Geographical library. Scientific Library of the Russian Geographical Society

"Library of the Russian Geographical Society".

Russian contribution Geographical Society in Russian literature throughout its existence is very significant. At the origins of the society were the writers V.I. Dal and V.F. Odoevsky, numerous ethnographers and scientists - members of the Society have been exploring the richness of the languages ​​of the peoples of Russia for centuries, and descriptions of travels made under the wing of the Society have entered the golden fund of Russian literature!

Thanks to working together Russian Literary Center and Russian Geographical Society, a wide range of authors can take part in the Lavrentiy Zagoskin literary award - “Following the Guiding Star” and be included in the collection of the same name. Or publish your own book as part of the publishing project “Library of the Russian Geographical Society”.

Fiction, historical and scientific manuscripts on a wide range of topics are accepted for consideration. Fiction: adventure teenage literature, fantasy for all ages, works about life and everyday life in Russia and its nationalities. Preference is given to works written in rich Russian language, telling about cultural and social characteristics countries. Historical literature: journalistic works, essays, translations of historically significant materials and memoirs. Preference is given to works in which the authors touch upon historical and geographical features Russian land and Russian-speaking people abroad. Scientific literature: linguistic studies, geographical studies, philosophical and religious studies. Preference is given to manuscripts that have social significance.

IN chaos modern world preserving means creating.
J. Duhamel

Collection of books and maps of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS) - Library - was founded in the year of the Society’s founding as “one of the most important aids in the work of members of the Geographical Society.” The collection began with gifts - the first book was the extraordinary “The Experience of Describing Olonets province", presented by the author K.F. Bergstresser.

In 1845, the apartment of a member of the Russian Geographical Society, Academician P.N., was used to house the Society and the Library. Fusa, on next year a move took place to the Pushchins' house on the Moika, where the Library occupied a special room. By the 10th anniversary of the Library’s existence, the collection consisted of 5,300 copies.

In 1862, the Society was provided with an apartment in the building of the Ministry of Public Education, in which the Library's collection (21,746 copies) was housed in a large hall and several rooms. Formation of funds in the 19th century. was carried out through the purchase of publications and exchange with scientific and public institutions, the first of which were the Lisbon Academy of Sciences and the Paris Geographical Society. The repertoire was determined by the members of the Russian Geographical Society themselves, and they ensured the work of the Library on a voluntary basis.

The most famous Russian scientist P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, as a master's student at St. Petersburg University, organized the acquisition of publications, put the collection in order and compiled the Library's catalogue. And at the end of the 19th century. For bringing the Library into exemplary order, the Society awarded a small gold medal to Yu.V. Brunneman.

By the Society’s anniversary year of 1895, the Library’s collections numbered 88,000 copies. When the Society moved to its own building in 1909, the Library occupied a spacious, specially equipped room.

During the wars of the 20th century. The library was a kind of “club” of Leningrad geographers, providing readers with publications even at night. By the end of 1945, the library collection amounted to 304,000 items.

Today the collection of the Library of the Russian Geographical Society, numbering copies, includes:

Main fund– contains domestic and foreign publications of the 18th-21st centuries. across the entire spectrum of geographical sciences and related disciplines - from physical geography to medical geography and art geography. The most valuable part - the collection of publications of the Russian Geographical Society - is the publishing products of the Russian Geographical Society since 1845 ( periodicals, scientific works researchers, expedition reports). Many publications in the main collection have autographs of authors and donors.

Reference fund- a meeting of everyone geographical dictionaries Russia 18-19 centuries; regional directories; geographical guides; universal encyclopedic editions from Diderot and D'Alembert, Larousse, Britanica , Brockhaus and Efron before publications Soviet period; language dictionaries; bibliographic publications.

Rare Book Fund 16-18 bb . includes cosmographies (the earliest and most famous of them was published in 1532 by S. Munster); collection "Rossiki"; philosophical works; descriptions and travel stories; the first geography textbooks; calendars; albums of travel and ethnographic illustrations.

Foundation for St. Petersburg Studies contains historical descriptions, plans, scientific and local history studies of St. Petersburg, luxuriously illustrated publications of the 18th-21st centuries.

Book collections of personal origin – are represented both by entire collections (the largest is the memorial library of Yu.M. Shokalsky), and individual copies in the main fund (books from the libraries of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, etc.).

Cartographic fund – a meeting of domestic and foreign cards and atlases of the 17th-21st centuries, including publications with autographs and marginalia of outstanding researchers - Nordenskiöld, Kolchak, Shokalsky. The collection of handwritten copies from the 18th and 19th centuries is unique.

In 1950, the Library of the Russian Geographical Society became part of the centralized library system The Library of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which largely ensures the acquisition of the collection, methodological manual activities of the Library, remuneration of employees.

