Since this year, the national State Book Chamber has been entrusted with carrying out the annual state program "publication and distribution of socially significant literature", namely, the preliminary selection of books published under the state program. 


The published rules of the program and the tradition of conducting the program in a new format raised questions among the majority of citizens who are in the field of literature, culture and science. In this regard, I would like to dwell in detail on the questions of the poet Maraltai Raiymbekovich kokey, deputy director of the National State Book Chamber, who is going to select books under the state program in a new format for the first time. 

- Why is the responsibility for carrying out the state program assigned to the national state Book Chamber?

- As you remember, the deputies of the Senate and the Mazhilis raised a big issue in the press about the selection of books, the development of children's literature, the formation of literature of a new era .  Also in the Ministry, within the walls of the Book Chamber, a discussion was held with the participation of deputies, writers, public figures, following which the people's deputies addressed a deputy request to the responsible institutions, the Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Considering that modern Kazakh literature, the state of libraries, especially in remote areas, need support, the Ministry supported this initiative. 

On November 2, 2020, amendments and additions were made to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Culture", as a result of which the national state Book Chamber was entrusted with the responsibility for selecting books submitted to the state program "publication and distribution of socially significant literature". 

The National State Book Chamber in order to fully fulfill the assigned tasks and implement the state program within the framework of the openness policy of the head of state. Based on this general interest, it was decided to introduce an initiative for online selection of works submitted to the program" publication and distribution of socially significant literature". 

The National State Book Chamber is an institution working in close cooperation with the publishing industry of the country. Therefore, he is quite capable of selecting and accepting literature that benefits society. 

- You have moved the process of accepting documents to an online format. Will there be any contradictions in this?

- The coronavirus pandemic has forced many workflows to be transferred to an online format .  In the process of work, it became necessary to minimize the contact of people with each other. 

In addition, the decision on the admission and online pre-selection of books to the state program "publication and distribution of socially significant literature" was made on the initiative of people's deputies and after the approval of several state institutions. 

After it was instructed to accept and select books online, the Book Chamber prepared a new website and tried to simplify all the work. 

With the launch of this project, authors and publishers were concerned that the manuscripts uploaded to the site were at hand. 

The full version of the books will be available only to members of the commission. And for the general reader, a summary of the books is offered. That is, the voting reader can only get acquainted with the brief content of any book. At the same time, we say that authors and publishers have no reason to worry. 

All factors were considered when designing the work on the reception and selection of online books. The project has been repeatedly discussed with the participation of responsible state institutions. All issues that may arise during the implementation of the project have been resolved, and the latest version is presented to the public. 

In addition, the work of publishers, who annually move to the capital, relying on papers and disks with an electronic version of the book, has become easier. Since most publishing houses are located in Almaty, it is possible to come to the book chamber on any working day and get advice. 

- You are planning to launch the "voting" mechanism. For example, in social networks, participants with high activity will not roll the road to other participants and get into the ranks of socially significant literature as unnecessary?

-With the publication of information about the work on the reception and preliminary selection of books in the state program" publication and distribution of socially significant literature " online, a number of literary representatives and journalists began to criticize this initiative. 

During the discussion of the project on the reception and selection of books of a new format, the Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aktoty Rakhmetullayevna instructed to pay special attention to the questions that you ask. Therefore, the doubts of the authors and publishers that this is happening are unfounded. Voting is not the main tool in the preliminary selection of books. Books are selected not only by voting. It is necessary that the majority has this question. 

This is a natural phenomenon. The acceptance by society of any new initiative, its traditional use requires adaptation, training of the eye. Therefore, we are ready to answer any question. 

For clarity, let's say: by voting, the list of works coming out under the state program is not determined. After the vote, the books will be submitted for consideration by three commissions. And only after this multi-stage examination will the list of socially significant literature be approved. 

"Then why vote?"another question. Of great importance is the study of the demand for the readership in the country. Readers determine their needs by voting. In addition, many people had the opportunity to find out through the website which books were submitted to the state program. This is the main factor that the members of the commission should take into account. 

In addition to voting, members of the independent expert commission established under the National State Book Chamber also evaluate books through their personal accounts on the website. As a result, a preliminary selection of books submitted to the state program will be carried out. 

- Is there an opportunity to participate in the state program only for publishing houses? Under what conditions can authors participate?

- Since this program has been running, most of the participants are publishers. We see that the publishing houses that are still continuously participating in the state program have already been incorporated into the new format. 

Today, the National State Book Chamber has specialists who inform the participants of the state program and are engaged in their adaptation to the new format. If the author or a representative of the publishing house has problems with uploading a book to the portal, he will always be assisted. 

If the author himself wants to participate, there are no obstacles. Only together with the documents necessary for the delivery of the book, I attached a written consent "I do not object to the conclusion of a contract with an institution determined by the results of public procurement". 

After that, if the work proposed by the author is approved by the decision of the commissions, a competition for its publication is announced. The institution that became the winner in the same competition publishes the author's book. Accordingly, the author must give written consent to this institution.

- In social networks, a group of representatives of literature, journalists expressed criticism of the new format .  In addition, some comments were published in the last issue of our newspaper. What do you say about this?

-It is gratifying to have critical comments, to be indifferent to the changes of representatives of literature and information, to delve into its background. We are aware of everything that you are talking about, seeing, hearing. 

This is legality. I think we answered the questions that he asked in detail in the previous questions. We all have a common goal-high-quality book publishing, meaningful book publishing. The opinion of any person who works on this path deserves respect and should be taken into account. 

All works submitted to the state program pass several filters. Each commission consists of representatives of literature, culture and science, citizens of the country. Obviously, they will not betray the common interests either. 

It should be noted that the National State Book Chamber conducts only a preliminary selection of books submitted to the program "publication and distribution of socially significant literature", the institution does not meet financial issues. When the campaign for the admission of books to the state program is announced, he will call and ask how much money from the state will be allocated for publication, how many royalties the authors will receive. Such questions cannot be satisfied by the Book Chamber. If you have any questions about any financial issue, it is better to contact directly the responsible specialists at the Ministry.  

Today, the National State Book Chamber is working to successfully fulfill the tasks assigned by the law. There are publishing houses that have already uploaded several books to the site. This system starts us, the industry, with discipline, transparency and fairness. 

It should be noted that the acceptance of books offered for the state program will last only until June 1, 2021. it is worth noting that books that are carried out late are not perceived by the automated system. 

To submit a book to the state program" publication and distribution of socially significant literature", follow the following link: http://e.kitap-palatasy.kz/

It is necessary to show solidarity and support a new initiative. Only then will we be able to achieve the intended result!