I was contacted by the RSL and offered to make a report about our main library, of course, I happily agreed.
Within the walls of the Russian State Library there is a unique collection of domestic and foreign documents in 367 languages of the world. There are specialized collections of maps, sheet music, sound recordings, rare books, dissertations, newspapers and other types of publications. The library grants the right to use its reading rooms to all citizens of Russia and other countries who have reached the age of 18. About 200 new readers sign up here every day. Almost 4 thousand people come to the RSL every day, and virtual reading rooms located in 80 cities of Russia and neighboring countries serve more than 8 thousand visitors daily.
Today is the first part of a big story about the Russian State Library. In it you will learn how to borrow a book from the library, look at the vaults and the secret underground passage to the Kremlin.
01. First you need to come to the metro station. "Library them. Lenin. It will never be renamed. Previously, the RSL (Russian State Library) was also called the “Library. Lenin. To get into the library you need to have a library card, it is made in the second entrance. With you in your hand: passport, student (if a student) and 100 rubles for a photo. We fill out the questionnaire, press the button "electronic queue". The ticket comes out. Take it in your hands - it's yours. Numbers are lit on the scoreboard above special small cabinets. Wait for yours and come in. There, a specially trained woman will take your questionnaire and take a picture. You need to immediately decide on the reading room where you will be given books. It is not very clear how to do this without seeing the halls. In 5 minutes the plastic card will be ready. It takes no more than 10 minutes to get a library card.
02. Login. The RSL is guarded by a special police regiment. Turnstiles are one of the latest innovations in the library, which, however, was ambiguously perceived by readers. Access is by barcode on the library card. It is impossible to pass with books, cameras and large bags, they need to be done in a storage room. 
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04. If you already have a list of references - that is, you know exactly what books you need, feel free to step into the hall of the card catalog. 
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06. The funds of Leninka contain more than 43 million items of storage. There are specialized collections of maps, notes, sound recordings, rare books, dissertations, newspapers and other types of publications. 
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08. There are always consultants in the hall who will help you navigate through a huge amount of information. 
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11. After you have found the book you need in the catalog, you need to get a demand sheet from the consultant. 
12. And rewrite all the information about the book into it. 
13. For advanced readers, racks with an electronic catalog of the RSL have been installed. I honestly tried to take something from Pushkin... 
14. I must have been too worried because I got a book about potatoes. By the way, since at present the process of transferring a paper catalog to an electronic form has not yet been completed, it does not have all the books, so many people are looking in the old fashioned way in a file cabinet. 
16. Once every 15 minutes, a pneumatic mail operator comes for the sheets of demand. 
17. The operator is hiding from prying eyes behind this cabinet. 
18. And here is the pneumatic mail point itself. The system was installed in the library back in the 70s. 
19. The sheet is folded, placed in the “cartridge” and sent to the storage tier where the book you ordered is located. For this, ciphers on cards are needed. 
21. By the way, a demand sheet is not always put in the cartridge. It can be used to send cigarettes, a pen or a love note. Before the new year, employees like to send sweets. 
22. This is how the scheme of the receiving-departure station looks like. 
23. Pneumomail channels descend into the cellars of the library. By the way, this is a secret passage to the Kremlin, but they asked not to write about it. 
24. This is a pneumatic mail repairman. Sometimes negligent employees try to pass prohibited items (for example, pens), the cartridge can open and then, in order to find and remove the handle, you have to allow pipes. Often the caps just fly off the cartridges, it is also problematic to get them. 
25. In the early 90s, this miracle machine was installed. They say she can beat Kasparov at chess, but now she simply manages the entire pneumatic mail network in the RSL. 
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27. So, while your request is being processed, which is about 2 hours, you can go have fun. 
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29. For example, you can read periodicals - the RSL has all the magazines that are sold in print kiosks - including for the current month. You can do this in the reading room of periodicals. 
30. Five visitors open the doors of the Library every minute. 
31. According to the “Law on the legal deposit of documents, the Russian State Library is the place of storage of the legal deposit of all printed materials published in Russia. 
32. There is also an excellent canteen in the RSL. Some come here just to drink tea in a warm comfortable environment. Tea costs 13 rubles, but boiling water is free, some "readers" use this. By the way, the smell in the dining room does not allow you to stay there for too long. 
33. While you are drinking tea and absorbing the aromas of home cooking, your request is being processed in the book depository. 
