Russian Library Research Articles

Collecting before and after the October Revolution: the Archive of Nadezhda Dobychina

Abstract Dobychina’s name and her Art Bureau are mentioned in the bibliography dedicated to the history of modernism thanks to the “Last Futurist Exhibition. 0,10” which was held there in December, 1915–January, 1916. However, it should be noted though that Dobychina hardly belonged to the radical avant-gardists. Her interests as a collector and a curator in the pre-revolutionary years included artists of the World of Art and the Blue Rose groups, but she also had in her possession some artworks by Natal’ia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, David Burliuk, Natan Al’tman, Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky. The documents from the Dobychina’s archive, kept at the State Russian library, prove that she played an important role in the art field and acted as an art dealer both before and after the October revolution. In the early 1920s, she was in charge of the exhibition departments of the several institutions in Petrograd (Leningrad), from 1932 to 1934 she worked as a senior researcher at the State Russian Museum; after that she moved to Moscow, where she headed the Art Department of the Revolution Museum. Throughout these turbulent years she tried to keep her art collection. The three collection inventories, compiled in 1919, 1924 and 1930, show that some artworks constituted the collection’s integral part and not intended for selling. The most striking paintings and graphics by Mikhail Vrubel’, Valentin Serov, Viktor Borisov-Musatov, Dmitriĭ Stelletsky, Alexandre Benois, Martiros Sar’ian, apparently, belonged to Dobychina for decades and were sold mostly after her death to the famous Soviet collectors – Solomon Shuster, Aram Abramian, Aleksandr Miasnikov, and Valeriĭ Dudakov.

Popular science books in Russian libraries: Status, problems and prospects

The authors discuss the findings of the study “Popular science books in Russian libraries”. The purpose of the study was to get data on the existence, quantity and relevancy of these publications in the libraries. The authors cite the results of the survey and provide their conclusions on the libraries’ managing their popular science collections and related user services. The digital survey was based on Yandex Forms service and comprised quantitative data acquisition and analysis. The authors conclude that with the government’s focusing on science popularization among the population, the libraries act proactively, promote popular science literature and hold various events. However, further system organizational and methodological support is needed to build the unified system of straight interdepartmental control of popular science literature publishing and relevancy, and to improve libraries performance in this area. The authors specify several problems, in particular, lacking the common approach to publishing and using of popular science literature. The solutions lie in new approaches toward typological classification of this targeted publications and target user audience.

Research Libraries in Russia: The Past Revisited – Leading to the Future

Abstract The article describes the development of research libraries in the USSR and Russia after Perestroika up till the present and the prospects for the future, including an overview of library automation, changes in collection development and the creation of the post-Soviet book market. The transformation of library mission, the active stand of Russian librarians during the transition time in the 1980s and 1990s, Government and private foundation support for library developments, and the role of international co-operation are also covered.

The Best Professional Publications: Results of the 12th All-Russian Contest of the Russian Library Association

The Best Professional Publications: Results of the 12th All-Russian Contest of the Russian Library Association

The reception of Dimitrie Cantemir’s work in post-war Bessarabia (the 1950S-1970S)

The research of Dimitrie Cantemir’s work in post-war Bessarabia began in the 1950s. Editions of Cantemirian writings appear in Chisinau (Hieroglyphic History, 1957, Description of Moldova, 1957). The first monographic study belongs to Vasiliy Ermuratski Public and political views of Dmitrie Cantemir. Chisinau, 1956, 103 p., in which the author is among the first to introduce the original Cantemirian manuscripts, preserved in museums and libraries in Russia, into the scientific circuit. The monograph Dmitre Cantemir - thinker and state figure belongs to the same author. Chisinau, 1973, 154 p., edited for the 300th anniversary of Dimitrie Cantemir›s birth. Towards this anniversary was also published in Chisinau the monograph of Vasile Coroban Dimitrie Cantemir - humanist writer. Chisinau, 1973, 284 p. and the work of Tatiana Ursu The language of Dimitrie Cantemir’s Chronicle. Chisinau, 1973, 255 p. The activity of research and editing in the Moldavian SSR of Cantemirian work deserves to be appreciated and promoted