Currently, the development of the Russian Geographical Society Library is determined by the solution of the following priority tasks:

acquisition of the fund Libraries should ensure the maximum supply of fundamental scientific geographical publications;

implementation of remote access users to the library collection of the Russian Geographical Society by transferring the card catalog system into electronic format and generating a full-text electronic library;

ensuring the safety of funds Libraries through the use of climate control and regulation systems in storage facilities and the technology of phase conservation of funds, as well as the implementation RFID technologies.

staffing activities Libraries shouldmeet the set objectives and development prospects

S.E. Savina

Loskomoeva N.M.

Library of the Russian Geographical Society

The Russian Geographical Society (RGS) was founded in 1845 in St. Petersburg on the initiative of 17 famous scientists and public figures. The main task of the Russian Geographical Society was the development of domestic geography in all its aspects, ethnography and statistics, the collection and dissemination in Russia and abroad of the most complete and reliable information about the country.

The Russian Geographical Society immediately began to create its own library, which was to become “one of the most important aids in the work of members of the Geographical Society.” The Charter of the Russian Geographical Society of 1849 states that the Society's library is open to everyone involved in geography. In the same year the Society received the name Imperial.

The library repeatedly changed its name according to the change in the name of the Society, and since 1992 it returned to its first name - the Library of the Russian Geographical Society.

The initial foundation of the library's collection was made up of gifts; further it was replenished both through purchases of publications in bookstores and through exchange with other institutions. These were: the Society of Natural Scientists, the Rumyantsev Museum, the Royal Lisbon Academy of Sciences, the Paris Geographical Society, the Geographical Institute in Brussels, the Berlin Society of Geosciences, the Royal Geographical Society of London, etc.

For more than 15 years, the Geographical Society did not have its own premises, and the books were stored in private apartments. Finally, in 1862, by order of Alexander II, the Society received excellent premises near the Chernyshev Bridge. The library was given a large hall and several rooms. The Society was located in this house until 1909.

The construction of the Russian Geographical Society's own building in Demidov Lane (now Grivtsova Lane) was completed on December 28. 1908 (project by the famous architect G.V. Baranovsky in the Art Nouveau style characteristic of the beginning of the 20th century). All requirements for library premises and the safety of books were taken into account. By this time, the library’s collection already numbered more than 100 thousand documents. When the Society moved to a new building, the main difficulty was moving the library. It was necessary not to disturb the arrangement of books according to codes on shelves stretching up to two miles. In the summer of 1909, the Society, together with the library, moved to a new building, where it is located to this day.

The library is decorated with gifts from members of the Russian Geographical Society. These are not only unique, rare publications, but also items of great cultural value: a model of the first Chinese boat in a glass case, unique globes; Some of the antique furniture has also been preserved.

In 1935, on the occasion of its 90th anniversary, the library had more than 285 thousand copies. literature on geography and related sciences. The collection contained manuscripts and transparencies (later transferred to the Archives of the Geographical Society).

In 1938, according to the Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Russian Geographical Society was transferred to the jurisdiction of the USSR Academy of Sciences and received the name - Geographical Society of the USSR (GO). The library now has the opportunity to purchase literature through BAN. The acquisition department of the BAN allocated books to her from its doublet fund and purchased 201 copies of foreign publications for foreign currency.

Together with its city, the Geographical Society and its library survived difficult years blockades Already at the end of June 1941, most of the Society’s building was occupied by a hospital. The Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences decided to leave the Geographical Society in Leningrad functioning. The library did not stop working throughout the siege. Readers and organizations related to defense work were given literature and certificates of a military-geographical nature; materials on the meteorological and hydrological regime of Lake Ladoga and the Neva greatly helped in laying the “Road of Life”. We owe the preservation of the greatest values ​​of the library during the years of the siege to the selfless work of its employees.

During the blockade of the city, book exchange was almost interrupted. Only the Royal Geographical Society in London sent its publications on occasion. The library received books only from Leningrad publishing houses. In 1943, after the blockade was broken, the situation changed. The library began to be replenished with new books from various publishers.

The victorious year of 1945, the centenary year of the Geographical Society, was approaching. The Council of Ministers of the USSR instructed the Academy of Sciences to celebrate the anniversary. Appreciating the role of the library in development geographical science and cultural life of the state, the Council of Ministers of the USSR in August 1946 decided to include the Society’s library among the libraries receiving a mandatory free copy of all maps, atlases, books on geography and related sciences published in the USSR. The first legal deposits arrived at the library in December 1945 - 191 documents, and in 1946 - 1638 documents. The publishing house "Geographgiz" regularly sent two copies of each published publication to the library free of charge.

A big event (Jan. 1947) was the donation of the personal library of the President of the Geographical Society, Acad. Yu.M. Shokalsky (1856-1940), who worked there for 58 years. The book collection of a world-famous scientist - about 13 thousand books - contains literature on his profile scientific activity, primarily in oceanography, physical geography, cartography and other sciences close to geography. The materials of congresses, congresses, and literature about figures in geography are presented quite fully. Along with the library, a typewritten systematic catalog of literature consisting of three volumes was handed over.

Since 1950, the library’s acquisition of foreign and domestic literature began to be carried out through the BAN.

