The Regional Press about the First Public Library in the North Caucasus (second half of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century)

Abstract

The history of opening and the first years of operation of the oldest public library in the North Caucasus - Stavropol Regional Universal Scientific Library named after M.Y. Lermontov - are described on the materials of the regional periodicals of the second half of 19th - early 20th century. Publications in the newspapers “Stavropol Gubernsky Vedomosti” and “North Caucasus” contribute to the reveal of history of librarianship in Stavropol Region from the multidiscipline standpoint and enable to fully re-present the process of interaction between public authorities, libraries and society as a whole. Analysis of library report records and notes on their activities, which were published in the local press, clearly shows not only the dynamics of the formation of collections, expansion of readership, but also the preferences of “the reading public”.