In 2014, the Reading Center of National Library of Russia and the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Pedagogy of Children’s Reading at the Russian State Children’s Library created an electronic resource “Reading and Library Audience: Sociological and Library Research” on the website of National Library of Russia. The database was created as a corporate resource of the country’s public libraries, which has been constantly replenished since 2015. The database objective is to form a single platform accumulating information about research conducted by libraries on the study of the reader and reading, improving their quality, mutual information, and methodological support for this work. The practical significance of the resource for regional and municipal libraries in conducting research activities is undeniable. Over time, the scientific significance of the database increases. It allows us to analyze the content of research activities in dynamics in a number of areas: by types of libraries, current issues, methods of collecting and analyzing information, significance and demand for the results, etc.

   The article examines modern family reading in the form of listening to vinyl records and other audio media. Reading is analyzed in its everyday life in the family environment using anthropological methods of material collection and interpretation.

   The purpose of the study is to test the hypothesis about the continuity of forms of family reading. Individual or group listening to audio recordings of literary texts can serve both group integration (including family) and disintegration (individual reading escapism).

   Listening to books forms individual and group cultural experience, which in mutual family narrative can be interpreted as specific, representing the (cultural) community of a particular family ("we are all reading people"). The same purpose is served by including listening in the process of routine activities: cooking, leisure time (board games, drawing, handicrafts). Material media (players, records, audio cassettes) in family narratives become a part of the family heirloom, passed on from one (usually older) relative to another, just like the collections of family libraries. The similarity of this practice of inheritance testifies to the common mechanisms of preserving cultural heritage in the family. At the same time, the spread of modern technological solutions (digital formats) does not mean that this kind of inheritance is interrupted: collections of digital a­books are passed on to other family members. The stable reproduction of this mechanism for transmitting cultural experience shows that the phenomenon of the home library (on different types of media, including paper) remains one of the most important ways in which the tradition of family reading exists.

   The article focuses on the analysis of the development of children’s ethnographic literature in Russia and the genre specificity of the Russian children’s ethnographic book of the 19^th century.

   The relevance of the study is determined by the need to understand the historical roots of contemporary ethnocultural contradictions in Russia, as well as the role of literature in constructing national identity.

   The aim of the work is to identify the mechanisms of adaptation of ethnographic themes in children’s literature, trace its genre evolution, and define the tasks that children’s writers addressed through ethnographic material.

   The analysis of the works of A. E. Razina, L. A. Yartsova, M. B. Chistyakova, F. F. Chekalina, N. A. Alexandrova, V. V. Andreeva, E. N. Vodovozovaya as well as the historical and literary context demonstrates how the ethnographic theme was adapted for a children’s audience through the genres of travel notes, essays and popular science texts. It is established that children’s ethnographic literature emerged in the 1860^s­1870^s in syncretic genres combining the above-mentioned.

   The practical significance of the work consists in creating a base of modern approaches for further study of children’s literature as an instrument of cultural policy, which undoubtedly deepens the understanding of the historical and literary process.

   The purpose of the article is to present the specifics of the approaches and methodology in the All–Russian sociological study related to the role of parents in reading for children and adolescents.

   This study was conducted by the All­ Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion commissioned by the Russian State Children’s Library in 2024. Over a long period of time, specialists of the Russian State Children’s Library collected a data set to study the dynamics of children’s and family reading. Theoretical approaches to defining the concept of “family reading” as well as various perspectives in the study of children’s and family reading in the Russian and foreign science are considered. The authors presented the key changes that have occurred in family as a social institution, influencing the processes of children’s and family reading. The program of sociological research (including the goal, tasks, and hypotheses) is described in detail. The results that reflect the current situation with children and adolescents’ reading through the eyes of parents are shown. This study allowed to identify the problems of children’s and family reading in Russia and gave recommendations for changing the existing negative trends. The positive trends that should be strengthened and developed are identified.

   The article briefly describes the creation of writing and the first alphabet in Azerbaijan, the first handwritten books, the birth of book printing, and the stages of its development.

   The aim of the study is to show the influence of events in the public life of the country on book production and to present recommendations and proposals for solving the existing problems.

   On the basis of statistical indicators the state of Azerbaijani book printing in different years was characterized, active bookstores were indicated and peculiarities of book trade in the country were defined. Factors influencing the formation and development of reading culture in Azerbaijan have been analyzed. On the example of Azerbaijan State Economic University (UNEC) the measures taken to develop reading skills of young people are shown.

   In recent years, there has been strong growth in the Chinese children’s book market, particularly during the pandemic thus solidifying its leading position in the segmented book market. This trend reflects the increasing demand for children’s reading in society, providing extra requirement for the development of public libraries in the area of children’s reading services. The depth of study of these changes and its role in the Chinese public libraries through the history of children’s book publishing paved the way for this article, which explores the role and movements of public libraries in the children’s book market. The research finds that public libraries have gradually evolved from the initial roles of collector and disseminator to promoter, collaborator and guide, playing an increasingly important role in children’s book publishing and reading promotion. The innovative cooperation, resource sharing and mutual benefit between public libraries and children’s book publishers have injected new vitality into the sustainable development of the children’s book market. In the future, public libraries will continue to deepen cooperation, to drive innovation, to achieve sustainable growth and to provide more quality and efficient services for children’s reading, meeting the high requirements of the times.

   In the context of digitalization in education and decrease of interest in reading among young learners, the formation of sustainable motivation to read through emotional involvement and creative activity becomes an urgent task. To solve this problem, the Open School of Yekaterinburg has been implementing for four years the additional education program, The Love for Reading, aimed at expanding the reading horizons and developing the creative abilities of primary school students. The methodological basis of the program is interactive formats of work: text analysis through game quests, creation of illustrated reading diaries, integration of extracurricular activities (literary excursions, creative master classes).

   The purpose of the article is to describe the program’s course and summarize the experience of its implementation.

   The practical significance lies in the adaptability of this program for various educational institutions.

   The list of fiction books presented in the appendix and structured by year of study (grades 1–4), will allow teachers to use the materials both for organizing Literature Circles and for integration into the basic educational process. Thus, The Love for Reading program demonstrates the possibility of transforming traditional approaches to literary education through the synthesis of emotional, creative and interactive methods, which meets the challenges of the modern digital age.

   The purpose of this article is to present the notebooks of the librarian, theorist, and practitioner A. A. Pokrovsky to readers, and to reveal their unique characteristics.

   The focus is on three notebooks created between 1918 and 1920, which are preserved in the N. A. Nekrasov Central Universal Scientific Library. Research began in 2023 and continued later in connection with the 145th anniversary of A. A. Pokrovsky. During the study, several unique features of these notebooks were identified. They contain numerous drawings resulting from the owner’s habit of redrawing his favorite illustrations while reading. Due to Pokrovsky's profession as a librarian, the notebooks also include bibliographic entries, reflecting his attention to detail. Additionally, many clippings are found in these notebooks, and it is evident that book as a physical object plays a central role on their pages. The study of A. A. Pokrovsky’s notebooks has demonstrated that they are a valuable source for the history of librarianship and book culture. It is difficult to analyze these documents without considering the biography of their owner.

   Review of the monograph Leith S. Haunted Forest: A Childhood Reading Story. Toronto: Sutherland House, 2024. 521 p.

   The national book market is dominated by Russia's largest publishing houses, such as INFRA-M. The company collaborates with 20,000 authors, has a portfolio of over 9,100 unique textbooks and monographs, and publishes approximately 1,000 new titles annually. Today, we are interviewing Alina Nikolaevna Nesterova, CEO of INFRA-M.