In 1953, the BAN included the Civil Defense library in general plan work on the inventory of the collections of the network of Leningrad academic libraries. Work began in the fall of 1953 and ended in December 1956. During the inventory period, the library did not close and served readers. The library workers were assisted by a temporary BAN team. At the same time, an inventory of book and cartographic funds was carried out. All maps and atlases contain topographic cards that reflect the entire cartographic fund; they were used when searching for the necessary materials, since there were no catalogs or cards with basic descriptions.

Since 1965, the GO library has been attached to the BAN as a department under the Geographical Society of the USSR. Thus, the oldest geographical library became part of the centralized network of Leningrad academic libraries. At that time, the Civil Defense Library had about 360 thousand documents, and at least 5 thousand publications were received annually.

In 1973-1974 Major repairs and reconstruction of the building were carried out, after which the Presidium of the Civil Society awarded the Society's library and all its employees with Certificates of Honor from the Geographical Society of the USSR.

Today, the library of the Russian Geographical Society serves a large contingent of readers - researchers, teachers, graduate students, and university students. Literature is issued for work in the reading room (at home - only to members of the Russian Geographical Society). Every year about 1,500 people visit the library, 600 of them are members of the Russian Geographical Society. The library is also used by readers from other cities, former Soviet republics and states of all continents. Service is also provided through the IBA.

The stock of domestic and foreign literature is reflected in the system of catalogues: systematic, alphabetical, topographical, cartographic, catalog of periodicals for readers, control and registration card index of periodicals.

The alphabetical catalog of articles includes works by members of the Geographical Society. Its volume is 60 boxes. The catalog contains sections: history of the central organization of the Society, its branches and departments, “Personalia” (members of the Russian Geographical Society), publications of the Russian Geographical Society (11 boxes).

The main direction of acquisition of the library was and remains geography in all its diversity - physical, economic, socio-economic, historical, political, medical, biogeography, ecology, tourism, nature conservation. Along with scientific literature, popular scientific literature is included geographical literature, geography textbooks. The bulk of literature comes through BAN. A very important source, especially nowadays, are the gifts that the library receives from domestic and foreign individuals and organizations. IN recent years The flow of literature is decreasing for objective reasons. Gifts from members of the Russian Geographical Society help out.

As of 1 Jan. In 1999, the library's collection consisted of 473,650 documents, including 217,407 foreign ones. The library contains rare domestic and foreign publications on history geographical discoveries. The reports of foreigners about Russia in the 16th-17th centuries are of great value. It was this literature that members of the Russian Geographical Society collected for the library at the dawn of its existence. There are 30 books published in the 16th century, about 150 in the 17th century. The publications of the 18th century are also extremely important for studying the history of geographical science. About 3 thousand publications are classified as rare books.

Of great value is the fairly complete collection of publications of the Geographical Society, not only the central one, but also its branches, departments and geographical societies of the former Soviet republics. In past years, the Transbaikal branch of the Russian Geographical Society, the Geographical Society of Estonia, the Arkhangelsk and Orenburg branches of the Russian Geographical Society, the Primorsky Center of the Russian Geographical Society, the Dagestan Regional Geography, the Altai, East Siberian, Kaliningrad departments, the Pskov branch, and the Sverdlovsk branch often sent their publications to the library.

Readers love and value their library; Wherever they live, they send their books as gifts. We are happy to accept author's publications into our collections.

The Library of the Russian Geographical Society is the oldest and largest geographical library in our country, one of the largest geographical libraries in the world. When visiting St. Petersburg, not a single foreign geographer, no matter how in a hurry, will pass by the Geographical Society and its library. Many domestic geographers believe that their successes became possible thanks to the library of the Russian Geographical Society.

The main task of the Russian Geographical Society library is to promote the development of geographical science by constantly improving library and bibliographic services to readers, primarily members of the Geographical Society. For this purpose, exhibitions are organized twice a month for the information of readers and lists of new arrivals are compiled. Thematic exhibitions of literature are periodically held. Since 1961, the journal “Izvestia of the Russian Geographical Society” has annually published “Lists of publications of the Russian Geographical Society” received by the library during the year. Since 1979, six issues of "Calendars" have been published memorable dates"containing bibliographic lists of literature related to a particular event. Oral and written references are systematically carried out.

The reference, bibliographic and information activities of library staff receive a positive response from readers. The library enjoys high prestige among geographers in our country.

Bibliographic indexes and reference books

The next important section of the electronic library is. Currently, the most valuable with name and geographical keys, descriptions of manuscripts are located Scientific archive Russian Geographical Society, indexes, Shokalsky libraries and others.

And it is no coincidence that this section has the highest statistical indicators. The record holder was published by the Fairytale Commission of the Ethnography Department of the Russian Geographical Society in 1929. In the two years since its placement, this source has been in demand almost 2 thousand times.

Educational publications

The decoration of the collection was the textbooks of the outstanding scientist of the 17th century (1622-1650) and (1668-1731).

The uniqueness of these publications is determined not only by their venerable age, but also by the enormous significance that their appearance had on the formation and further development domestic geography and related sciences. Until recently, these publications could only be seen in the collections of several libraries, and only with special permission.