Как пишется российская государственная библиотека

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Russian State Library
Российская государственная библиотека
Main building of the library. The façade still retains the Soviet-era name «Lenin State Library of the USSR»
Country	Russia
Type	National library
Established	1862 (161 years ago)
Location	Moscow
Branches	3
Collection
Items collected	Books, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings and manuscripts
Size	47.7 million (2020)
Criteria for collection	All publications published in Russia, all Russian-language publications published abroad, all foreign-language publications about Russia and other materials
Legal deposit	Yes, since 1922
Access and use
Access requirements	Users must be at least 14 years old and present a valid passport or ID card.
Circulation	1.116 million (2019)
Members	387,000 (2019)
Other information
Budget	2.4 billion ₽ (2019)
Director	Vadim Duda [ru][1]
Staff	1,699 (2019)
Website	www.rsl.ru/en

The Russian State Library (Russian: Российская государственная библиотека, romanized: Rossiyskaya gosudarstvennaya biblioteka) is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow.^[2] It is the largest library in the country, largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Its holdings crossed over 47 million units in 2017.^[3] It is a federal library^[a] overseen by the Ministry of Culture, including being under its fiscal jurisdiction.^[5][6]

Its foundation lay in the opening of the Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum in Moscow in 1862. This museum evolved from a number of collections, most notably Count Nikolay Rumyantsev’s^[b] library and historical collection. It was renamed after Lenin in 1924, popularly known as the Lenin Library or Leninka, and its current name was adopted in 1992.^[8][9]

The library has several buildings of varying architectural styles.^[10] In 2012 the library had over 275 km of shelves, including over 17 million books and serial volumes, 13 million magazines, 370 thousand music scores and sound records, 150,000 maps and others. There are items in 247 languages of the world, the foreign part representing about 29 percent of the entire collection.^[11][12] In 2017 holdings covered over 360 languages.^[3][13]

History[edit]

Rumyantsev library[edit]

The library was founded on 1 July 1862, as Moscow’s first free public library and as a part of the Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum, or in short the Rumyantsev library.^[14]

The Rumyantsev Museum part of the complex housed the historical collection of Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev, which had been given to the Russian people and transferred from St. Petersburg to Moscow.^[15] Its donation covered above all books and manuscripts as well as an extensive numismatic and an ethnographic collection. These, as well as approximately 200 paintings and more than 20,000 prints, which had been selected from the collection of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg,^[16] could be seen in the Pashkov House (a palace, established between 1784 and 1787, in the proximity of the Kremlin). Tsar Alexander II of Russia donated the painting The Appearance of Christ Before the People by A. A. Ivanov for the opening of the museum.^[17]

The citizens of Moscow, deeply impressed by the count’s altruistic donation, named the new museum after its founder and had the inscription «from count Rumyantsev for the good Enlightenment» carved above its entrance.^[18][19] In the subsequent years, the collection of the museum grew by numerous further donations of objects and money, so that the museum soon housed a yet more important collection of Western European paintings, an extensive antique collection and a large collection of icons. Indeed, the collection grew so much that soon the premises of the Pashkov House became insufficient, and a second building was built beside the museum shortly after the turn of the 20th century to house the paintings in particular.

Lenin Library[edit]

After the October Revolution the contents again grew enormously, and again lack of space became an urgent problem. Acute financial problems also arose, for most of the money to finance the Museum flowed into the Pushkin Museum, which had only been finished a few years before and was assuming the Rumyantsev Museum’s role. Therefore, it was decided in 1925 to dissolve the Rumyantsev Museum and to spread its collections over other museums and institutions in the country. Part of the collections, in particular the Western European art and antiques, were thus transferred to the Pushkin Museum. Pashkov House (at 3 Mokhovaya Street) was renamed the Old Building of the Russian State Library. The old state archive building on the corner of Mokhovaya and Vozdvizhenka Streets was razed and replaced by the new buildings. In 1925 the library was renamed the V. I. Lenin State Library of the USSR. It is nicknamed the «Leninka».^[20]

Design of the new buildings of the Lenin Library was to be decided through a competition announced in December 1927. The competition had an open component while other architects were invited through invitation.^[23][24] While the first round was won by one team, another design by a team comprising Vladimir Shchuko and Vladimir Gelfreikh was chosen.^[25][26] This particular design was further modified to a large degree.^[27] Construction of the first stage was authorized in 1929 and commenced in 1930.^[23][28] Famous sculptors involved included Matvey Manizer.^[29] There are a number of statues on the roof.^[30] The first stage was largely complete in 1941.^[31] In the process, the building acquired the modernized neoclassicism exterior features of the Palace of Soviets (co-designed by Shchuko and Gelfreikh), departing from the stern modernism of the 1927-1928 drafts.^[32][27] The last component of Shchuko’s plan, a 250-seat reading hall, was opened in 1945; further additions continued until 1960.^[33] During this period the library was identified as a «mass library».^[34][35] The Lenin Library was a central library, a national repository, a research institution in areas connected to libraries, and a center undertaking compilation of bibliographies.^[36] Its statues also designated it as an institution that «contributes to the development of communism in USSR».^[36] Its daily attendance was an estimated 5000 to 6000.^[37]

