COLLECTION OF BOOKS OF THE CYRILLIC FONT OF THE XVII – EARLY XX CENTURE IN THE IRKUTSK REGIONAL STATE UNIVERSAL SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY NAMED AFTER I. I. MOLCHANOV-SIBIRSKY: THE EXPERIENCE OF STUDYING AND CATALOGIZATION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the thematic collection of books of the Cyrillic font of the XVII – early XX century, stored in the Department of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Irkutsk Regional Library named after I. I. MolchanovSibirsky. The library staff formed this collection by means of identifying books from the general book storage, donations and purchases from private individuals in the period from 1976 to 2018. It presents data about the history of the collection formation, the main sources and stages of books receipt, the characteristic of its current state: number, analysis by year, place and type of publication. Particular attention is paid to books acquired at the end of XIX – early XX century. Circumstances of the pre-revolutionary library stock formation (until 1920 – the Irkutsk City Public Library) and books of the Cyrillic font purchased during this period are considered. Books accepted according to the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of 1918 «On the order of requisition of libraries, book warehouse and books in general» are analyzed. On the example of books belonging to the library of the Irkutsk Ascension Monastery, the role of preserved ownership and dedicatory inscriptions in the study of the history of this library and the history of the individual specimens is considered. Descriptions of the four versions of the monastery library bookplates and some inscriptions with notes about the receipt history of books are provided. Inscriptions on four editions of the XVIII century are examined in detail as examples of books with the unique history. Texts of inscriptions are reproduced in the original orthography (excepting obsolete letters). All books are associated with famous personalities in the history of the region and Russia as a whole. Among them: the Bishop of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk, Saint Sophronius (Kristalevsky; 1703–1771), Hieromonk Herman, etc. The article is an interim result of a two-year study and description of the collection. The result of the work will be the release of a printed catalog.