Library of the Academy of Sciences: where is it located? Description, directions

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Library of the Academy of Sciences is the largest institution in Russia that collects printed works. It was founded in 1714 by decree of Peter I. The main goal of this library was to provide access to books for all residents of the state striving for European education. Today, about twenty million books are stored within the walls of the institution.

Foundation

The Library of the Academy of Sciences is located in St. Petersburg, on Vasilyevsky Island. Her address: Birzhevaya line, building 1 (the nearest metro station is "Sportivnaya"). But the history of this institution is long. The library changed its location several times. The building she occupies today was built at the start of World War I.

In the year of its foundation, the fund had no more than two thousand books. The library itself was originally located in the Summer Palace. But four years later, the organizers moved it to the Kikin chambers. In this baroque building,the library received its first visitors. The institution was moved to Vasilyevsky Island in the forties of the eighteenth century. But then it was located in the old building. The new building, which today houses the most extensive book stock in the country, began to be built at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The first director of the library was Robert Karlovich Areskin, who hired Johann Schumacher as a librarian. He was obliged to monitor the systematic replenishment of the fund. Subsequently, Schumacher became director. The Library of the Academy of Sciences is the official name of the institution. But when it appeared is not known for certain.

First Visitors

The priority right to use the books of the fund was assigned to academicians. But other educated people also visited the library. This mode of operation operated until the early seventies. The first readers were the most advanced people of the state, namely the emperor's associates: Feofan Prokopovich, Athanasius Kondoidi, Y. V. Bruce, A. I. Osterman.

The fund of printed books under Peter I numbered about sixteen thousand publications. At the same time, literature in Greek and Old Slavonic was not taken into account. The library staff kept such books in a separate room. Under Elizabeth Petrovna, access to these works was also opened.

The news about the opening of the Russian library has spread throughout Europe. One of the first to mention it in his writings was the great educator Denis Diderot.

First fire

The world famous library burned down three times. The first fire took place in 1747. Due to the agelittle is known about this event. The library in those years was located in the building of the Kunstkamera. The fire is known to have destroyed the Gottorp Globe and the tower of the building. There weren't many books in those days. And therefore, the damage was, compared with subsequent fires, small.

Library in the 19th century

In the nineteenth century, a charter was formulated, according to which the Library of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg was a research institution. From now on, she did not perform educational and educational functions. The charter also clearly articulated the structure. Each of the funds had to be replenished regularly. In order to provide the library with new editions, each printing house was obliged to send books regularly. Each edition has one copy. If this condition was not met, the printing house employees paid a fine.

New buildings

In the middle of the nineteenth century, separate academic libraries began to form within the institution. Among them were book collections at museums. The organizers and leaders were the leading scientists of that time: L. L. Fleury, E. K. Berg, I. F. Brandt.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the archive of the Library of the Academy of Sciences began to lack space. There was nowhere to place new book funds. And soon a new building was built.

Library at the beginning of the 20th century

The beginning of the last century was marked by a significant increase in staff. Also, the amount allocated from the treasury for the purchase of new books has become more significant. Howeverrepairs were not carried out. The heating system was extremely dilapidated. And in 1901 there was a fire that destroyed more than a thousand valuable volumes. This sad event, however, accelerated the process of building a new building, the project of which belongs to the architect R. R. Marfeld. It is this building that is known throughout the world today and stores a myriad of valuable scientific books.

Building on Birzhevaya Street

The library of the Russian Academy of Sciences was to be placed in a new building in 1914. But historical events somewhat slowed down the fund's move to new premises. The war has begun. The building was used by order of the War Department as an evacuation hospital.

However, the Library of the Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg) enjoyed wide popularity and high scientific authority. And therefore, despite the general chaos and devastation in the country, it nevertheless received a new building and again became a reliable repository of book funds and archives.

Historical events certainly influenced the development of the library. The collections regularly received literature of a revolutionary nature. But most importantly, in the early twenties, the library received a lot of manuscripts, private collections and various ancient literature from monasteries, churches and other liquidated institutions. In 1924, the total fund amounted to more than three million volumes.

