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Azerbaijan has been represented at an international conference of librarians of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Azernews reports.

The event was organised within the framework of the interstate program "Samarkand - the Cultural Capital of the CIS-2024 on the theme "Union of libraries: partnership and innovation".

Judge of the Samarkand region Erkinjon Turdimov, First Deputy Culture Minister Bahadir Ahmadov, Director of the Information and Mass Communication Agency under the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan Asadjan Khojayev, Advisor of the CIS Interstate Humanitarian Cooperation Fund Kamol Rahimov, the Russian State General Director of the library, and President of the Eurasian Library Assembly Vadim Duda participated in the international conference.

At the international conference, Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs and Library-Information Service at Azerbaijan National Library Adiba Ismayilova delivered a report and presentation on the topic "Advantages of using artificial intelligence in the field of libraries and information".

The Deputy Director spoke about the application of artificial intelligence technologies to various fields of human activity and emphasised that the scientific-theoretical and practical problems of these technologies are widely studied in the world's leading scientific centres.

She underlined that the application of artificial intelligence to the library-information field opens up opportunities for the development of new services, helps improve library processes, and provides more efficient information services to users.

The application of artificial intelligence to the library and information field allows for improving the search capabilities of bibliographic databases and, first of all, the electronic catalogue.

Adiba Ismayilova stressed that the use of artificial intelligence makes it possible to automate many daily tasks, such as indexing and cataloguing materials, processing user requests, and analysing data. This allows libraries to save time and resources and improve the efficiency of processes.

The Deputy Director also participated in a scientific conference on "Information culture of the digital generation: new directions for the implementation of the project of media and information literacy formation of children and youth in the libraries of Uzbekistan" held in the Samarkand Regional Library and Information Centre. The conference was organised in partnership between the National Library of Uzbekistan and the Moscow State Institute of Culture.

She also joined a practical seminar and a special meeting of directors of cross-border libraries of Central Asia within the framework of the Eurasian Library Assembly on "Cross-border cooperation of libraries: new perspectives of international interaction".

Notably, the Azerbaijan National Library is a treasure trove of knowledge for bookworms.

With over 5 million books, manuscripts, and maps, the Azerbaijan National Library is considered one of the largest libraries in the Caucasus region. Since 1939, the library has borne the name of the eminent playwright Mirza Fatali Akhundov.

The library has an extensive collection of literature in Azerbaijani, Russian, English, and other languages. It has collected and preserved national editions, works of Azerbaijani and foreign authors about Azerbaijan published abroad.

The National Leader, Heydar Aliyev, visited the National Library four times in 1995-1997 and donated nearly 300 books from his personal library.

In 2004, the Mirza Fatali Akhundov Library was granted the status of a national library by the decision of Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers.

The building of the library is no less impressive. The library's faсade is decorated with the statues of eminent poets and writers like Nizami Ganjavi, Mahsati Ganjavi, Uzeyir Hajibayli, Shota Rustaveli, Alexander Pushkin and many others.

The scope of the library's activities is constantly expanding. In 2005, on the basis of legal copies received from publishing houses and printing companies, the library published the yearbook "Books of Azerbaijan" for 1990, 1991, 2000, and 2001.

Over the past years, the National Library has signed a memorandum on bilateral mutual cooperation with about 80 libraries.

In 2021, the Culture Ministry and Mirza Fatali Akhundov Library launched a joint campaign, "Let's go to Garabagh with a book", to restore libraries in the Garabagh region.

A large number of books were donated to the Garabagh Book Fund by a number of international organisations working in the field of culture, Turkic-speaking countries, famous foreign and local authors, publishers, and print houses.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr

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