The Lenin Russian Library is the national book depository of the Russian Federation. Among other things, it is a leading research institution, a methodological and advisory center of the country. The Lenin Library is located in Moscow. What is the history of this institution? Who stood at its origins? How many books does the Lenin Moscow Library keep? About this and much more later in the article.
National Book Depository from 1924 to the present day
The Lenin State Library (opening hours of which will be given below) was formed on the basis of the Rumyantsev Museum. Since 1932 the book depository has been included in the list of research centers of republican significance. In the early days of World War II, the most valuable funds were evacuated from the institution. About 700 thousand rare manuscripts kept by the Lenin Library were packed and exported. Nizhny Novgorod has become a place of evacuation of valuable collections. I must say that Gorky also has a fairly large book depository - the main one in the region.
Chronology
In the period from July 1941 to March 1942, the Lenin Library sent more than 500 letters with offers of exchange to various, mainly English-speaking countries. Consent was obtained from a number of states. In 1942, the book depository established book-exchange relationships with 16 countries and with 189 organizations. Of greatest interest were relations with the United States and England.
By May of that year, the leadership of the institution began to "passportization", which ended before the end of hostilities. As a result, file cabinets and catalogs were accounted for and brought into proper form. The first reading room of the book depository was opened in 1942, on May 24. In the next, 43rd year, a department of youth and children's literature was formed. By 1944, the Lenin Library returned valuable funds that had been evacuated at the beginning of the war. In the same year, the Board and the Book of Honor were created.
In February 44th, a restoration and hygiene department was established in the book depository. Under him, a research laboratory was formed. In the same year, questions were resolved on transferring doctoral and candidate dissertations to the book depository. The active formation of the fund was carried out mainly through the acquisition of antique world and domestic literature. In 1945, on May 29, the book depository was awarded the Order of Lenin for its outstanding contribution to the storage and collection of publications and the maintenance of a wide mass of readers. At the same time, a large number of employees of the institution received medals and orders.
The development of the book depository in the post-war years
By 1946, the question arose of forming a consolidated catalog of Russian publications. On April 18 of the same year, the Lenin State Library became the venue for a reading conference. By the next, 1947th year, a regulation was approved that established the rules for compiling a consolidated catalog of Russian publications of large book depositories of the Soviet Union.
To carry out this activity, a methodological council was created on the basis of the book depository. It included representatives of various public libraries (named after Saltykov-Shchedrin, the book depository of the Academy of Sciences and others). As a result of all the events, the preparation of the base for the catalog of Russian publications of the 19th century began. Also in 1947, a belt conveyor and an electric train were launched to deliver requirements to the book storage from reading rooms and a fifty-meter conveyor for transporting publications.
Institutional Transformation
At the end of 1952, the charter of the book depository was approved. In April 1953, in connection with the dissolution of the Committee, which dealt with the affairs of cultural and educational institutions, and the formation of the Ministry of Culture in the RSFSR, the Lenin library was transferred to the newly formed department of state administration. By 1955, in the cartography sector, the production and distribution of a printed card to the atlases and maps received on a mandatory copy began. Along with this, the international subscription was renewed.
From 1957 to 1958, several reading rooms were opened. In accordance with the Order issued by the Ministry of Culture, in 1959, an editorial board was established, the activity of which included the publication of tables of library and bibliographic classification. During the years 1959-60, subsidiary funds belonging to scientific halls were transferred to open access. Thus, by the mid-60s, more than 20 reading rooms with more than 2300 places were functioning in the book depository.
Achievements
In 1973, the Lenin Library received the highest award in Bulgaria - the Order of Dmitrov. At the beginning of 1975, the fiftieth anniversary of the transformation of the Rumyantsev public book depository into a national one took place. In early 1992, the library received the status of Russian. The following year, the 93rd year, the publishing department was one of the founders of MABIS (Moscow Association of Book Storage in the Arts). In 1995, the State Library launched the project "Memory of Russia". By next year, a project to upgrade the institution was approved. In 2001, the updated Charter of the book depository was approved. Along with this, the introduction of new information carriers took place, due to which the technological processes within the library structure changed significantly.
Book Storage Funds
The first collection of the library was the collection of Rumyantsev. It included more than 28 thousand publications, 1000 maps, 700 manuscripts. In one of the first Regulations governing the work of the book depository, it was stated that all literature that was and would be published in the Russian Empire should be included in the institution. So, from 1862, the obligatory copy began to arrive.
Subsequently, donations and gifts became the most important source of fund replenishment. At the beginning of 1917, about 1 million 200 thousand publications were stored in the library. As of January 1, 2013, the volume of the fund is already 44 million 800 thousand copies. This includes serial and periodicals, books, manuscripts, archives of newspapers, art publications (including reproductions), early printed samples, as well as documentation on non-traditional information media. The Lenin Russian Library has a collection of foreign and domestic documents that is universal in typological and specific content in more than 360 languages of the world.
Research activity
The Lenin Library (photo of the book depository is presented in the article) is the leading center of the country in the field of book, library and bibliography. Scientists working in the institution are involved in the design, implementation and development of various projects. Among them are the National Fund of Official Documents, Accounting, Revealing and Protection of Book Monuments of the Russian Federation, Memory of Russia, and others.
In addition, the theoretical and methodological foundations of library work are constantly being developed, and methodological and regulatory documentation in the field of library science is being prepared. The research department is engaged in the creation of databases, indexes, reviews of professional production, scientific support, national, recommendatory nature. Questions are also being developed here on the theory, methodology, history, technology, organization, and bibliography technique. The library regularly conducts an interdisciplinary study of the historical aspects of book culture.
Activities to expand the activities of the book depository
The tasks of the research department of reading and books include analytical support for the functioning of the library as an instrument of information policy of national importance. In addition, the department is developing cultural methods and principles for identifying the most valuable copies of documents and books, introducing recommendations into the practical activities of the institution, developing programs and projects for disclosing library collections. Along with this, work is being done on the study and practical introduction of methods for the restoration and conservation of library documentation, examination of stock vaults, methodological and consulting activities.
Modern Lenin Library
The official website of the institution contains information about the history of the emergence and development of the book depository. Here you can also get acquainted with catalogs, services, events and projects. The institution works from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., on Saturday - from 9 a.m. to seven p.m. The day off is Sunday.
The library today has a training center for additional and postgraduate professional education of specialists. Activities are carried out on the basis of a license of the Federal Agency for Supervision of Science and Education. On the basis of the center there is a postgraduate study, which trains personnel in the specialties of "book science", "bibliography" and "library science". The dissertation council operates in the same areas, and its competence includes the award of doctoral degrees of a doctor and candidate of pedagogical sciences. This department is allowed to take the specialization in educational and historical sciences for defense.
Recording Rules
Reading rooms (of which there are 36 in the book depository today) can be used by all citizens - both the Russian Federation and foreign countries - after they have reached the age of eighteen. Recording is done in an automated mode, which provides for the issuance of a plastic ticket to readers, where there is a personal photo of a citizen. To obtain a library card, it is necessary to present a passport with a residence permit (or registration at the place of stay), for students - a test book or student card, for graduates - a certificate of education.
