Sources of Financing the Libraries established with the assistance of the Society for Promotion of Rural Free Libraries-Reading Rooms in the Tomsk Province (1901—1919)

Abstract

The article continues a series of author’s publications in the “Bibliotekovedenie” [Library and Information Science] journal, devoted to the fruitful activity of the Society for Promotion of Rural Free Libraries-Reading Rooms in the Tomsk Province. There is illuminated the vital question of the sources of financing, on the solution of which depended opening, acquisition, activity of libraries, the rate of progress of library construction and scale of development of librarianship. The chosen theme is quite relevant, because the wide experience in searching for the sources of financing, accumulated in the pre-revolutionary period, could be useful nowadays.Sources of financing for the rural libraries in the Tomsk province are identified. It was composed by: private capital and the interest on it (firstly, of P.I. Makushin — Chairman of the Society for promotion, specially established by him for the assistance and support of free libraries in Siberia), reached by 1912 the amount of 36 thousand roubles; the donations of F.F. Pavlenkov, well-known publisher, bequeathed the considerable amount to the opening of peoples libraries, 37 of which were founded jointly with the Society for promotion of rural free libraries-reading rooms in the Tomsk province; contributions to the advantage of the Society of assistance of metropolitan publishers and book sellers, estimated at around 10 thousand roubles; private donations, in particular, of the leaders of national education, local intelligentsia, and peasants of the province; the membership dues, making annually from several tens to several hundred roubles; fund allocations of the volost and village assemblies, provincial and district trusteeships on people’s sobriety, the Ministry of national education, etc.The system of financing created by P.I. Makushin has allowed achieving serious success in library construction in the Tomsk province, implemented in the opening in its territory in less than two decades of nearly 600 free rural libraries.