More than half of the books held in libraries across Azerbaijan are still published in the Cyrillic script, according to recent data.
As reported by Operative Information Center-OMM, Deputy Minister of Culture Farid Jafarov disclosed these figures during a public discussion held by the Milli Majlis (National Assembly) Committee on Culture, titled "Current State and Development Prospects of the Library System."
According to the Deputy Minister, out of the total publications in the Azerbaijani language, over 9.2 million—or 57.6%—are in the Cyrillic script, while more than 6.7 million are in the Latin script. "This indicates that publications in the Cyrillic alphabet still dominate library collections," Jafarov stated. He noted that the total library fund in Azerbaijan currently contains approximately 18.8 million items, with over 15.9 million (84.6%) in the Azerbaijani language and 2.9 million in foreign languages.
The transition from Cyrillic to the Latin script has been a long-term cultural policy goal in Azerbaijan since the country's independence, aimed at standardizing the national alphabet and aligning it with modern educational and international standards. This process involves not only the transliteration of historical texts but also the systematic updating of library archives to ensure accessibility for younger generations who are educated exclusively in the Latin script.
The Deputy Minister also addressed significant challenges regarding personnel training within the library system. "Of the 6,461 employees working in this system, only 7.7% possess higher education in librarianship," he said. "10.4% of employees have higher education but in non-specialized fields, 39.3% have secondary specialized education, and 42.6% have general secondary education." Furthermore, analyses indicate that over 90% of libraries do not meet international standards in terms of building infrastructure, organizational structure, and service quality. Additionally, Jafarov highlighted a significant discrepancy between the number of registered readers in statistics and the actual number of active library users.