Copies of all printed items in the Soviet Union went to around ten institutions. Lenin Library received three copies, which the library could use for book exchange or distribution to other libraries. Lenin Library was one of two institutions that were permitted to take part in international book exchange until 1955.^[38][35] International books coming into the library during this period numbered to over 40,000, mainly science related.^[35] In the mid-1950s the library was conducting exchange with 60 countries.^[39] The library also loaned and borrowed books from domestic and foreign libraries.^[40]

Lenin Library, along with three other institutions, cooperated on a 1707-1957 catalog.^[41][42] In 1961, the library had twenty-two reading rooms; in 1976 the 22 reading rooms had a daily attendance of up to 8000.^[43][44] The Reference and Bibliography Department assisted readers in finding books.^[45] The library also assisted other libraries in book selections. These recommendations could reach to over three hundred pages.^[46] The library staff in 1961 consisted of 1750 librarians, 400 technical staff, and housekeeping and ancillary staff.^[47]

The holdings of the library were cleaned twice a year and observed throughout the year. Books showing problems were sent to the Department of Preservation. This department attended to 380,000 pages in a year. Microfilm preservation was assisted by the Special Institute of Cinematography.^[48] Until 1961 only Lenin Library was decently furnished to handle and copy adequate numbers of microfilm.^[49] Eugene Power commented that the library has a, «microfilm laboratory with twelve cameras, six of them of hybrid design utilizing an Eastman Kodak Microfile head, mast and lens; a copyboard and lights based on German design; and a book cradle of Russian design and manufacture».^[50]

In 1968 the building reached its capacity, and the library launched construction of a new depository in Khimki, earmarked for storing newspapers, scientific works and low-demand books from the main storage areas. The first stage of Khimki library was complete in 1975.^[33] Between 1922 and 1991 at least one copy of every book published in the USSR was deposited with the library, a practice which continues in a similar method today, with the library designated by law as a legal deposit library.^[51][52]

Russian State Library[edit]

In 1992, the library was renamed the Russian State Library by president Boris Yeltsin.^[53] It’s legal mandate as a national library is under the federal law «On Librarianship/On Library Affairs» passed in 1994.^[14][54][55] The national role of the library entails that it is a depository for state documents, for foreign documents, a library for the armed forces, and a hub of an inter-library system.^[56][57] The Russian State Library, even before it officially became a national library, had a certain degree of cooperation with the earlier version of the National Library of Russia, the M.Y. Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, functioning as a national library since 1795.^[58] Once Russian State Library also became a national library, the two national libraries laid out a cooperation framework in 1996 with regard to functions such as storage of legal deposits and addressing duplication.^[58]

Reading rooms of the Leninka were organized by topic and format. Readers were required to have a suitable educational background.^[57] The elite as well as scholars used these.^[57] Under the national project ‘Culture’, the Russian State Library provides procedural assistance to developing libraries across the country.^[59][60] The library has also undertaken identification and documentation of «trophy» items in its holdings.^[61] A renovation of Pashkov House was completed in 2007.^[62][63] One of the main exhibition sites in recent times is the Ivanovo Hall.^[64] A permanent exhibit exists in the form of a book museum.^[65] The library holds events; for example in May 2019, Noize MC gave a lecture in the largest reading room and this was followed by other rap artists performing in front of the Marble Staircase at the entrance of the library.^[3]

Holdings[edit]

The library originates from the personal library and historical collection of Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev.^[7] At the time of his death in 1826 it consisted of around 28-29,000 books.^[66][67] By 1899 the library of the Moscow Public and Rumyantsev Museum had grown to half-a-million volumes and in the next two decades would go on to cross 1 million volumes.^[3][68] The collection was significantly expanded through acquisitions and expropriation.^[68] In 1951 the Lenin Library had the largest collection of books in the world,^[69] it would remain the largest till at least 1973.^[70] In 1959 the collections of the Lenin Library crossed 20 million.^[3] In 1961, rare publications numbered 250,000. Manuscripts from 11th-15th century numbered 30,000. Historical artifacts numbered 600,000.^[71] In the Lenin Library a book was defined as a publication with five or more pages, along with certain other criteria.^[72] In 1994 holdings crossed 40 million.^[3]