34. The total length of the RSL bookshelves is about 275 kilometers. 
35. The ceilings are very low, once there was a case when a worker received a concussion, she was taken to the hospital. 
36. There is a story in the RSL that the ghost of Nikolai Rubakin lives in storage. At night, when the floors are locked and sealed with wax seals, the night watchmen hear someone walking, footsteps are clearly audible, doors open and close. Perhaps the fact is that in his will Rubakin indicated that he bequeathed his entire personal collection (which is 75,000 books) to the Lenin Library. They did so after his death. Only together with the books they brought an urn with his ashes and for some time it was kept here. Well, what is a personal collection - it's a part of the soul, pencil marks in the margins, folded pages and a lot of thoughts. Rubakin was buried in Moscow, but his ghost continues to roam the floors... perhaps turning pages, rearranging books... 
37. Rubakin - the creator of bibliopsychology - the science of text perception. Author of the book "Psychology of the reader and the book." Developed the ideas of Emile Ennequin, author of Estopsychology. His ideas are widely used in psycholinguistics. 
38. "Note" is received by storage workers, they take your book and send it to the reading room with the help of conveyors. There are two conveyors in the RSL: the vertical one was designed by Sukhanov in the 70s. 
39. Large chain conveyor, put into operation in 1953. 
40. “This is a metro construction, there are the same gears as on escalators in the subway.” Nevertheless, it is high time to replace the mechanism with a much more modern analogue. But, as the general director of the RSL explained, in order to introduce a new technical system, the conveyor must be stopped, and this threatens that the activity of the entire Library will actually be paralyzed. Only with the commissioning of a new building will it become possible to replace the conveyor. 
41. There is also a small version of the chain conveyor. To store 41,315,500 copies, premises with an area equal to 9 football fields are used, and there are 29,830 storage copies for each librarian. 
42. In 1987, the fund of the special storage department consisted of about 27,000 domestic books, 250,000 foreign books, 572,000 issues of foreign magazines, about 8,500 annual sets of foreign newspapers. These books and magazines could not be obtained by an ordinary reader. 
43. Books from the repository are waiting for readers. 
44. You can't take books home. For reading in the RSL there are 37 reading rooms for 2238 seats, of which 437 are computerized. 
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46. Reading room No. 3 is the largest, it is a kind of visiting card of the RSL, you can come into it with your laptop, there are dictionaries on the side shelves, for example, ancient Greek-Russian. 
47. You can make a copy of a book, it costs 6 rubles per page, but you can’t take pictures. No one really explained the reason for the ban on photography, there was something incomprehensible about copyright, then about the fact that books deteriorate. It seems to me that a copier ruins books more than a camera, and if people are allowed to take pictures, for example, illustrations, they will be cut out less and pages will be torn out. 
48. Indicators of one day:
- registration of new users (including new users of EDL virtual reading rooms) - 330 people.
- attendance of reading rooms - 4.2 thousand people.
- number of hits to the websites of the RSL - 8.2 thousand,
- issuance of documents from the funds of the RSL - 35.3 thousand copies.
- receipt of new documents - 1.8 thousand copies. 
49. At the beginning of 2010, 2,140 people worked at the RSL, of which 1,228 were librarians. 
50. Women make up about 83% of the total staff of the RSL. The average age of the Library staff is 48.6 years. The average salary is 13,824 rubles. 
51. Reading room of the electronic library. 
52. Here you can use remote resources and databases to which the RSL is connected - for example, the Cambridge library, and the bases of the Springer publishing house - an electronic library of foreign scientific and business journals, the EAST-VIEW database. The subject of the search is publications on the social sciences and the humanities. There is also access to the RSL Electronic Library and dissertations archive. 
53. Reading room Internet and electronic documents. Here for 32 rubles per hour you can surf the Internet. There was also some kind of disgusting photo exhibition here. Incomprehensible photographs were hung from the ceiling so that they could not be seen from the covered with plastic sheets. 
54. Hall of official documents, here you can read old newspaper files, codes of laws and all kinds of codes. Young people are interested in an extensive collection of UN documents (since 1946) and collections of acts, decisions, decisions of the International Court of Human Rights. GOSTs for "any occasion" are also presented here - there is even one for an "axe-cleaver". Free legal consultations are organized for anyone in the reading room of the OFN. 
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58. An old sports magazine, a lot of illustrations were cut out. If we take, for example, the Ogonyok magazine for 1958, we will see Beria's face painted over with ink. This is the work of the censors of the 1st department.
But in addition to the political there was also "popular censorship" - readers observed morality. And the RSL is one of the few libraries of the times of the "Iron Curtain" where all issues of foreign magazines were received. There, of course, there was nothing of the kind, but diligent citizens lengthened their skirts and even glued the pages together so that no one would see examples of bourgeois life. Another distinctive feature of the readers of those years was that they cut out advertisements from magazines. 