Ecological Diversity of Micromycetes in Aerial Environments of Russian Libraries

The structure of micromycete communities in the library aerial environment was investigated in 57 Russian cities located in seven federal districts (Northwestern, Central, Southern, Volga, Ural, Siberian, and Far Eastern). A total of 107 micromycete species belonging to 41 genera were isolated and identified. Due to mostly similar conditions, the aerial ecosystem of internal spaces of the library storage facilities was relatively stable, with moderate diversity and high evenness, as was confirmed by the relevant indices: the Shannon index varied from 2.7 to 3.4, the McIntosh diversity index, from 22.7 to 140.8, and the Menhinick index, from 2.1 to 3.0. The Simpson’s dominance index and the Berger–Parker index did not exceed 0.11 and 0.24, respectively. The McIntosh and Pielou’s evenness indices were 0.71–0.78 and 0.79–0.85, respectively. High similarity of the taxonomic structures, independent of climatic conditions of the studied regions, was revealed, as was confirmed by the values of the Stugren–Radulescu and Morisita–Horn coefficients: 0.08‒0.77 and 0.04‒0.47, respectively. The typical members of the studied mycobiota were Aspergillus versicolor (7.5‒14.3), Cladosporium cladosporioides (17.5‒40.5), C. herbarum (0.8‒53.6), and Penicillium aurantiogriseum (6.5‒32.4). Most other species were scarce, with frequencies of occurrence not exceeding 7.1%.

Personal Libraries in Russia: Research Results

The study of personal libraries is important for understanding socio-cultural processes that cannot be assessed by examining other historical events, phenomena and facts. The article deals with the monograph by O.N. Ilyina “Personal Libraries in Russia: Terminology and Historiography” (St. Petersburg, 2022), published in the series “The Book in Russia in the 19th — early 20th Century” by the Russian National Library and the winner of the All-Russian competition of scientific works on library science, bibliography and book studies in the nomination “The best scientific work in the field of library science” in 2023. The structure of the historical and book studies edition, the content of the chapters and the peculiarities of the author’s approach to the coverage of historiography, as well as the stages of the formation of terminology for the study of personal libraries in the domestic humanitarian knowledge in the second half of the 18th — early 21st century are characterized. The emphasis is made on the artificiality of the division of periods in the study of personal libraries in 1917, noted by O.N. Ilyina, because up to the end of the 1920s, book historians, whose professional career began before the October events of 1917, continued to carry out active research activities. This idea is confirmed by contemporary works devoted to the life and work of book historians and bibliographers born in the second half of the 19th century. Special attention is paid to the terminology for describing the history of book collections as a whole (and the collections within them), as well as book marks and marginalia in individual copies. A number of remarks on the design of the reference apparatus of the edition and the rubrication of the text are made, which, however, do not prevent interested readers. The quality, relevance and scientific novelty of the monograph are noted.

Is the Library a Leisure Centre or a “Humanistic Stronghold of the Nation”?

The Russian Library Association (RLA) Manifesto “Library — a Humanistic Stronghold of the Nation” was adopted at the 24th RLA Annual Conference in Tula (2019). It was planned that the main ideas of this document would be included in the “Concept of the Development of Librarianship in Russia”, becoming the basis for analyzing the ways of development and transformation of the country’s libraries. Of all official documents on librarianship, the clause that “humanism is the world outlook basis of the library profession” is present only in the Code of Ethics of the Russian librarian. This is not enough. The idea of humanism as the basis of the library profession should be concretized in all documents of the branch and included in library textbooks.In Russia, the printed book firmly holds its position, and readers expect from libraries full-fledged collections. The issue of improving bibliographic literacy of users is acute.At the same time, librarian V.K. Stepanov has been trying to replace the essence of the library for the second decade. He proposes to consider it a social institution, deprived of the fund and readers, and to put unrelated tasks before librarians and material and technical base. He sees the purpose of the library in providing the cognitive and creative activity of the community served through the organization of intellectual interaction, the implementation of educational and leisure programmes, the provision of public use of the necessary space, hardware and software tools and access to information sources. From the scientific point of view, this postulate is far from the requirements of logic to the distinctive features of a scientific definition. In numerous articles V.K. Stepanov uses the same arguments, refers to the same facts, far from clarifying the actual situation of the country’s libraries. All of V.K. Stepanov’s theses have long been rejected by the library community.