In 2000, holdings were 42 million items, consisting of books in living and dead languages.^[9] In that year the library received over 357,000 thousand copies of documents including foreign items.^[73] The holdings include a manuscript collection dating to the sixth century,^[9] family and estate archives including those of industrial and land-owning dynasties, personal papers of notable individuals from across the spectrum, and an autograph collection.^[74] The collection includes a Gutenberg Bible,^[75] Ivan Fedorov’s «Apostles» (1564) and first editions of works by Nicolaus Copernicus, Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton.^[76] United Nations documents number to over 250,000.^[77] Holdings include maps, military literature, music and sound collections, oriental literature, newspapers and dissertations.^[13] In 2017 holdings crossed 47 million in 360 languages.^[3][13]

The Electronic Library department was created in the mid-1990s.^[78] Its first collection included 900,000 theses in Russian.^[79] The United Nations’ Memory of the World Programme saw involvement with digitized items such as the Arkhangelsk Gospel (year 1092) and old Russian newspapers, maps, posters.^[78][80] Digitization of the initial collection of the Electronic Library was also expanded through projects with the Library of Congress, United States,^[78][81] and the European Union.^[82] With regard to music, digitization of old printed music allows for its preservation and easier distribution and access to those interested including researchers; the digitization attempts to capture the artistic nature as well, including the art on covers and markings by owners and so on.^[83] The Digital Dissertation Library was initiated in 2003. As its size grew with yearly additions, the number of virtual reading rooms of the Digital Dissertation Library also increased, including those in other countries.^[84][85][86]

Research and publications[edit]

The library is an institution of research in library science and related areas.^[87] The Lenin Library, including its Bureau of Library Guidance and Research, had a numerous publications– collections, manuals and catalogues, book promotions, bibliographic lists, works on socio-political topics, technical publications, and art related publications.^[88] Bibliotekovedenie (Russian Journal of Library Science) [ru] was founded in 1952 and received its current name in 1993.^[89][90][91] The journal Observatory of Culture [ru] was founded in 2004.^[92] The journal Vostochnaya Kollektsiya (Oriental Collection) was published between 1999 and 2015, during this period 61 issues were published with over 1200 articles.^[93][94] Pashkov Dom Publishing was established in 1998 and functions as a publisher for the library.^[95]

Books about the library include S.V. Zhitomirskaia’s Prosto zhizn and V. V. Fedorov’s (ed.) Rossiiskaia gosudarstvennaia biblioteka.^[96]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

• Russian Book Chamber [ru]
• National Library of Russia
• Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library

References[edit]

Notes

Citations

Works cited

• Briskman, Tatiana Ya. (2019). «The Rumyantsev Museum’s History in Russian Memoir Sources». Observatory of Culture (in Russian). 16 (5): 504–517. doi:10.25281/2072-3156-2019-16-5-504-517. ISSN 2588-0047. S2CID 214044426.
• Grimsted, Patricia Kennedy, ed. (2015) [2000]. Archives in Russia: A Directory and Bibliographic Guide to Holdings in Moscow and St.Petersburg. Compiled by Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, Lada Vladimirovna Repulo and Irina Vladimirovna Tunkina (English ed.). Routledge. p. 669. ISBN 978-1-317-47654-2 – via Google Books.
• Stuart, Mary (1994). «Creating a National Library for the Workers’ State: The Public Library in Petrograd and the Rumiantsev Library under Bolshevik Rule». The Slavonic and East European Review. 72 (2): 233–258. ISSN 0037-6795. JSTOR 4211475.
• Udovički-Selb, Danilo (2009). «Between Modernism and Socialist Realism: Soviet Architectural Culture under Stalin’s Revolution from Above, 1928–1938». Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 68 (4): 467–495. doi:10.1525/jsah.2009.68.4.467. ISSN 0037-9808. JSTOR 10.1525/jsah.2009.68.4.467.
• Cheredina, Irina; Rybakova, Ekaterina (2021). «Libraries in Soviet Architecture of the Late 1920s-1930s» (PDF). Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Częstochowskiej. Budownictwo. 177 (27): 18–23. doi:10.17512/znb.2021.1.03. S2CID 245422441.
• Ruggles, Melville J.; Swank, Raynard C. (1962). Soviet Libraries and Librarianship. American Library Association – via Internet Archive. Report of the Visit of the Delegation of U.S. Librarians to the Soviet Union, May-June, 1961, under the U.S.-Soviet Cultural Exchange Agreement{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
• Horecky, Paul L. (1959). Libraries and bibliographic centers in the Soviet Union. Slavic and East European Series. Vol. 16. Indiana University Publications – via Internet Archive.