59. Hall of Rare Books - this is where you can touch the most ancient copies from the RSL fund. "To study the materials of the fund (and only a small part of it - 300 books is exhibited in the museum), to flip through the pages of unique book monuments, can only be read by the reader of the RSL, who has good reasons for this. The fund contains over 100 publications - absolute rarities, about 30 books - the only in the world of copies.Here are a few more examples of museum exhibits that you can work with in this reading room: "Don Quixote" by Cervantas (1616-1617), "Candide or Optimism" by Voltaire (1759), "Moabite Notebook" (1969), Tatar poet Musa Dzhalidya, written by him in the fascist prison Maobit, "The Archangel Gospel" (1092). Here are the first copies of the works of Pushkin and Shakespeare, books by the publishers Gutenberg, Fedorov, Badoni, Maurice. From the point of view of the history of Russian books will be interesting - Novikov, Suvorin , Marx, Sytin. Cyrillic books are widely represented." 
60. Some of the books have been microfilmed. And, if the presence of the original source is not of paramount importance for the work (paper, ink, etc. is not important, but the content is valuable), it is the microfilm that will be issued in the reading room. The original is out of the question. 
62. As it turned out, many book readers steal, and quite often. Particularly inventive cut out a valuable book from the cover, and insert another, close in volume, into it. Often pages are simply torn out or illustrations cut out. And although it is easy to identify a thief or a vandal, it is almost impossible to bring him to justice, for this you need at least 2 witnesses who saw how the book was spoiled. 
64. Sometimes cards and documents are forgotten in books. Once in the 80s, a forgotten gold piece was found. 
65. Pink Corridor" - one of the exhibition sites of the RSL. 
66. Remains of old telephone boxes. 
67. Meeting room of the RSL - here the fate of the library is decided - the directorate passes weekly, the course of development is determined, decisions are made. 
68. The RSL is the fourth largest library in the world in terms of collections, the British Library is in first place - 150 million items against our 42. 
69. From the windows of some reading rooms there are stunning views of the Kremlin. 
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72. From the upper floors of the book depository, good views also open up, unfortunately, while I was walking there, the weather turned bad. 
Click on the photo to view in large size.
73. Families work in libraries, for example Serezina Olga Viktorovna, she has been working for 41 years, her mother has worked here for 40 years. 
74. On the left, Natalya, her daughter, has been working here for 7 years) 
75. And this is a policeman, he was extremely indignant that I photographed him, threatened to tear his head off. He urgently needs to be given a referral to the hall of official and regulatory documents so that he can read the laws. Otherwise, he spends all his free time talking on the phone with his wife. 
76. Soon there will be a separate story about how books are scanned, restored and repaired. 
77. 
The library has two main websites - www.rsl.ru - where you can read about all the services and news - who came where, what exhibitions are held. And www.leninka.ru - the history of the RSL from the moment of its establishment is posted here
All photographs in this report belong tophoto agency "28-300" , for questions about the use of images, as well as photo shoots, write to e-mail [email protected]
The Lenin Russian Library is the national book depository of the Russian Federation. Among other things, it is the leading research institution, 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 old is the Lenin Moscow Library? About this and much more later in the article.
National Book Depository from 1924 to the present day
The Lenin State Library (whose opening hours 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 first days of the 2nd World War, the most valuable funds were evacuated from the institution. About 700 thousand rare manuscripts were packed and taken out, which were kept by the Lenin Library. Nizhny Novgorod became a place of evacuation of valuable collections. I must say that in Gorky there is also 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 to various, mainly more than 500 letters with exchange offers. Consent was obtained from a number of states. In 1942, the book depository established book exchange relationships with 16 countries and 189 organizations. Of greatest interest were relations with the United States and England.
By May of the same year, the leadership of the institution began "passportization", which was completed even before the end of hostilities. As a result, file cabinets and catalogs were taken into account and brought into proper form. The first reading room of the book depository was opened in 1942, on May 24th. In the following year, 1943, a department of youth and children's literature was formed. By 1944, the Lenin Library returned valuable funds evacuated at the beginning of the war. In the same year, the Board and the Book of Honor were created.
