The article examines the conditions, tasks and main trends of the libraries in the Stalingrad region in the post-war period (1945 — early 1950s). Materials of periodicals and local history publications, as well as reporting materials related to the work of libraries in the specified period serve as a sourse base for the study.In the context of the revival of Stalingrad and the Stalingrad region, the priorities for the state and society were those aimed at restoring the socio-economic potential and the cultural sector. The author emphasizes that, in this development vector, an important aspect of the activities of cultural institutions was organization of leisure activities for children and youth.Libraries of the region were among the first cultural organizations that began to open their doors after the battle of Stalingrad and the end of the Great Patriotic War, so they had to carry out extensive political, mass, cultural and educational work for the population, including children and youth.In the wake of the devastation of the entire socio-cultural sphere and infrastructure of the city and the region, the poor resource base of educational and cultural institutions, it was important to create conditions for adaptation to peaceful circumstances, to counteract child homelessness, to unite the creative forces of young people and to increase their cultural and educational level. Urban and rural libraries, reading rooms and libraries at clubs become actively involved in solving socially significant problems through various forms, methods and means of organizing children’s and youth leisure and recreation.For the first time in a long time, libraries began to organize holidays and recitals, open readings of fiction for schoolchildren, and meetings with visiting and local cultural figures for young people. The important place in the leisure of young people was given to self-education and improving the culture of reading, that emphasized the special importance of the library as a centre of knowledge and a model of preservation of cultural norms.The author concludes that libraries have played a major role in the organization of leisure of children and youth, and their activities served as an important auxiliary resource of party cells and public organizations to restore the entire cultural sector of the city and region.
The Role of Libraries in Organizing and Conducting Leisure Activities for Children and Youth in the Stalingrad Region in the Period of 1945 through the early 1950-ies