Further reading[edit]

• Gerden, Eugene (2018). «Russian State Libraries’ Consolidation Program Moves Forward Amid Staff Shakeups». Publishing Perspectives.
• Zaitsev, Vladimir (1996). «Problems of Russian Libraries in an Age of Social Change». Daedalus. 125 (4): 293–306. ISSN 0011-5266. JSTOR 20027399.
• «Libraries of Russia: The Russian State Library celebrates its 160th anniversary». Presidential Library Russia. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
• «10 years of cooperation between «RST-Invent» and the Russian State Library». RST-Invent. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
• Johnston, Lindsay. «The Current Situation of Libraries in Russia».
• Esdaile, Arundell (1957). National Libraries Of The World. Their History Administration And Public Services. F. J. Hill (2nd ed.). Garden City Press. The Library Association – via Internet Archive.
• Kimmage, Dennis, ed. (1992). Russian Libraries in Transition. An Anthology of Glasnost Literature. McFarland & Company – via Internet Archive.
• Mazour, Anatole G. (1958). Modem Russian Historiography (2nd ed.). David Van Nostrand – via Internet Archive.
• Reed, Ellen (1945). «The Libraries of Russia». Wilson Library Bulletin. 19 (8): 554–557 – via Internet Archive.

Collections

• «Russian library hosts largest Ottoman-era collection». TRT World. 28 May 2018.
• Marandjian, Karine (2001). «Review of Catalogue of the Early Japanese Books in the Russian State Library». Monumenta Nipponica. 56 (2): 290–292. doi:10.2307/2668422. ISSN 0027-0741. JSTOR 2668422.
• Masis, Julie (27 June 2017). «Look, but don’t touch: Moscow’s Schneerson Collection goes online». Times of Israel.

Architecture

• Khmelnitsky, Dmitry (2019). «A. V. Shchusev and the Competition for V. I. Lenin Library». Project Baikal (59): 76–81 Pages. doi:10.7480/projectbaikal.59.1435.
• Sudjic, Deyan (4 August 2022). «Stalin’s Architect: The Remarkable Life of Boris Iofan». The MIT Press Reader.
• Jargin, Sergei (23 May 2010). «Moscow libraries: architectural and technical aspects». domusweb.it. Domus.
• «Библиотека имени Ленина» [Lenin’s Library]. arx.novosibdom.ru Architecture and Design, Directory (in Russian).
• Cooke, Catherine (1990). Architectural drawings of the Russian avant-garde (PDF). The Museum of Modern Art: Distributed by H.N. Abrams. ISBN 0870705563.
• Cook, Catherine (1992). «Mediating Creativity and Politics: Sixty Years of Architectural Competitions in Russia». In Solomon, R. (ed.). The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915–1932. Guggenheim Museum, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, & Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum.

Scientific and Technical Libraries journal (Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology)

• Avdeeva, Nina; Sus, Irina (2017). «Digital library of dissertations and authors’ abstracts as a core of RSL Digital Library». Scientific and Technical Libraries (2): 14–21. doi:10.33186/1027-3689-2017-2-14-21. ISSN 1027-3689.
• Guseva, E. N. (2019). «Strategic documents to define the role of the libraries». Scientific and Technical Libraries (3): 21–30. doi:10.33186/1027-3689-2019-3-21-30. ISSN 1027-3689. S2CID 188588831.

Bibliotekovedenie (Russian Journal of Library Science)

• Levin, Grigoriy L. (2020). «Bibliography Studies of the Russian State Library: History and Present Situation». Bibliotekovedenie. 69 (3): 305–324. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2020-69-3-305-324. ISSN 2587-7372. S2CID 241120868.
• Editorial, Article (2011). «From the Collections of the Russian State Library 79». Bibliotekovedenie (3): 79–80. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2011-0-3-79-80. ISSN 2587-7372. Архив В.Г. Белинского
• Ivanova, E. A.; Ermakova, M. E. (2017). «Ivanovsky Hall in the History of the Rumyantsev Museum and the Russian State Library». Bibliotekovedenie. 66 (5): 567–576. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2017-66-5-567-576. ISSN 0869-608X.
• Dolgodrova, T. A. (2014). «The Early Illustrated Editions of W. Shakespeare in the Holdings of the Russian State Library». Bibliotekovedenie (2): 54–59. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2014-0-2-54-59. ISSN 2587-7372.
• Dvorkina, M. Y. (2020). «Historian of the Russian State Library. In Memory of L.M. Koval (1933—2020)». Bibliotekovedenie. 69 (2): 167–172. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2020-69-2-167-172. ISSN 2587-7372. S2CID 225533125.
• Kutcherkova, O. A. (2014). «Acquisition of the Library of the Rumyantsev Museum in 1909-1917». Bibliotekovedenie (4): 108–114. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2014-0-4-108-114. ISSN 2587-7372.