In February 1944, a restoration and hygiene department was established in the book depository. Under him, a research laboratory was formed. In the same year, the issues of transferring doctoral and candidate's dissertations to the book depository were resolved. The active formation of the fund was carried out mainly through the acquisition of antiquarian world and domestic literature. In 1945, on May 29, the book depository was awarded for an outstanding contribution to the storage and collection of publications and service to a wide range of readers. Along with this, 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 the reader's conference. By the next year, 1947, a regulation was approved that established the regulations for compiling a consolidated catalog of Russian editions of the major 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 activities, the preparation of the base for the catalog of Russian publications of the 19th century began. Also in 1947, an electric train was launched to deliver requirements to the book storage from reading rooms and a fifty-meter conveyor for transporting publications.
Structural transformation of the institution
At the end of 1952, the Charter of the book depository was approved. In April 1953, in connection with the dissolution of the Committee that 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, the cartography sector began issuing and distributing a printed card for incoming atlases and maps by legal deposit. At the same time, the international subscription was also renewed.
Several reading rooms were opened from 1957 to 1958. In accordance with the Order issued by the Ministry of Culture, an editorial board was established in 1959, whose activities included the publication of tables of library and bibliographic classification. During 1959-60, the auxiliary funds related to the scientific halls were transferred to open access. Thus, by the mid-60s, more than 20 reading rooms with more than 2300 seats functioned in the book depository.
Achievements
In 1973, the Lenin Library received Bulgaria's highest award, the Order of Dmitrov. At the beginning of 1975, the celebration of 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 the Russian. In the following year, 1993, the department of art publications was one of the founders of MABIS (Moscow Association of Art Book Depositories). In 1995, the State Library launched the "Memory of Russia" project. By the following year, a project to modernize the institution was approved. In 2001, the updated Charter of the Book Depository was approved. At the same time, new information carriers were introduced, which significantly changed the technological processes within the library structure.
Funds of the book depository
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 regulating the work of the book depository, it was stated that all literature that was and will be published in the Russian Empire should fall into the institution. So, from 1862, the legal deposit began to arrive.
Subsequently, donations and donations became the most important source of funds replenishment. At the beginning of 1917, the library kept about 1 million 200 thousand publications. As of January 1, 2013, the volume of the fund is already 44 million 800 thousand copies. This includes serial and periodicals, books, manuscripts, newspaper archives, art publications (including reproductions), early printed samples, as well as documentation on non-traditional information media. The Russian Library named after Lenin has a collection of foreign and domestic documents in more than 360 languages of the world, universal in terms of typological and specific content.
Research activities
The Lenin Library (a photo of the book depository is presented in the article) is the country's leading center in the field of book, library and bibliography. Scientists working in the institution are engaged in the development, implementation and development of various projects. Among them are the "National Fund of Official Documents", "Accounting, Identification and Protection of Book Monuments of the Russian Federation", "Memory of Russia" and others.
In addition, the development of theoretical, methodological foundations of librarianship, the preparation of methodological and legal documentation in the field of library science is constantly underway. The research department is engaged in the creation of databases, indexes, surveys of a professional production, scientific auxiliary, national, recommendatory nature. Questions on the theory, technology, organization and methodology of bibliography are also being developed here. The library regularly conducts interdisciplinary research into the historical aspects of book culture.
Measures 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 engaged in the development of cultural methods and principles for identifying the most valuable copies of documents and books, the introduction of recommendations into the practical activities of the institution, the development of programs and projects for the disclosure of library funds. At the same time, work is being carried out on the research and practical introduction of methods for the restoration and conservation of library documentation, surveys of storage facilities, methodological and consulting activities.
Modern library named after Lenin
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 catalogues, services, events and projects. The institution is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 8 pm, on Saturday from 9 am to 7 pm. Day off - Sunday.
The library today operates a training center for additional and postgraduate professional education of specialists. The activity is carried out on the basis of the license of the Federal Service for Supervision in the Field of Science and Education. On the basis of the center, there is a postgraduate school that trains personnel in the specialties of "book science", "bibliography" and "library science". The Dissertation Council operates in the same areas, whose competence includes the awarding of the academic degrees of Doctor and Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences. This department is allowed to accept for defense works of specialization in educational and historical sciences.
Recording rules
Reading rooms (of which there are 36 in the book depository today) can be used by all citizens - both of the Russian Federation and foreign countries - upon reaching the age of eighteen. The recording is made in an automated mode, which provides for the issuance of a plastic ticket to readers, where there is a personal photograph of a citizen. To obtain a library card, you must present a passport with a residence permit (or for students - a grade book or student ID, for graduates of a university - a document on education.
Remote and online registration
The library has a remote entry system. In this case, an electronic library card is created. For registration, foreign citizens will need a document proving their identity, translated into Russian. To register an electronic ticket, a person will have to send the entire package of necessary papers by mail. In addition, online registration is available. It is available to registered readers on the site. Online registration is carried out from the Personal Account.