Yury Nikolaevich Stolyarov – an outstanding classic of the national library science

Yury Nikolaevich Stolyarov is an outstanding classic of the Russian library and information science who made an invaluable contribution into the studies of its diverse aspects. He investigated into the library theory and methodology and efficiently applied the range of research approaches, with the focus on system and multidisciplinary methodology. Y. Stolyarov has developed the scholarly discipline of library collection studies. He introduced this vector as a valid, relevant and systemic scientific knowledge, and as a scientific activities of result-oriented, self-correcting, dynamic and continuing character. In his works, Y. Stolyarov provided in-depth characteristics of library collection, criteria, and principles of selection for various document types and formats with account of user information needs. He explored the library collection development cycle in the aggregate of its basic processes, namely modelling, acquiring, organizing, and managing.

Yury Nikolaevich Stolyarov: Remains in the memory…

The article is dedicated to the memory of Yury N. Stolyarov, an outstanding Russian library scholar. Through personal memories, the image is drawn of an enthusiastic scientist, a man of extensive knowledge, true culture and modesty. The impact of Stolyarov’s scientific ideas of Yury N. Stolyarov is demonstrated through the analysis of citations of his works using the RSCI information retrieval tools.

Displaced materials of German origin in Tomsk State University Library

The article explores available data on displaced materials from Germany in the Research Library of Tomsk State University (TSU), one of the largest academic libraries in Russia. It provides a summary on where and how German books were transported to TSU. The paper also explores what do they represent and where they originate from. Among other sources, the author uses unpublished documents related to negotiations between Russia and Germany on the displaced art in the 1990s. He concludes that the materials mostly have library provenance and arrived to the USSR by train No. 176/8037 Berlin – Leningrad in August 1946. Most probably, the library materials were delivered from Leningrad to Moscow, and later, in 1980, from Moscow to Tomsk. Most of the books belonged to the libraries of Magdeburg, Bremen and Berlin. Some part of the Tomsk collection might have been transported by another train from Berlin to Moscow. However, since these books were stored at the same storage facility at Berlin-Rummelsburg station as those dispatched to Leningrad, we might admit some sorting mistakes. Relatively modern printed books make the core of the collection though there is a small number of medieval manuscripts and archival documents. Possibly, the latter ended up in Tomsk by accident.The article is prepared in the State Public Library of Scientific Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of the of the Russian Academy of Sciences, project No. 122041100088-9 “Transformation of the book culture in the social communications in the 19th-21st centuries”.

State Regulation of Public Libraries’ Activities in Russia in the Second Half of the XIX-th Century

The purpose of the article is to present the evolution of state policy towards public libraries in Russia in the second half of the XIX century. As a result of the research, the author has established that the content of laws and by-laws regulating the work of public libraries was determined by their status as public organizations and reflected deep contradictions of the government course during the years of bourgeois transformations and in the post-reform era.The government of Alexander II took the library initiative of education zealots as continuation and support of their own reformation attempts. The author shows how the legal status of public libraries was fixed in the legal field of Russia, acquisition rules were changing, the procedure for opening public libraries and supervision for their activities was carried out. The author notes how the repressive nature of legislation, aimed at protecting the urban reading public from unwanted literature, which intensified in the 1880s and 1890s, had a negative impact on public self-organization in the field of education. He concludes that circumstances formed significantly hindered the development of public libraries in Russia.

Availability of Library Services in the Russian Federation: Monitoring Results of the National Library of Russia

The article presents an analysis of statistical data of the National Library of Russia (NLR) monitoring, characterizing the availability of library services in the Russian Federation. It names factors influencing the accessibility of library services: a developed network of out-of-station and mobile service points, provision of transport vehicles, optimal operating hours of libraries, accessibility of library premises (accessible environment) for people with disabilities (HH) and inclusive library space, developed digital library infrastructure providing services to readers remotely. Since the huge volume of statistical data makes it impossible to consider all aspects of the accessibility of Russian libraries within the framework of the article, its objective is to give a comparative analysis of some of them (coverage of the population of the Russian Federation with library services, the number of people per a public library, distribution of non-stationary service points across Russian regions, provision networks of public libraries by transport, operating hours of library institutions and reduced work schedules of specialists and their variations in frames of the RF subjects). The work states that the availability of library services to the population is a condition for ensuring the quality of the population life. The problems of accessibility of Russian library services could be solved by modernizing the network of municipal libraries, improving the transport and digital infrastructure and organizing the comfortable library space to all categories of citizens. The materials can be used by regional departments of culture when planning the modernization of library institutions’ network.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ КЛИНИЧЕСКИХ ПРОЯВЛЕНИЙ ПРИ МАЛЬФОРМАЦИИ КИАРИ 0, 1 И «ПОГРАНИЧНОГО» ТИПОВ

