspects of digital libraries development;
• Devote substantial resources to creating Russian digital cultural and scientific content available via the Internet;
• Equip libraries, museums and archives to provide maximum access to the new information resources for all citizens and allocate adequate resources to sustain the services over time;
• Provide an equitable balance between the rights of the creators of information and the rights of citizens’ access to the information;
• Adopt the “design for all” principle thus enabling specific user groups [e.g. children, handicapped people] to receive appropriate benefits through the application of ICT in libraries, museums and archives.

That they should:

• Support the modernisation of Russian libraries, museums and archives through global programmes such as the UNESCO Memory of the World, the EU Information Society Technologies Programme, and other bilateral and international programmes;
• Identify substantial resources to allow joint digital libraries / museums / archives research and development programmes with Russia, the EU and other countries, in particular the US, on issues of mutual concern. Essential elements of such a programme are:
• Existing research and development projects and programmes in the EU and US include Russian partners;
• Regular expert meetings between Russia, EU and US experts to stimulate discussion, co-operation and practical projects of common interest, in particular regarding the development of international standards, the regulation of copyright and intellectual property, and issues of multilingual diversity;
• A programme of development of human resources in libraries, archives and museums to develop competencies for the management of the change to modern service oriented institutions;
• Bilateral and multilateral programmes of institutional twinnings and partnerships to forge closer co-operation and joint research and development;
• Workshops on proposal writing and fund raising to provide the necessary tools for full participation of Russian partners in international programmes;
• Special language courses for Russian staff in libraries, museums and archives to foster international professional communication.

That

• Russian libraries, museums and archives join forces to co-operate and create digital cultural and knowledge heritage on the Internet for the global community of researchers
• Co-operation between libraries, museums and archives be improved in the area of negotiating licensing agreements with digital content providers
• Russian libraries, museums and archives develop a common and strategic approach to national and international funding agencies;
• Special measures be devised to recruit, train and retain staff with the necessary skills to work in and for libraries, museums and archives including high levels of competence in ICT, finance, management and marketing;
• Private partnerships between libraries, museums, archives and commercial investors be encouraged to develop legal and managerial skills to deal with commercial investment;
• Russian libraries, museums and archives establish strong co-operation with public, private and non-commercial sector to support the development of the Information Society in Russia.