General Guides - Published
Libraries: A Guide (1996), pp. 19–26; Lit. archives (1996), pp. 20–21; GAF Handbook (1991), pp. 8–14; Handbook (1983), pp. 118–138 and 381–386; PKG M&L (1972), pp. 263–274; app. (1976) pp. 87–100.Research Department of Manuscripts (OR)For a more detailed description and bibliography of the literature on the Rare Books Department, see Funds ed. ed. (1991), pp. 10–20.
ReviewsThe first volume of the guide to the documents of the Department of Manuscripts of the RSL is being prepared for publication.
Safronova G. F. Funds and activities of the Department of Manuscripts of the State Library of the USSR. V. I. Lenin: Bibliography. 1836-1962 // Notes of the Department of Manuscripts [GBL]. 1962. T. 25. S. 487-520. (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
Bibliographic review of reference and other literature about the Department of Manuscripts. The content of each issue of the Notes of the Department of Manuscripts from 1938 to 1961 is analyzed. It is provided with an alphabetical index for collections (p. 513-515) and for archival funds (p. 515-519), which indicate the numbers of the funds and provide bibliographic information about publications for each fund separately. The information in this review is partly out of date.
Dovgallo G. I. Reference apparatus of the Department of Manuscripts// Notes of the Department of Manuscripts [GBL]. 1962. T. 25. S. 464-486. (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
Brief index of the archival collections of the Department of Manuscripts/ Comp. E. N. Konshina, N. K. Shvabe. Ed. P. A. Zaionchkovsky, E. N. Konshina. M.: GBL, 1948. 253 p. (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
The index includes information about the funds received by the Department of Manuscripts before 1945. The information is given alphabetically by the founders. Since the index was based on the old system of alphabetic cataloging, there is no data on the numbers of collections that are currently used.
Memories and Diaries of the 18th-20th Centuries: Index of Manuscripts/ Ed. S. V. Zhitomirskaya. M.: Book, 1976. 621 p. (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
The reference book covers memoir sources of the 18th-20th centuries, including the Soviet era. There is a system of auxiliary indicators. See also . A new index of manuscripts that were not included in previous editions is being prepared for publication.
Index of memoirs, diaries and travel notes of the 18th-19th centuries: (From the funds of the Department of Manuscripts)/ Comp. S. V. Zhitomirskaya, and others. Ed. P. A. Zaionchkovsky, E. N. Konshina. M.: GBL, 1951. 224 p. (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
Zhitomirskaya S. V. The Western Middle Ages in the Manuscripts of the State Library of the USSR. V. I. Lenin// Middle Ages. 1957. T. 10. S. 285-305. (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
Slavic-Russian manuscript collectionsManuscript collections of the State Library of the USSR. V. I. Lenin: Index/ Ed. L. V. Tiganova, N. B. Tikhomirov, Yu. D. Rykov et al. M., 1983-. [GBL] (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
Volume 1. Issue. 1: (1862-1917). 1983. 254 p. Issue. 2: (1917-1947). 1986. 381 p. Issue. 3: (1948-1979). 1996. 511 p.Library serialsThe first issue contains brief information about the collections of Slavic-Russian handwritten books received by the Moscow Public and Rumyantsev Museum, and then by the Department of Manuscripts of the Library from 1862 to 1979. The second issue of the first volume includes historical information about the collections of handwritten books deposited in the library in 1917-1947, and the third - the collections received from 1948 to 1979. The references have four sections and contain information on the history of founders and collections, as well as a bibliography of reviews and descriptions, and a general brief description of the collections in their current composition. It is planned to release three more volumes of the index with auxiliary and reference apparatus for the first volume.
Notes of the Department of Manuscripts [GBL] (Records of the OR). 50 vols. M., 1938-1995. Comes out irregularly. [GBL] (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
Each volume contains reviews of individual holdings or collections of manuscripts, articles on the activities of the Manuscripts Department, and publications of documents. An analysis of the content of volumes published before 1962 can be found in.
Proceedings of the Public Library of the USSR. V. I. Lenin. 4 vols. M., 1928-1939. [GBL] (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
Index: Articles about the Department of Manuscripts appearing in this series are described in .Tentative Handlist of the Baron Guenzburg Collection of Manuscripts in the Russian State Library in Moscow. Typescript. (Bib: MH)
Archival materialsFor documents on the history of the Jews in the funds of the RSL, see Doc. ist. Jews (1997), pp. 383-392.