Library in the 1930s

In the early thirties, the Scientific Library of the Academy of Sciences wasreorganized. The fund was replenished at the expense of branches located in other cities of the European part of the country. The institution also has a department designed for the restoration and conservation of old documents. In the mid-thirties, the Library of the Academy of Sciences consisted of the following units:

• acquisition department;
• processing department;
• organization department;
• service department;
• scientific and bibliographic department;
• Moscow branch.

Library during the blockade

The library of the Academy of Sciences, whose books are scientific and cultural heritage, was prepared for evacuation already in July of the forty-first year. But the front was approaching Leningrad too quickly. Sending to the rear failed. In August, most of the books were moved to the basement, covered with sand and earth.

As a result of the bombing, which lasted two years, the library premises were significantly damaged. During the siege of Leningrad, about one hundred and fifty employees remained in the institution. Most of them died. Reading rooms continued to function in wartime. But for obvious reasons, the townspeople visited them infrequently. The activities of the institution were fully resumed a year before the Great Victory, when regular readers and library staff were finally able to return from the evacuation.

1988 fire

The worst tragedy in the history of the library happened in February 1988. The fire destroyed hundreds of thousandsbooks and periodicals. In addition, many publications were also damaged as a result of fire extinguishing. Various methods and methods were used to dry books. They were dried with warm air, high-frequency currents, and in vacuum chambers.

Scientists of the city came to the rescue. It was necessary to develop emergency methods to combat mold. It was possible to avoid infection of funds with fungal formations. However, not only the inhabitants of the country, but also the world community joined the rescue work. The library and the Academy of Sciences supported the library with finances, materials and equipment.

Circumstances of the fire

The fire, which endangered the most valuable cultural monuments, first of all engulfed the newspaper fund. It happened on the evening of the fourteenth of February. By morning, firefighters were able to contain the fire. But soon a new one appeared, already at the other end of the building. And this time the fire was much more powerful. An hour later, when it became obvious that the fire would drag on for a long time, all the entrances to Birzhevaya Street were blocked. The upper floors of the building were on fire. The fire was visible even from the most remote areas of the city. The fire could not be extinguished for more than ten hours.

A criminal case was opened on the fact of fire. The main version boiled down to the fact that one of the employees - Konstantin Butyrkin - allegedly did not extinguish his cigarette butt, throwing it into the trash. The suspect denied any guilt. The prosecution had no evidence.

New versions came later. A few months later, a scandal erupted in the press. Library staff were accused not only of negligence, but also oftheft of books, and even deliberate arson. None of the versions has been proven. However, in favor of the assumption of deliberate arson is the fact that the fire broke out almost simultaneously in different parts of the building. The case was closed due to lack of evidence. But even today, the mystery of the fire excites many. Evidence of this is a number of television programs and documentaries on this issue.

History of the building

The house at Birzhevaya street, building 1, as mentioned above, was built three years before the revolution. The military hospital was located in the building, which was originally intended for the library, for more than ten years. After moving to the new premises, the book fund was divided into the following departments:

• Asian Museum.
• Institute of Slavic Studies.
• Institute for Book, Document and Writing.

Starting from 1960, for twenty years additional buildings have been built.

Today, the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation has over nineteen million copies. Among them are both domestic and foreign publications. The fund is regularly replenished. The damage caused by the 1988 fire has been partly repaired with the help of other libraries in the country. In 2007, funds were allocated from the state budget for the reconstruction of the building.

Director of BAN

Famous leaders of the library were I. D. Schumacher, I. I. Yakovkin, G. A. Chebotarev. On thethe current director of the Library of the Academy of Sciences is Leonov Valery Pavlovich. This man has headed the BAN since 1988.

Leonov proposed a new concept of library science. The director of the BAN combines scientific activity not only with the management of the institution, but also with the training of scientific personnel. Since 2002, Leonov has been an Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation. His administrative and scientific activities have received a worthy assessment not only in Russia, but also abroad.