High professionalism, wide erudition and active life position of Lilia Demeshko deserved a real respect and can be example for all who have worked with her for many years and for everyone who knows her. A well-known scientist, librarian, she went from teacher to professor and she has authority not only in the national library community, but also far beyond it.
Lilia Demeshko was born on March 30, 1938 in the village of Zamoshsha (Soligorsk district, Minsk region) in a family of teachers. After completing the Uzda Secondary School and having studied a year in the Smilovichy Agricultural Technical School (now Smilovichy State Agrarian College), she entered the Library Faculty of the Minsk State Pedagogical Institute named after M. Gorky (now the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after M. Tank), graduated in 1961. She worked as an inspector for library work in the Minsk Regional Department of Culture, methodologist in the Minsk Regional Library named after A. Pushkin, chief librarian of the Methodology Science department of the State Library of the BSSR named after V. Lenin (now the National Library of Belarus).
In 1972, having received some practical experience during the twelve-year experience of library work, she entered to postgraduate studies at the Minsk State Pedagogical Institute. A.M. Gorky. After graduation, she has worked as a teacher at the Library Faculty (now the Faculty of Information and Document Communications) of the Minsk Institute of Culture (Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts) since 1976. In 1979 she defended successfully her Ph.D. thesis and obtained the academic degree of the Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences and the academic degree of the Associate Professor in 1984. Since 1994 she has worked as a professor in the department of the Library Science (now the department of Library and Information Activities).
Lilia Demeshko’s scientific interests are wide. She is the author of about 400 scientific works in the Belarusian and foreign press, educational and scientific-practical manuals about the library profession, about the social role of the library, books and reading in society and in various ethnic groups, the education of library users, the innovative and traditional technologies in use of information resources of libraries and access to them, an advertising of library products, the library terminology.
For 36 years Lilia Demeshko was teaching at the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts and for 25 years she headed the research work of the department. During this time, she has developed the direction and methodology of the five major comprehensive research studies, in which she took an active part herself.
At the initiative and the direct participation of Lilia Demeshko, the research on the reading state of Polish books in Belarus and Belarusian books in Poland was conducted. As the result the international conferences was organized by the Belarusian University of Culture and Warsaw University.
Another area of her research is terminology in the field of librarianship, library science and bibliology. In co-authorship with Professor V. Leonchikov and R. Samaty, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Additional Education of the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts. For the first time in Belarus, the "Russian-Belarusian Dictionary of Library and Bibliographic Terms" was developed and published.
Liliya Demeshko combines successfully scientific and pedagogical activity with creation. She is a poet. Her poems are lyrical, imbued with love for mother, native land, Belarusian language, friends and colleagues. They are published on the pages of periodicals and collections. In 2012, her collection of poems “Мне жыццё ўяўляецца полем” (The life seems to be field) was issued.
The contribution made by Lilia Demeshko in the development of the library area of the country and the work to preserve the cultural and historical heritage were highly appreciated by the state. She was awarded the medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Lenin” (1970), the Certificate of Honor of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus (1995).
The National Library of Belarus’ staff congratulates Lilia Demeshko on the anniversary and wishes good health, inexhaustible energy and forces, creative inspiration, happiness and prosperity!
