«NON-PROFESSORAL CORPORATION»: NON-ACADEMIC EMPLOYEES OF THE ODESA BIBLIOGRAPHIC SOCIETY (TO THE 110TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST ASSOCIATION OF BIBLIOLOGISTS IN UKRAINE)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to study how individuals who did not work in universities or academies, were teachers of secondary educational institutions, officials, and public figures took part in the activities of the Odesa Bibliographic Society. In the history of OBS, we can distinguish the following stages: 1) 1911–1914 – the stage of stability, prosperity; 2) 1914–1917 – the stage in the conditions of the first World War, which had a significant impact on the subject, personnel, etc.; 3) 1917–1919 – the period of crisis in the conditions of revolutionary events, when OBS increasingly operated not because of, but in spite of circumstances; 4) 1920–1923 – the period of adaptation to new conditions communist reality, where OBS acted as a bearer of previous traditions. In the end, this was led to the liquidation of the society in its original form, but, at the same time, in fact, the transformation into a Ukrainian bibliographic society, which largely continued the traditions of the “old”. During all these stages, non-academic individuals played an important role in the development of OBS. They participated in all aspects of the OBS’s activities, in particular, replenishing the society’s library, reading reports, and so on. Among them, a large and active group consisted of women, which was a unique phenomenon for the culture of Odessa. They were high school teachers, representatives of the city’s elite. A fairly active role in the life of society, in addition to Odesa members, was played by those who were outside of Odessa. Most often, such persons did not take an active part in societies. But MBT managed to break this trend, as evidenced by the examples of Londoner V. S. Isakovich, Petersburgers O. S. Partsevsky, O. Z. Popelnitsky, M. G. Martynov, a citizen of Riga V. E. Cheshikhin. For the trends of the beginning twentieth century, it is significant that exactly the involvement of non-academic members led to the transformation of OBS into one of the most prominent centers of popularization of Ukrainian culture in Odessa, that was most clearly reflected in the reports of L. O. Chizhikov, S. P. Shelukhin, N. M. Lazurskaya, O. O. Smirnitsky, A. P. Milskaya and others. Thus, we have an example of successful activity of a scientific society, primarily due to the expansion of its social base and the involvement of the public. Popularization of science, blurring the line between “heavy” science for science and public science is quite modern, relevant trend that has both pros and cons. Historical experience should contribute to the development of the most successful approaches.