Russia’s Bibliographic Congress Wants Libraries to Go Full Digital

AI, multilingual metadata, and cultural preservation collide in Yakutsk.

From September 16 to 19, 2025, the city of Yakutsk will host the 4th International Bibliographic Congress — a global gathering of librarians, researchers, publishers, and IT experts who are rethinking what libraries can and should be in the age of artificial intelligence.

One of the event’s main highlights is an expert session titled “AI in the Information Space: Defining the Possible”, focused on how artificial intelligence can reshape the inner workings of libraries and archives — and, in the process, how it could help future-proof humanity’s cultural memory.

Delegates from Russia and abroad will tackle not just the technical capabilities of AI but the deeper ethical questions: Who curates algorithmic knowledge? Can machine learning preserve the nuance of centuries-old traditions? And how do we balance access, authenticity, and automation?

The full program includes roundtables, workshops, and debates on multilingual cataloging, digital infrastructure, and next-gen bibliographic practices. But the bigger picture is clear: Russia sees its libraries not just as silent stacks of books — but as dynamic nodes in a global knowledge network that needs to evolve or risk fading into irrelevance.