Lyudmila Mikhailovna was born in Minsk in a worker's family. In 1966, immediately after graduating from eleven grades of the capital's secondary school No. 3, the girl entered the library faculty of the Minsk Pedagogical Institute named after A.M. Gorky (now the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after M. Tank).
Having completed her studies at the university and received a diploma of "librarian-bibliographer of the highest qualification", in 1970, in the direction of the Ministry of Culture, she began her career as a librarian of the service department of the State Library of the BSSR named after V.I. Lenin (now the National Library of Belarus). Working in the common reading room, Lyudmila treated each reader kindly and with due attention, always striving for the most accurate and complete fulfillment of their information requests.
In September 1977 Lyudmila Mikhailovna joined the special design bureau "Impulse". She returned to her department in February 1992, and later worked for five years in the Library Science department as the chief librarian.
The 1990s marked the beginning of the introduction of information technology in the work of the country's libraries. In 1989 the first computers began to appear in the State Library of the BSSR named after V.I. Lenin, and in May the department of automation of library processes was allocated in the structure.
Resolution No. 331 of the Council of Ministers of the BSSR "Issues of the State Library of the BSSR named after V.I. Lenin" adopted on December 25, 1990 approved the decision of the Ministry of Culture of the BSSR to create an automated library and information system (AIS) of the republic on the basis of the main library. Since that moment, large–scale work has been launched on complex automation of the main directions of library activity - the formation of information resources and information services for users.
At the beginning of 1998, L.M. Mylnikova moved to the department of automation of library processes and actively engaged in the process of developing and improving the technological support of the library.
In 2003, the library technology development sector was allocated as an independent structural unit under the department, and a year later a department was formed on its basis, where Lyudmila Mikhailovna went through the entire further career path.
According to the recollections of colleagues, it was a difficult, but very interesting time: the construction of a new building of the National Library, the relocation and its development, as well as the introduction of ABIS into commercial operation. L.M. Mylnikova and colleagues actively participated in the development and implementation of a new technology of automated library processes of the subsystem "User Service", engaged in its technological support, coordination of work with the developers of the implemented ABIS.
2005
The Department provided methodological guidance and coordination of the activities of the structural divisions of the library on registration, user service, functioning of the interlibrary subscription and international interlibrary subscription, trained library staff to work with the AIS software, developed methodological instructions on this issue.
Lyudmila Mikhailovna shared her knowledge and accumulated experience with colleagues at professional events of various levels, covered the details of her developments on the pages of the professional press. In her speeches and publications, she touched upon the problems of library services in automated mode, issues of technology for servicing remote users of the National Library, introduced innovative solutions adopted in the AIS, told about the history of the creation and activities of the library's technology service.
Lyudmila Mikhailovna's professional achievements were awarded with certificates of honor from the National Library of Belarus and the administration of the Leninsky district. In 2011, she won the professional skills competition for the title of "Best by Profession".
Colleagues who have worked with Lyudmila Mikhailovna speak with warmth and respect about her as an experienced, highly qualified specialist with a thorough and creative approach to any business, as a friendly and responsive person.
With Yulia Borisovna Tverdokhlebova
Yulia Borisovna Tverdokhlebova recalls her colleague like this:
"I was lucky enough to work with Lyudmila Mikhailovna Mylnikova in the Department of Library and Information Technologies for 9 years. We worked on some kind of rise and even on the curage! We had such a well-coordinated tandem! We were, so to speak, partners. It was very easy to work with Lyudmila Mikhailovna. On the one hand, this is a professional with a capital letter, who will prompt and support, on the other hand, she is always friendly, balanced, sustained. And Lyudmila Mikhailovna is a smile and glowing eyes, love of life and inexhaustible energy, she is a beloved and loving mother and grandmother, she is a kind and "warm" person.
From the entire staff of the National Library to Lyudmila Mikhailovna – the most sincere congratulations and wishes for longevity, vigor and good health. Let there be more bright days, pleasant meetings, loving people and warm hugs. May your loved ones always be there, give support and fill your life with joy and happiness!
The material was prepared by Irina Kuketa, Chief Librarian of the Research Department of Library Science.
Read about the veterans and employees of the National Library of Belarus in the section "Portraits: the history of the library in faces".