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Satellite image of the Russian State Library, centered on the main entrance
• Made in Russia: Russian State Library
• Russian State Library 3D model in SketchUp
• Virtual tour
• Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects entry. See Russian cultural heritage register.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Russian State Library
Российская государственная библиотека
Main building of the library. The façade still retains the Soviet-era name «Lenin State Library of the USSR»
Country	Russia
Type	National library
Established	1862 (161 years ago)
Location	Moscow
Branches	3
Collection
Items collected	Books, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings and manuscripts
Size	47.7 million (2020)
Criteria for collection	All publications published in Russia, all Russian-language publications published abroad, all foreign-language publications about Russia and other materials
Legal deposit	Yes, since 1922
Access and use
Access requirements	Users must be at least 14 years old and present a valid passport or ID card.
Circulation	1.116 million (2019)
Members	387,000 (2019)
Other information
Budget	2.4 billion ₽ (2019)
Director	Vadim Duda [ru][1]
Staff	1,699 (2019)
Website	www.rsl.ru/en

The Russian State Library (Russian: Российская государственная библиотека, romanized: Rossiyskaya gosudarstvennaya biblioteka) is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow.^[2] It is the largest library in the country, largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Its holdings crossed over 47 million units in 2017.^[3] It is a federal library^[a] overseen by the Ministry of Culture, including being under its fiscal jurisdiction.^[5][6]

Its foundation lay in the opening of the Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum in Moscow in 1862. This museum evolved from a number of collections, most notably Count Nikolay Rumyantsev’s^[b] library and historical collection. It was renamed after Lenin in 1924, popularly known as the Lenin Library or Leninka, and its current name was adopted in 1992.^[8][9]

The library has several buildings of varying architectural styles.^[10] In 2012 the library had over 275 km of shelves, including over 17 million books and serial volumes, 13 million magazines, 370 thousand music scores and sound records, 150,000 maps and others. There are items in 247 languages of the world, the foreign part representing about 29 percent of the entire collection.^[11][12] In 2017 holdings covered over 360 languages.^[3][13]

History[edit]

Rumyantsev library[edit]

The library was founded on 1 July 1862, as Moscow’s first free public library and as a part of the Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum, or in short the Rumyantsev library.^[14]

The Rumyantsev Museum part of the complex housed the historical collection of Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev, which had been given to the Russian people and transferred from St. Petersburg to Moscow.^[15] Its donation covered above all books and manuscripts as well as an extensive numismatic and an ethnographic collection. These, as well as approximately 200 paintings and more than 20,000 prints, which had been selected from the collection of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg,^[16] could be seen in the Pashkov House (a palace, established between 1784 and 1787, in the proximity of the Kremlin). Tsar Alexander II of Russia donated the painting The Appearance of Christ Before the People by A. A. Ivanov for the opening of the museum.^[17]

The citizens of Moscow, deeply impressed by the count’s altruistic donation, named the new museum after its founder and had the inscription «from count Rumyantsev for the good Enlightenment» carved above its entrance.^[18][19] In the subsequent years, the collection of the museum grew by numerous further donations of objects and money, so that the museum soon housed a yet more important collection of Western European paintings, an extensive antique collection and a large collection of icons. Indeed, the collection grew so much that soon the premises of the Pashkov House became insufficient, and a second building was built beside the museum shortly after the turn of the 20th century to house the paintings in particular.

Lenin Library[edit]

After the October Revolution the contents again grew enormously, and again lack of space became an urgent problem. Acute financial problems also arose, for most of the money to finance the Museum flowed into the Pushkin Museum, which had only been finished a few years before and was assuming the Rumyantsev Museum’s role. Therefore, it was decided in 1925 to dissolve the Rumyantsev Museum and to spread its collections over other museums and institutions in the country. Part of the collections, in particular the Western European art and antiques, were thus transferred to the Pushkin Museum. Pashkov House (at 3 Mokhovaya Street) was renamed the Old Building of the Russian State Library. The old state archive building on the corner of Mokhovaya and Vozdvizhenka Streets was razed and replaced by the new buildings. In 1925 the library was renamed the V. I. Lenin State Library of the USSR. It is nicknamed the «Leninka».^[20]

Design of the new buildings of the Lenin Library was to be decided through a competition announced in December 1927. The competition had an open component while other architects were invited through invitation.^[23][24] While the first round was won by one team, another design by a team comprising Vladimir Shchuko and Vladimir Gelfreikh was chosen.^[25][26] This particular design was further modified to a large degree.^[27] Construction of the first stage was authorized in 1929 and commenced in 1930.^[23][28] Famous sculptors involved included Matvey Manizer.^[29] There are a number of statues on the roof.^[30] The first stage was largely complete in 1941.^[31] In the process, the building acquired the modernized neoclassicism exterior features of the Palace of Soviets (co-designed by Shchuko and Gelfreikh), departing from the stern modernism of the 1927-1928 drafts.^[32][27] The last component of Shchuko’s plan, a 250-seat reading hall, was opened in 1945; further additions continued until 1960.^[33] During this period the library was identified as a «mass library».^[34][35] The Lenin Library was a central library, a national repository, a research institution in areas connected to libraries, and a center undertaking compilation of bibliographies.^[36] Its statues also designated it as an institution that «contributes to the development of communism in USSR».^[36] Its daily attendance was an estimated 5000 to 6000.^[37]

