Penza, 17 January 2016. PenzaNews. The Penza and Volgograd regions have shown the greatest decline in their book funds, concluded the auditors for the Russian Chamber of Accounts after analyzing the final federal budget funds expenditure related to implementing the main measures under the 2014 Year of Culture.

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According to the report, even though a significant sum from the federal budget – 129 million rubles – was used to develop library services and create the National Electronic Library, the overall number of libraries in Russia throughout the Year of Culture went down by over 340 institutions, and their readership base also decreased by 524,400 people.

“The modernization of book collection decreased by nearly 4%, with the biggest decrease seen in the Volgograd and Penza regions,” the document stresses.

According to it, only 51.4% Russian libraries have internet access, with only 6% able to reach full-text electronic resources, with figures in village libraries going even lower.