N. V. Gogol Central City Library has participated in the IDEA project since its launch in April 2006.

The library was founded in 1929 and is the oldest public library in Kemerovo region. Today it is a major information, library and culture center of Novokuznetzk and the coordinating and instructional center of the library network in the city and the southern part of the region. The library’s main mission is to provide free access to information, personal development resources and cultural achievements from around the world.

The municipal library network includes N. V. Gogol library and twelve of its branches in different districts of the city. The central library runs eighteen departments on the premises of 80,945 sq. feet and holds more than 1,000,000 volumes of books, periodicals, video and audio materials and CD-ROMs. The rare books archive boasts 1,300 copies of editions from 18 and 19 centuries including facsimile, gift and miniature books. The library collection is constantly supplemented with educational and feature films and new CD-ROMs arriving to the library’s Computer Hall.

The library has the membership of 87,000 local residents and serves 2,300 visitors daily; about 70% of its users are young people, aged 15-29.