Cultural and educational aspects of libraries' activities in the Orenburg region in the 1960-1980-s

Basing upon the data of the Orenburg region the article studies libraries’ cultural and educational activities aimed at popularization of reading among Soviet people. The specific features of increasing of the number of libraries, readership, and book fund are revealed. The author studies the main areas of the librarians’ activities focused on propagation of atheist and aesthetic knowledge to the multinational population of Orenburg. The process of centralization of the library services is described. The paper considers the role of the libraries in the implementation of the party and government guidelines for communist education of the population.