Volkova E. P. Materials on the history of Russian drama and musical theater in the department of manuscripts of the State Library of the USSR named after V. I. Lenin (XVII centuries-1930s) // Theater and Music: Documents and Materials / Ed. I. Petrovskaya et al. M.; L., 1963. S. 72-90. (Bib: IU)
Catalog of Masonic Manuscripts of the Moscow Public and Rumyantsev Museums/ Comp. I. D. Berdnikov. M.: Printing by A. I. Snegireva, 1900. 51 p.
Originally published as an appendix to the Report of the Moscow Public and Rumyantsev Museums for 1899. M., 1990. .Funds of personal originList of 433 scattered manuscripts of the late XVIII-early. 19th century from the collection of the Rumyantsev Museum on the history of Russian Masons. There are name and subject indexes.
This subsection provides information only on stand-alone publications prior to 1976 and available on microfiche through IDC. Part of the reviews and catalogs published in the form of articles was included in the book. PKG M&L (1972), pp. 270-274 and many other bibliographic references, including the collections of the Notes of the GBL OR. The recently declassified funds of the personal origin of the figures of the Russian emigration are described in Rus. Abroad (1998), pp. 332-339.
Manuscripts and correspondence of V. G. Belinsky: Catalog/ Comp. R. P. Matorina. Ed. N. L. Brodsky. M.: GBL, 1948. 42 p. (Beeb: DLC; MH)
Manuscripts of A.P. Chekhov: Description/ Comp. E. E. Leitnekker. M.: State. socio-economic publishing house, 1938. 124 p. (Beeb: DLC; MH)
Archive of A.P. Chekhov: Annotated description of letters to A.P. Chekhov/ Comp. E. E. Leitnekker. Ed. N. L. Meshcheryakova. 2 vols. M.; L., 1939-1941. (Beeb: DLC; MH)
T. 1: M.: State. socio-economic publishing house, 1939. 115 p.
T. 2: L.: Ogiz, Gospolitizdat, 1941. 95 p.Manuscripts of N. V. Gogol: Catalog/ Comp. A. A. Romodanovskaya, G. P. Georgievsky. M.: Sotsekgiz, 1940. 127 p. (Beeb: DLC; MH)
Description of the manuscripts of A. I. Herzen/ Comp. A. V. Askaryants, Z. V. Kemenova. Ed. B. P. Kozmin. 2nd ed. M.: GBL, 1950. 159 p. (Beeb: DLC)
On the fate of the manuscripts of the famous Russian publicist and philosopher Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (1812-1870), which ended up abroad, see also the article by S. V. Zhitomirskaya “The Fate of the Herzen and Ogarev Archive” (Literary Heritage, 1985, Vol. 96). A part of Herzen's archive received by the RSL after the Second World War from Prague (RZIA) and Sofia is described in the article by Putintsev V. A. and Lanskoy L. R. "Manuscripts of Herzen's works in the Prague and Sofia collections: Description" (Literary legacy, 1956, vol. 63).
Description of manuscripts by VG Korolenko. Moscow: GBL, 1950-1961. [GBL] (Bib: DLC; MH)
[T. 1]: Artistic works, literary critical articles, historical and ethnographic works, notebooks, materials for works / Comp. R. P. Matorina. M., 1950. 223 p.
T. 2: Description of the letters of V. G. Korolenko / Comp. V. M. Fedorova. Ed. S. V. Zhitomirskaya. M., 1961. 659 p. .Manuscripts by N. A. Nekrasov: Catalog/ Comp. R. P. Matorina. M.: Socio-economic publishing house, 1939. 79 p. (Beeb: DLC; MH)
Description of the manuscripts of N. P. Ogarev/ Comp. A. V. Askaryants. Ed. Ya. Z. Chernyak. M.: GBL, 1952. 206 p. (Beeb: DLC; MH)
On the fate of the manuscripts of Nikolai Platonovich Ogarev (1813-1877), which ended up abroad, see also the article by S. V. Zhitomirskaya “The Fate of the Herzen and Ogarev Archive” (Literary Heritage, 1985, Vol. 96).
Manuscripts of A. N. Ostrovsky: Catalog/ Comp. N. P. Kashin. M.: State. socio-economic publishing house, 1939. 51 p. (Beeb: DLC; MH)
Collections of D. V. Razumovsky and V. F. Odoevsky. Archive of A. V. Razumovsky: Descriptions/ Ed. I. M. Kudryavtsev. M.: GBL, 1960. 261 p. (Beeb: DLC; MH)
Handwritten materials collected by several famous musicologists of the 19th century are described. and received by the Rumyantsev Museum (now f. 380).