Introduction. Introduction of advanced neuroimaging methods has made it possible to identify subtle structural features of the posterior cranial fossa and craniovertebral junction, as well as the dislocation of cerebellar tonsils into the foramen magnum, which have clinically overt and subclinical forms. Aim: To study the clinical manifestation features of Chiari type 0, 1, and “borderline” malformations. Materials and Methods. For literature analysis, the sources were used from international databases, such as Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed, and the Russian library system, eLibrary. Results and Discussion. The most common pathology of the posterior cranial fossa is Chiari type 1 malformation associated with a mesodermal defect and with discrepancies between the sizes of the posterior cranial fossa and the neural structures that fill it. To assess the Chiari malformation grade, it is advisable to specify the dislocation grades of cerebellar tonsils. There is a common classification of cerebellar tonsil dislocations, in which the dislocation grade 1 of cerebellar tonsils is characterized by the descent of cerebellar tonsils below the foramen magnum level; grade 2 is inherent in dislocation of the cerebellar tonsils down to the C2 vertebra level in combination with displacing the pons and medulla oblongata below the Twining line. Grade 3 dislocation of the cerebellar tonsils is where the cerebellum tonsil displacement is combined with intracranial hypertension. In case of the degree 4 dislocation of the cerebellar tonsils, cerebellar hypoplasia is observed, accompanied by a displacement of the medulla oblongata. The occurrence of syringomyelia in Chiari type 0 malformation is associated with liquor dynamic disorders in the craniovertebral junction region; the similar liquor circulation disorders are detected in Chiari type 1 malformation. Chiari type 1 and “borderline”- type malformations manifest as persistent cranialgia, pain in the cervical spine, otoneurologic and visual disorders, respiratory, psychological, and cognitive disorders, damage to the cerebellar and stem structures of the brain, damage to the spinal cord, and other, more rare signs of damage to the central nervous system. Conclusions. Thus, it is necessary to further study the features of developing clinical symptoms in Chiari type 1, 0, and “borderline” malformations to assess the changes in the course of the disease and select an adequate treatment strategy.

The Future of Russian Libraries: Current Problems and Development Forecasts

Some published and purely pessimistic scenarios for the development of Russian libraries are analyzed, based, among other things, on the statistics of printed book publishing in Russia, as well as on official data on the annual reduction in the number of public libraries. The one-sided and technocratic interpretation of the library as one of the information and communication channels that cannot compete with the Internet is fruitless. Long-standing predictions about the sad future of traditional libraries and printed book publishing have not been confirmed in practice. Book culture and book business in general, and books and libraries as their main subject and object in particular, are multifaceted. Printed and electronic books in modern conditions are increasingly acting not as antagonists, but mutually complement and enrich each other in the interests of the producer (author or publisher) and the end user (reader or buyer). The rejection of communist ideology and the change of technologies in the book world cannot diminish the socio-cultural role and humanistic significance of libraries as centers of personal development reading and education of a person able to navigate the information field. The library should not only provide free access to information, but also contribute in every possible way to the formation of socially significant knowledge. The problem of finding, critically evaluating and selecting high quality information becomes more acute every year. It is the library that has special opportunities in the practical training of its readers in these skills, i. e. to save the most valuable resource — time. Reliable state support is needed; this is the key to the further existence and development of libraries in Russia.

