The Parliament has denounced the Interlibrary Loan Agreement within the Commonwealth of Independent States. The decision was approved in the first reading. The document, signed in 1999 in Rostov, regulates the physical exchange of publications between the national libraries of the member states, reports IPN.
The proposal for denunciation was put forward by the Ministry of Culture. According to the authorities, the provisions of the agreement no longer correspond to the way in which cooperation between libraries is currently conducted.
The Ministry argues that most exchanges and library cooperation mechanisms are carried out in digital format, while the system provided by the agreement is based on the physical dispatch of publications between states. This implies, according to the authorities, high costs for the international transport of publications.
The denunciation of the agreement will prevent the National Library of the Republic of Moldova from collaborating with libraries in other countries, including those in the member states of the CIS. International cooperation can continue through professional networks, such as the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA).
The Ministry of Culture maintains that the preservation of the mechanisms established within the CSI is no longer necessary, including in the context of geopolitical developments in the region and the reorientation of the external priorities of the Republic of Moldova. The bill is set to be examined by the Parliament in the second reading.