Copies of all printed items in the Soviet Union went to around ten institutions. Lenin Library received three copies, which the library could use for book exchange or distribution to other libraries. Lenin Library was one of two institutions that were permitted to take part in international book exchange until 1955.^[38][35] International books coming into the library during this period numbered to over 40,000, mainly science related.^[35] In the mid-1950s the library was conducting exchange with 60 countries.^[39] The library also loaned and borrowed books from domestic and foreign libraries.^[40]

Lenin Library, along with three other institutions, cooperated on a 1707-1957 catalog.^[41][42] In 1961, the library had twenty-two reading rooms; in 1976 the 22 reading rooms had a daily attendance of up to 8000.^[43][44] The Reference and Bibliography Department assisted readers in finding books.^[45] The library also assisted other libraries in book selections. These recommendations could reach to over three hundred pages.^[46] The library staff in 1961 consisted of 1750 librarians, 400 technical staff, and housekeeping and ancillary staff.^[47]

The holdings of the library were cleaned twice a year and observed throughout the year. Books showing problems were sent to the Department of Preservation. This department attended to 380,000 pages in a year. Microfilm preservation was assisted by the Special Institute of Cinematography.^[48] Until 1961 only Lenin Library was decently furnished to handle and copy adequate numbers of microfilm.^[49] Eugene Power commented that the library has a, «microfilm laboratory with twelve cameras, six of them of hybrid design utilizing an Eastman Kodak Microfile head, mast and lens; a copyboard and lights based on German design; and a book cradle of Russian design and manufacture».^[50]

In 1968 the building reached its capacity, and the library launched construction of a new depository in Khimki, earmarked for storing newspapers, scientific works and low-demand books from the main storage areas. The first stage of Khimki library was complete in 1975.^[33] Between 1922 and 1991 at least one copy of every book published in the USSR was deposited with the library, a practice which continues in a similar method today, with the library designated by law as a legal deposit library.^[51][52]

Russian State Library[edit]

In 1992, the library was renamed the Russian State Library by president Boris Yeltsin.^[53] It’s legal mandate as a national library is under the federal law «On Librarianship/On Library Affairs» passed in 1994.^[14][54][55] The national role of the library entails that it is a depository for state documents, for foreign documents, a library for the armed forces, and a hub of an inter-library system.^[56][57] The Russian State Library, even before it officially became a national library, had a certain degree of cooperation with the earlier version of the National Library of Russia, the M.Y. Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, functioning as a national library since 1795.^[58] Once Russian State Library also became a national library, the two national libraries laid out a cooperation framework in 1996 with regard to functions such as storage of legal deposits and addressing duplication.^[58]

Reading rooms of the Leninka were organized by topic and format. Readers were required to have a suitable educational background.^[57] The elite as well as scholars used these.^[57] Under the national project ‘Culture’, the Russian State Library provides procedural assistance to developing libraries across the country.^[59][60] The library has also undertaken identification and documentation of «trophy» items in its holdings.^[61] A renovation of Pashkov House was completed in 2007.^[62][63] One of the main exhibition sites in recent times is the Ivanovo Hall.^[64] A permanent exhibit exists in the form of a book museum.^[65] The library holds events; for example in May 2019, Noize MC gave a lecture in the largest reading room and this was followed by other rap artists performing in front of the Marble Staircase at the entrance of the library.^[3]

Holdings[edit]

The library originates from the personal library and historical collection of Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev.^[7] At the time of his death in 1826 it consisted of around 28-29,000 books.^[66][67] By 1899 the library of the Moscow Public and Rumyantsev Museum had grown to half-a-million volumes and in the next two decades would go on to cross 1 million volumes.^[3][68] The collection was significantly expanded through acquisitions and expropriation.^[68] In 1951 the Lenin Library had the largest collection of books in the world,^[69] it would remain the largest till at least 1973.^[70] In 1959 the collections of the Lenin Library crossed 20 million.^[3] In 1961, rare publications numbered 250,000. Manuscripts from 11th-15th century numbered 30,000. Historical artifacts numbered 600,000.^[71] In the Lenin Library a book was defined as a publication with five or more pages, along with certain other criteria.^[72] In 1994 holdings crossed 40 million.^[3]

In 2000, holdings were 42 million items, consisting of books in living and dead languages.^[9] In that year the library received over 357,000 thousand copies of documents including foreign items.^[73] The holdings include a manuscript collection dating to the sixth century,^[9] family and estate archives including those of industrial and land-owning dynasties, personal papers of notable individuals from across the spectrum, and an autograph collection.^[74] The collection includes a Gutenberg Bible,^[75] Ivan Fedorov’s «Apostles» (1564) and first editions of works by Nicolaus Copernicus, Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton.^[76] United Nations documents number to over 250,000.^[77] Holdings include maps, military literature, music and sound collections, oriental literature, newspapers and dissertations.^[13] In 2017 holdings crossed 47 million in 360 languages.^[3][13]