The Future of Russian Libraries: Current Problems and Development Forecasts

Some published and purely pessimistic scenarios for the development of Russian libraries are analyzed, based, among other things, on the statistics of printed book publishing in Russia, as well as on official data on the annual reduction in the number of public libraries. The one-sided and technocratic interpretation of the library as one of the information and communication channels that cannot compete with the Internet is fruitless. Long-standing predictions about the sad future of traditional libraries and printed book publishing have not been confirmed in practice. Book culture and book business in general, and books and libraries as their main subject and object in particular, are multifaceted. Printed and electronic books in modern conditions are increasingly acting not as antagonists, but mutually complement and enrich each other in the interests of the producer (author or publisher) and the end user (reader or buyer). The rejection of communist ideology and the change of technologies in the book world cannot diminish the socio-cultural role and humanistic significance of libraries as centers of personal development reading and education of a person able to navigate the information field. The library should not only provide free access to information, but also contribute in every possible way to the formation of socially significant knowledge. The problem of finding, critically evaluating and selecting high quality information becomes more acute every year. It is the library that has special opportunities in the practical training of its readers in these skills, i. e. to save the most valuable resource — time. Reliable state support is needed; this is the key to the further existence and development of libraries in Russia.

Library in the Space of Social Transformations: Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Challenges of Digitalization

The purpose of the article is to reveal, in the genre of a personal interview, the opinion of the Director General of the Russian State Library, V.V. Duda, about the challenges that cultural heritage institutions face today, without which it is impossible to form the identity of the peoples of Russia. The peculiarity of the current moment lies not only in the need to perform its traditional function of collecting, preserving and making available the books and documents stored in the library, but also in modernization, taking into account the possibilities of digitalization, acceleration of traditional processes, diversity of services and increasing the level of comfort in serving users.The use of the interview method has certain advantages in the context of social transformation, as it is essentially a method of qualitative analysis of the situation. Targeted questions focus on specific areas of the library’s activities in the development of artificial intelligence, digital bibliography, the importance of constant contact and discourse between humanities scholars and IT staff. What kind of specialists should work in a library today, what should be the system of library staff training, how and what can help libraries in new territories, how to be creative but remain on the foundation of traditional values and creativity — these and other questions were echoed in V.V. Duda’s answers.It is important to emphasize the need to unite the efforts of the library community within the framework of the Russian Library Association, to increase its organizational role and project activity in solving the state task of developing the country’s intellectual capital.

Library in the Space of Social Transformations: Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Challenges of Digitalization

The purpose of the article is to reveal, in the genre of a personal interview, the opinion of the Director General of the Russian State Library, V.V. Duda, about the challenges that cultural heritage institutions face today, without which it is impossible to form the identity of the peoples of Russia. The peculiarity of the current moment lies not only in the need to perform its traditional function of collecting, preserving and making available the books and documents stored in the library, but also in modernization, taking into account the possibilities of digitalization, acceleration of traditional processes, diversity of services and increasing the level of comfort in serving users.The use of the interview method has certain advantages in the context of social transformation, as it is essentially a method of qualitative analysis of the situation. Targeted questions focus on specific areas of the library’s activities in the development of artificial intelligence, digital bibliography, the importance of constant contact and discourse between humanities scholars and IT staff. What kind of specialists should work in a library today, what should be the system of library staff training, how and what can help libraries in new territories, how to be creative but remain on the foundation of traditional values and creativity — these and other questions were echoed in V.V. Duda’s answers.It is important to emphasize the need to unite the efforts of the library community within the framework of the Russian Library Association, to increase its organizational role and project activity in solving the state task of developing the country’s intellectual capital.

The 90-th anniversary of Arkady V. Sokolov

Arkady Vasilyevich Sokolov – Doctor of Science in pedagogy, Professor, outstanding world-known scholar in the sphere of informatics, library science, bibliography, bibliology, and related disciplines. The author recollects the history of his acquaintance with A. V. Sokolov, shares his impressions of the lectures, and tells about Sokolov’s participation in Crimea conferences and forums (Sudak, Republic of Crimea) in the period 2000–2017. A. V. Sokolov participated enthusiastically in 4 scientific and practical conferences “BiblioPiter. The letter and digit: The libraries on the way to digitalization” (St.-Petersburg, 2020–2023). The author reviews A. V. Sokolov’s contribution to science popularization project “NELF Lectorium”. Within the project, A.V. Sokolov delivered the lecture “Russian libraries on the threshold of post contemporaneity”. The author remembers A. V. Sokolov as a bright pedagogue, outstanding orator, and responsive senior colleague. A. V. Sokolov’s findings have to be comprehended and appraised. His memory will always dwell with us.

Ecological Diversity of Micromycetes in Aerial Environments of Russian Libraries

Ecological Diversity of Micromycetes in Aerial Environments of Russian Libraries