At the Irkutsk Regional State Universal Scientific Library named after. I. I. Molchanov-Sibirsky has a big, bright story. The history of the library dates back to March 25 (13), 1861.
The Irkutsk Chronicle compiled by N. S. Romanov states: “On March 13, the Irkutsk Public Library was opened (temporarily located in the Irkutsk Women’s School, at the petty bazaar, in the house of [merchant] Zabelin [V.I. Zabelinsky]); on Mondays, from 6 to 10 o'clock. day, everyone is allowed to read books, newspapers and magazines free of charge. Reading takes place in a common room at a common table. Those wishing to take a book home inform the manager on duty. Persons unknown to the manager must deposit the price of the book. The book must be returned in three days.<…>Loud conversations in the common room during reading are not permitted. You can smoke."
In May 1864, the library came under the jurisdiction of the City Society.
In 1866, the mayor I.P. Katyshevtsev rented and annexed to the city the private library of the Siberian journalist, publicist, historian, public figure V.I. Vagin and the Siberian public figure, publicist M.P. Shestunov. The number of subscribers (regular readers) began to increase from that time on. At the beginning of 1866 there were only 40–50 people, and in 1870 there were 207 people.
Until 1870, the library remained at the disposal of the mayors I. S. Khaminov and I. P. Katyshevtsev, as it was maintained almost exclusively at their expense. Without certain funds, the library experienced hardships, there was not even enough money for lighting, tallow candles were often burning, and it often happened that visitors were forced to come with their own lighting, bringing candles in their pockets.
From the end of 1870, after the introduction of a new city regulation in Irkutsk, the library began to receive a subsidy from the city duma and had the opportunity to improve its position.
On June 24, 1879, in a city fire, the library did not escape the common fate. A small part of the fund given to readers at home has been preserved. The library faced the difficult task of restoring its book collection. To this end, just a few days after the tragic events, the head of the library, M. A. Gaevskaya, wrote 60 letters to the editors of magazines, printing houses, and bookstores, which contained a request to provide assistance to the library, to send any possible printed publications to its address free of charge. Monetary and book donations came from many Siberian cities and European Russia. After the fire, the library resumed its work on July 8, opening in the building of a commercial club on Amurskaya Street (Lenin Street).
From 1884 to October 1887, the library was located on the ground floor of the house of A.F. Pezhemskaya, a merchant widow, on Tikhvinskaya Street (now Sukhbaatar Street). Articles about the inconveniences encountered by library subscribers have repeatedly appeared in Siberian newspapers. The issue of owning a building was discussed at city council meetings.
On October 26, 1887, the library was transferred by order of the local duma to a renovated stone building of the former guardhouse on Tikhvinskaya Square (now Kirov Square). An apartment was also allocated for M.A. Gaevskaya. Here is what the local press reported about this: “In Irkutsk...” (Eastern Review. 1887. Oct. 15, p. 5.)
Irkutsk Regional State Universal Scientific Library named after. (abbreviation IOGUNB) - one of the oldest and largest scientific, universal storage facilities, a methodological and advisory center for all systems and departments, a center for local history bibliography, an information center for culture and art. It originates from.
Irkutsk Regional Scientific Library: encyclopedic reference
The idea of the need to create a public library was first heard among local intellectuals on November 26, 1860 at a literary and conversational evening. Within a few days, a commission consisting of A.A. was elected from among the Irkutsk zealots of education to organize and set up the library. Mordvinova, B.A. Milyutin, K.F. Budogsky, A.D. . Through local newspapers "" and "" members of the commission are appealing to Siberians with a request for assistance in this endeavor.
Monetary and book donations are accepted at all locations. The library managers were the first to contribute. From B. A. Milyutin comes 8 books, a complete set of the newspaper “Amur” for 1860, 6 issues of the magazine “Russian Herald” for 1860; A.A. Mordvinov donates books and magazines (21 titles) to the future library. On March 10, 1861, three days before the official opening, the first printed catalog was published, including 161 book titles in 326 volumes.
On March 13, 1861, the “Irkutsk Public Library” was opened in the building of a women’s school on a small estate in a merchant’s house (in the area of the current Truda Square). At that time, the collection included 356 titles of printed works in 824 copies.
The Amur newspaper publishes a list of library founders. These are citizens who made a cash contribution of at least 10 rubles before April 1. The list contains 108 names, among them: count - the then Eastern Siberia, bishop of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk, Siberian writer and historian, etc. In 1861, the library received 41 titles of periodicals. Prince, Russian revolutionary, geographer and geologist writes in his diary:
« Bravo, Irkutsk! What a public library this is! Very decent in a magazine sense. There are up to 50 magazines and newspapers here. Come to the room and read without paying anything...».
In the early 60s, there were about 250 thousand literate residents in Siberia and the Far East, and the readership was no more than 20 thousand people. In 1863, 28 thousand people lived in the city, of which 9,423 were literate.
In 1866, the fund of the new city library was replenished with 799 books and 78 periodicals from the private library and. By June 1873, the city public library had a document fund of 2,770 titles of Russian and foreign books and magazines in 8,690 copies.