The Electronic Library department was created in the mid-1990s.^[78] Its first collection included 900,000 theses in Russian.^[79] The United Nations’ Memory of the World Programme saw involvement with digitized items such as the Arkhangelsk Gospel (year 1092) and old Russian newspapers, maps, posters.^[78][80] Digitization of the initial collection of the Electronic Library was also expanded through projects with the Library of Congress, United States,^[78][81] and the European Union.^[82] With regard to music, digitization of old printed music allows for its preservation and easier distribution and access to those interested including researchers; the digitization attempts to capture the artistic nature as well, including the art on covers and markings by owners and so on.^[83] The Digital Dissertation Library was initiated in 2003. As its size grew with yearly additions, the number of virtual reading rooms of the Digital Dissertation Library also increased, including those in other countries.^[84][85][86]

Research and publications[edit]

The library is an institution of research in library science and related areas.^[87] The Lenin Library, including its Bureau of Library Guidance and Research, had a numerous publications– collections, manuals and catalogues, book promotions, bibliographic lists, works on socio-political topics, technical publications, and art related publications.^[88] Bibliotekovedenie (Russian Journal of Library Science) [ru] was founded in 1952 and received its current name in 1993.^[89][90][91] The journal Observatory of Culture [ru] was founded in 2004.^[92] The journal Vostochnaya Kollektsiya (Oriental Collection) was published between 1999 and 2015, during this period 61 issues were published with over 1200 articles.^[93][94] Pashkov Dom Publishing was established in 1998 and functions as a publisher for the library.^[95]

Books about the library include S.V. Zhitomirskaia’s Prosto zhizn and V. V. Fedorov’s (ed.) Rossiiskaia gosudarstvennaia biblioteka.^[96]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

• Russian Book Chamber [ru]
• National Library of Russia
• Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library

References[edit]

Notes

Citations

Works cited

• Briskman, Tatiana Ya. (2019). «The Rumyantsev Museum’s History in Russian Memoir Sources». Observatory of Culture (in Russian). 16 (5): 504–517. doi:10.25281/2072-3156-2019-16-5-504-517. ISSN 2588-0047. S2CID 214044426.
• Grimsted, Patricia Kennedy, ed. (2015) [2000]. Archives in Russia: A Directory and Bibliographic Guide to Holdings in Moscow and St.Petersburg. Compiled by Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, Lada Vladimirovna Repulo and Irina Vladimirovna Tunkina (English ed.). Routledge. p. 669. ISBN 978-1-317-47654-2 – via Google Books.
• Stuart, Mary (1994). «Creating a National Library for the Workers’ State: The Public Library in Petrograd and the Rumiantsev Library under Bolshevik Rule». The Slavonic and East European Review. 72 (2): 233–258. ISSN 0037-6795. JSTOR 4211475.
• Udovički-Selb, Danilo (2009). «Between Modernism and Socialist Realism: Soviet Architectural Culture under Stalin’s Revolution from Above, 1928–1938». Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 68 (4): 467–495. doi:10.1525/jsah.2009.68.4.467. ISSN 0037-9808. JSTOR 10.1525/jsah.2009.68.4.467.
• Cheredina, Irina; Rybakova, Ekaterina (2021). «Libraries in Soviet Architecture of the Late 1920s-1930s» (PDF). Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Częstochowskiej. Budownictwo. 177 (27): 18–23. doi:10.17512/znb.2021.1.03. S2CID 245422441.
• Ruggles, Melville J.; Swank, Raynard C. (1962). Soviet Libraries and Librarianship. American Library Association – via Internet Archive. Report of the Visit of the Delegation of U.S. Librarians to the Soviet Union, May-June, 1961, under the U.S.-Soviet Cultural Exchange Agreement{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
• Horecky, Paul L. (1959). Libraries and bibliographic centers in the Soviet Union. Slavic and East European Series. Vol. 16. Indiana University Publications – via Internet Archive.

Further reading[edit]

• Gerden, Eugene (2018). «Russian State Libraries’ Consolidation Program Moves Forward Amid Staff Shakeups». Publishing Perspectives.
• Zaitsev, Vladimir (1996). «Problems of Russian Libraries in an Age of Social Change». Daedalus. 125 (4): 293–306. ISSN 0011-5266. JSTOR 20027399.
• «Libraries of Russia: The Russian State Library celebrates its 160th anniversary». Presidential Library Russia. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
• «10 years of cooperation between «RST-Invent» and the Russian State Library». RST-Invent. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
• Johnston, Lindsay. «The Current Situation of Libraries in Russia».
• Esdaile, Arundell (1957). National Libraries Of The World. Their History Administration And Public Services. F. J. Hill (2nd ed.). Garden City Press. The Library Association – via Internet Archive.
• Kimmage, Dennis, ed. (1992). Russian Libraries in Transition. An Anthology of Glasnost Literature. McFarland & Company – via Internet Archive.
• Mazour, Anatole G. (1958). Modem Russian Historiography (2nd ed.). David Van Nostrand – via Internet Archive.
• Reed, Ellen (1945). «The Libraries of Russia». Wilson Library Bulletin. 19 (8): 554–557 – via Internet Archive.

