The Ukrainian Book Institute is a state institution under the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. It is designed to shape state policy in the book industry, promote book reading in Ukraine, support book publishing, encourage translation activities, and popularize Ukrainian literature abroad.
History
The Ukrainian book Institute was established in 2016. Rostislav Semkiv was the first elected "acting" director of the institution, and in June 2017, the Institute had an "official" director — Tatiana Teren. She managed to lay the foundations of its activities: prepare documentation, organize working conditions. Six months later, Teren left. Prior to the election of the next director, the duties of the head of the Institute were performed by Sergey Yasinsky, then by Ruslan Mironenko. According to the results of the new competition, which took place on July 26, 2018, the winner was Olexandra Koval, director of the NGO "Forum of publishers." She started working as acting director on October 10, 2018. On December 12, Olexandra Koval was officially appointed to the post.
Activities
Functions
funding translations to and from Ukrainian
implementation of state programs related to the popularization and support of reading organization and holding of competitions for the publication of books at public expense that have not yet been published implementation of residency programs for artists initiation of research and surveys on the publishing sector in Ukraine, forecasting its development support for publishers-Ukrainian and foreign, engaged in Ukrainian-language books development and organization of events to support Ukrainian book publishing establishing communication between publishing business entities cooperation with the media
Applications
The promotion of Ukrainian literature abroad — international projects, participation in foreign book fairs, creation of a global network of partners and people interested in Ukrainian literature. The translation support program promoting the emergence of translations of Ukrainian literature by providing grants for foreign publishers. The Ukrainian book program supports and promotes the development of the Ukrainian book market through financing new publications. The digital library program is a project to create a complete digital database of Ukrainian classics, new books and rare publications available to everyone. The reading promotion program in Ukraine is a number of national projects aimed at improving the level and quality of reading of the population. The public library replenishment program-replenishment of public library collections throughout Ukraine with up-to-date publications.
Public Library replenishment program
In 2018, the Ukrainian Institute of books fully implemented the program of replenishment of public libraries, which began on October 5. For its implementation, the state provided ₴120 million, redistributing funds from the Ukrainian Book program. The Institute's team managed to implement it in an extremely short time.
The Ukrainian Book Institute received 2,779 applications from 137 publishers for consideration. The expert council selected from among them 741 books for purchase at state expense. A meeting of the tender committee, negotiation procedures with publishers, a meeting of the Supervisory Board, and publication of concluded contracts in the Prozorro system were held. According to the results of the program, public libraries received 984,449 copies from 91 publishing houses, which cost ₴114,397,900.
International events
Frankfurt Book Fair
Presentation of national stands at book fairs and festivals abroad is one of the main tasks of the Institute. In 2018, an important achievement was the successful participation of Ukraine in the Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest publishing event in the world.
"Senses of Ukraine" was the slogan of the Ukrainian stand of 2018. It carries the double meaning of the English word senses — "sensations" and "meanings." The organizers taught about Ukraine using basic sensations: hearing, sight, touch, and taste. The visual concept of the Ukrainian stand was developed by Andrey Linik, a media artist, art historian, and curator of multimedia projects.
In an area of 140 square meters, you could see full-length images of the most famous Ukrainian writers and listen to what the "Senses of Ukraine" are to them. Also, with the participation of the Mystetskyi Arsenal, an interactive VR Zone "Getting to know Tukoni" was developed, based on Oksana Bula's books "Tukoni - a resident of the forest," "Bison Looks For A Nest," and "Bear Does Not Want to Sleep."