The first librarians were A.M. Oshchepkov, A.T. Karelin, A.Kh. Fitingof and S.S. Popov. Since January 1, 1867, she has been in charge of the library; she will work in this position for 41 years, the first 25 years of which she will be the only librarian.
The number of regular readers increases from 40–50 people in 1865 to 280 subscribers in 1878. Almost the entire collection perishes (3,366 titles in 9,419 copies). The first donations for the restoration of the library are made by Irkutsk residents: , Governor General Count, P.F. Kalashnikov, M.P. Shestunov, K.P. Levitsky, E.Ya. Pisarev, V.I. Vagin, A.A. Yurinsky, M.I. Lukyanov, D. G. Shestakov, D. D. Demidov. In addition to them, books are donated: , S.A. Epishin, A.P. Nesterov, M.E. Razgildeev, P.P. Popov, the Butin brothers and many others.
By January 1, 1880, the library had 790 book titles in 1,957 copies. In 1890 the library had 316 paying readers. In 1891 the library's collection amounted to 13,640 books. By the mid-90s, the number of subscription visitors more than doubled, and the total number of readers reached 5 thousand, which is 9% of the population. On February 1, 1908, he began his duties as head of the Irkutsk City Public Library, and would work in this position until September 17, 1925.
In the period from 1895 to February 1917, the Irkutsk City Public Library was the largest library institution in Eastern Siberia. By February 1917, her book collection consisted of 70 thousand books and 30 thousand magazines. On December 12, 1925, the library moved from the building on the former Tikhvin Square (now), in which it had been located since 1877, to new premises on Basninskaya Street, house number 45 (now Sverdlova Street, mica factory building). In 1926, the library was transferred to a central position, and a methodological association was created with sections of mass work, reading and book studies, cataloging, and children's services. By 1931, the institution's move to the building on the street was completed. Chekhova, 23.
On April 26, 1937, by decision of the East Siberian Regional Executive Committee, the library was reorganized into a regional one. In November 1946, the library began to receive state legal copies of printed works, and alphabetical and systematic readers' catalogs were created. In 1956, the creation of a systematic local history catalog of literature about . In 1959, by order of the Minister of Culture of the RSFSR, the regional library was approved as a zonal library for local history bibliography in Eastern Siberia. In 1961, the regional library celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding. In connection with the anniversary, she is given the name of a famous Irkutsk poet, publicist, and public figure. In 1961, the index “Literature about the Irkutsk Region” and the calendar of significant and memorable dates “Priangara: Years, Events, People” began to be published. The sign “Irkutsk is 300 years old” is being published. In 1966, the library was designated as a zonal center for MBA.
In 1968, the index “Irkutsk Land” was published. In 1971 the collection “Literary Siberia” was published. In 1974, the editorial and publishing department was opened. In 1975, the library was designated the territorial depository of Eastern Siberia. The rare book sector was opened, transformed in 1989 into the rare book department.
The level of publishing activity is increasing. In 1998, the book “Bibliophile of Siberia Nit Stepanovich Romanov” by F. M. Polishchuk was published. In 2000, collections of materials from the above-mentioned conferences and the bio-bibliographic index “” were published. Current indexes “Literature about the Irkutsk region”, a calendar of significant and memorable dates “Priangara: years, events, people”, collections “Library Bulletin of the Baikal region”, etc. continue to be prepared and published. International relations are developing. In 1998, the Regional Center for French Language and Culture was opened at IOGUNB. In 1999, the French Embassy in the Russian Federation took first place among the alternative sources of book acquisition for the center. A unique book collection of 250 copies becomes a significant acquisition. “The best books of the millennium”, donated to the library by the international organization “British Council”. In 1999, the Public Center for Legal Information began operating under the IOGUNB, the social function of which is to create conditions for satisfying the information and legal requests of citizens and organizations on the basis of the formed fund of official legal documents, using modern information technologies.
In October 2000, the cultural department of the US Embassy in the Russian Federation decided to open the “American Corner” - an information center with a document collection on traditional and electronic media, including reference publications on American studies, US history, English, etc.
As of January 1, 1996, the book collections of the IOPB amounted to more than 1.2 million volumes. The library's collections contain literature on all branches of knowledge. The Sibirika fund is of great value; it has extensive collections of unique rare publications on the history of Siberia in the 18th – early 19th centuries. The pride of the library is a facsimile edition of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Treatise on the Flight of Birds” (1893), “Peter the Great’s Military Regulations” (1716), early printed books, “Gospel” 1648, books from the library of A. F. Smirdin, historian, collections of the Kazantsev brothers , researcher, etc. The library stores sets of periodicals of Siberia XIX-XX, among them: “Siberian Archive”, “Siberian Observer”, “”, “”, “”, etc.: about 40 thousand volumes of foreign. publications, in the music fund - 30 thousand volumes and notebooks of works by Russian and foreign composers. Since 1993, the library has been conducting an international book exchange with the Library of Congress (USA) and with the Public Library of the sister city of Eugene (USA). Every year IOGUNB receives about 50 periodical titles. publications in English, German, French, Spanish, about 700 titles of newspapers and magazines in Russian.