Matorina R. P. Description of autographs by I. S. Turgenev// I. S. Turgenev: Collection / Ed. N. L. Brodsky. M., 1940. S. 171-219. (Bib: MH)
Research Department of Rare Books (Book Museum)Autographs of poets of the Silver Age: Dedicatory inscriptions on books/ Comp. T. V. Avetisova, E. A. Barysheva, I. V. Gabova, and others. Ed. E. I. Yatsunok, Z. A. Pokrovskaya, L. A. Morsina. Moscow: Book, 1995. 496 p. [RSL] (Bib: IU; MH)
Department of Fine Arts (IZO)397 autographs of twenty poets of the Silver Age have been reproduced.
Onopko-Baburina N. I. Russian and Soviet art bookselling poster: (According to the materials of the collection of the State Library of the USSR named after V. I. Lenin) // Book: Research and Materials. M., 1960. S. 49-92. (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
Engravings from the collection of A. S. Petrovsky: Catalog/ Comp. E. I. Kuzishchina. Ed. A. A. Sidorov. M., 1980. 116 p. [GBL; Dep. rare books]
Scientific description of the collection of old and new engravings by A. S. Petrovsky, received by the Rare Book Department in 1968 (2,271 sheets). The main part of the collection consists of foreign engravings of various national schools from the 15th to the 20th centuries.
Onopko N. I. Soviet film poster of the twenties// Notes of the Department of Manuscripts [GBL]. 1958. V. 2. S. 252-280. (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
Special trophy collectionDolgodrova T., Borodin O. Collection of the German Museum of Books and Fonts in the Collection of the Russian State Library // Our Heritage. 1994. No. 32. S. 97-106. (Bib: DLC; IU; MH)
The first publication about the collection c. 600 manuscripts, incunabula, early printed books from the Leipzig Museum of Books and Printing, which was brought to Moscow from Germany in 1945-1947. Of particular interest is the illuminated Gutenberg Bible from 1452-1456. on parchment. The library is currently compiling a complete catalog of the Leipzig collection and other material from Germany.
July 1, 2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Russian State Library.
The Moscow Public Library (now the Russian State Library, or RSL) was founded on July 1 (June 19, old style), 1862.
The fund of the Russian State Library originates from the collection of Count Nikolai Rumyantsev (1754-1826), which included more than 28 thousand books, 710 manuscripts, more than 1000 maps. The collection belonged to the private museum of the count, created by him in St. Petersburg. After the death of Rumyantsev, his brother turned to Emperor Nicholas I with a request to accept as a gift and transfer to the government the museum and library with manuscript and book collections. By decree of the emperor, the museum became known as the Rumyantsev Museum.
The St. Petersburg period in the history of the Rumyantsev Museum and its library ended in 1861, when, on the initiative of Muscovites who wanted to organize a public library in the city, it was decided to transfer the collection to Moscow. The library was housed in a building built by the Russian architect Vasily Bazhenov next to the Kremlin at the end of the 18th century and known as the Pashkov House.
This building belongs to the library to this day. Department of Manuscripts, where 600 thousand written and graphic monuments are stored, the oldest of which date back to the 7th century. There is also a department of musical publications and sound recordings and a cartographic department.
The official founding date of the Russian State Library is July 1, 1862, when the state and budget of the library were approved by decree of Emperor Alexander II, and the receipt by the library of one obligatory copy of all printed materials published in Russia was legalized. In addition to obligatory receipts, the library fund was replenished by gifts and donations. Thus, the collection of books of the Minister of Public Education Avraam Norov donated to the library consisted of 16,000 books. This collection includes editions of Greek and Roman writers, works by Machiavelli, a one-of-a-kind collection of Giordano Bruno's lifetime editions with an autograph on one of the books, Russian scientific monographs of the first half of the 19th century - the collection is still one of the most valuable in the fund libraries.
Hundreds of collections, individual books, manuscripts came to the library from donors, among whom were the merchant and publisher Kozma Soldatenkov, scientist Fyodor Chizhov, bibliophile and musicologist Vladimir Odoevsky, Alexander Pushkin's son Alexander, Leo Tolstoy's daughter Sophia and many others.
For almost a century, from the late 20s of the 19th century to the early 20s of the 20th century (in the St. Petersburg and Moscow periods), the library functioned as part of a complex that kept the name of the Rumyantsev Museum unchanged in its official names.
The library of the Moscow Public and Rumyantsev Museums has become a true center of culture. Artistic works and scientific works were created in its reading rooms. The readers of the library were Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anton Chekhov, Vladimir Korolenko.
