Kyrgyzstan’s Cabinet of Ministers has submitted a draft bill for public consultation that proposes the closure of all rural libraries across the country, citing declining readership and poor infrastructure as the primary reasons behind the move.
According to the draft law, the heads of rural administrations are required to assess the operational efficiency and relevance of local libraries within three months. Libraries deemed underutilized or ineffective are to be closed, with their book collections transferred to school libraries in the same regions.
The Ministry of Culture reports that Kyrgyzstan currently has 1,050 libraries: 859 rural, 9 regional, 64 district, and 116 urban. Of these, 51 libraries are considered structurally unsound, while 214 require major repairs.
“Unfortunately, even those institutions that remain open often suffer from extremely low attendance. Data on the number of visitors and subscribers are often invalid and may be distorted, creating an illusion of library activity. This creates a misconception about the demand for services that do not actually meet the needs of the local population,” reads the bill’s explanatory note.
The document’s authors estimate that over half of the country’s libraries are effectively non-operational and argue that functioning cultural institutions lack sufficient material and technical support.
With the growth of digital technologies, traditional libraries, particularly in rural areas, are losing popularity, especially among younger generations, according to the proposal’s initiators.