On January 29, 1992, by decree of the President of Russia, the State Library of the USSR named after V.I. Lenin was transformed into the Russian State Library (RSL).
In the second half of the 1990s, automated bibliographic search systems began to be used in the work of the library and electronic catalogs were created.
The Russian State Library is a member of the UNESCO "Memory of the World" program, designed to protect the world's documentary heritage and, to the extent possible, provide wide access to it. In 1997, on the proposal of the RSL, several library collections and individual books recognized as world documentary heritage were included in the international register "Memory of the World": the Arkhangelsk Gospel of 1092, the Gospel of Khitrovo, Slavic editions of the Cyrillic font of the 15th century, a collection of maps of the Russian Empire of the 18th century, Russian posters of the late XIX - early XX centuries.
In 2000, the main book depository of the library was closed for reconstruction, which was connected, among other things, with the need for its technical re-equipment. In 2003, the reconstruction was completed, but this did not solve the problem of lack of space to accommodate the library fund. The possibilities of its storage facilities were already exhausted by the beginning of the 80s of the twentieth century. Since then, the library has been annually replenished with 300 - 500 thousand publications.
In 2007, the construction of a new building of the RSL was included in the list of buildings and facilities for federal needs for 2008-2010 by order of the Government of the Russian Federation.
The new building of the Russian State Library behind the main building, on Vozdvizhenka Street. Construction is expected to start this year, 2012.
Within the walls of the Russian State Library there is a unique collection of domestic and foreign documents in 367 languages of the world. The volume of the fund exceeds 43 million items. There are specialized collections of maps, notes, sound recordings, rare books, dissertations, newspapers and other types of publications.
The building of the country's largest library, directly opposite the entrance to the Kremlin, was built as a result of a large architectural competition. It was the heyday of avant-garde architecture, but far from the most daring project was preferred. A long construction period led to a change in the originally conceived strict appearance in a more decorative manner. Academician Shchuko from St. Petersburg, of pre-revolutionary academic training, together with the architect of the younger generation Gelfreich, developed a complex complex of six buildings, forming a system of courtyards, colonnades and forming a kind of new Roman forum for the proletarian capital. The building was designed at the corner of two projected avenues - Ilyich Alley - the planned route from the Palace of Soviets to the Three Stations and the then nameless Kalinin Avenue. But academic training did not allow the architects to create a new dominant near the Kremlin, and the tallest building, a nineteen-story book depository, was moved as far as possible from the crossroads. The library complex organically incorporates the principles and techniques of architecture from different eras - these are the Roman forums, the asymmetric plans of the constructivists, and the discreet stylized decor (mostly also borrowed from Ancient Rome). The cult of learning and knowledge was almost universal and was eclipsed only by the cult of workers and Red Army soldiers, the building was decorated with a two-row sculptural frieze, reminiscent of the second famous work of architects - the theater in Rostov-on-Don, individual statues on the balustrade overlooking Mokhovaya, as well as medallions with portraits of great scientists and writers, starting with Archimedes. A large group worked on the creation of sculptural decoration, including such sculptors as S.A. Evseev, M.G. Manizer, E.A. Yanson-Manizer, N.V. Krandievskaya, V.V. Lishev,.
The construction of the complex of buildings of the Russian State Library (until 1992 - the State Library named after V.I. Lenin) began in 1929 and was completed in the late 1950s. The first phase of the construction of the metro affected the stylobate of the building, the vestibule of the Lenin Library and Aleksandrovsky Sad stations was built into it. The ground pavilion, installed in 1935 at the corner of Mokhovaya and Vozdvizhenka, was later demolished.
Reading room No. 3 (Humanities) for 464 seats was opened in 1958. The architects of the workshop V.G. Gelfreich embodied the idea of a monumental representativeness of the “temple of science”, having solved a two-height space (area - 1208 sq. m; ceiling height - more than 10 m) in the style of the main hall-palazzo. During the 35 years of operation of the hall, which have passed since the restoration in 1978, the integrity of the historical architectural and decorative elements of the interior has been violated.
During the large-scale scientific restoration of 2012–2018. in reading room No. 3, a gallery made of veneer and solid oak, stairs, doors, portals, furniture, decoration elements were restored; artistic parquet; three-tiered brass chandeliers; picturesque panel "Friendship of peoples"; 16 plaster busts of famous public and cultural figures; bronze sculpture of V.I. Lenin.
In 2018, Reading Room No. 3 became a laureate of the Moscow Government competition "Moscow Restoration" in the nomination "high quality of repair and restoration work".