Collections

• «Russian library hosts largest Ottoman-era collection». TRT World. 28 May 2018.
• Marandjian, Karine (2001). «Review of Catalogue of the Early Japanese Books in the Russian State Library». Monumenta Nipponica. 56 (2): 290–292. doi:10.2307/2668422. ISSN 0027-0741. JSTOR 2668422.
• Masis, Julie (27 June 2017). «Look, but don’t touch: Moscow’s Schneerson Collection goes online». Times of Israel.

Architecture

• Khmelnitsky, Dmitry (2019). «A. V. Shchusev and the Competition for V. I. Lenin Library». Project Baikal (59): 76–81 Pages. doi:10.7480/projectbaikal.59.1435.
• Sudjic, Deyan (4 August 2022). «Stalin’s Architect: The Remarkable Life of Boris Iofan». The MIT Press Reader.
• Jargin, Sergei (23 May 2010). «Moscow libraries: architectural and technical aspects». domusweb.it. Domus.
• «Библиотека имени Ленина» [Lenin’s Library]. arx.novosibdom.ru Architecture and Design, Directory (in Russian).
• Cooke, Catherine (1990). Architectural drawings of the Russian avant-garde (PDF). The Museum of Modern Art: Distributed by H.N. Abrams. ISBN 0870705563.
• Cook, Catherine (1992). «Mediating Creativity and Politics: Sixty Years of Architectural Competitions in Russia». In Solomon, R. (ed.). The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915–1932. Guggenheim Museum, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, & Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum.

Scientific and Technical Libraries journal (Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology)

• Avdeeva, Nina; Sus, Irina (2017). «Digital library of dissertations and authors’ abstracts as a core of RSL Digital Library». Scientific and Technical Libraries (2): 14–21. doi:10.33186/1027-3689-2017-2-14-21. ISSN 1027-3689.
• Guseva, E. N. (2019). «Strategic documents to define the role of the libraries». Scientific and Technical Libraries (3): 21–30. doi:10.33186/1027-3689-2019-3-21-30. ISSN 1027-3689. S2CID 188588831.

Bibliotekovedenie (Russian Journal of Library Science)

• Levin, Grigoriy L. (2020). «Bibliography Studies of the Russian State Library: History and Present Situation». Bibliotekovedenie. 69 (3): 305–324. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2020-69-3-305-324. ISSN 2587-7372. S2CID 241120868.
• Editorial, Article (2011). «From the Collections of the Russian State Library 79». Bibliotekovedenie (3): 79–80. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2011-0-3-79-80. ISSN 2587-7372. Архив В.Г. Белинского
• Ivanova, E. A.; Ermakova, M. E. (2017). «Ivanovsky Hall in the History of the Rumyantsev Museum and the Russian State Library». Bibliotekovedenie. 66 (5): 567–576. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2017-66-5-567-576. ISSN 0869-608X.
• Dolgodrova, T. A. (2014). «The Early Illustrated Editions of W. Shakespeare in the Holdings of the Russian State Library». Bibliotekovedenie (2): 54–59. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2014-0-2-54-59. ISSN 2587-7372.
• Dvorkina, M. Y. (2020). «Historian of the Russian State Library. In Memory of L.M. Koval (1933—2020)». Bibliotekovedenie. 69 (2): 167–172. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2020-69-2-167-172. ISSN 2587-7372. S2CID 225533125.
• Kutcherkova, O. A. (2014). «Acquisition of the Library of the Rumyantsev Museum in 1909-1917». Bibliotekovedenie (4): 108–114. doi:10.25281/0869-608X-2014-0-4-108-114. ISSN 2587-7372.

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Satellite image of the Russian State Library, centered on the main entrance
• Made in Russia: Russian State Library
• Russian State Library 3D model in SketchUp
• Virtual tour
• Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects entry. See Russian cultural heritage register.

Российская государственная библиотека — крупнейшая библиотека России, вторая по величине в мире. Основана в 1862 году, входила в состав Московского публичного и Румянцевского музеев. С момента образования получает обязательные экземпляры всех изданий, выпускающихся на территории нашей страны. 24 января 1924 года была переименована в Российскую библиотеку имени В.И. Ленина. 6 февраля 1925 года преобразована в Государственную библиотеку СССР им. В.И. Ленина, с 22 января 1992 года носит название Российская государственная библиотека.

Сейчас в фондах РГБ хранится более 47 миллионов книг, документов и артефактов. В год библиотеку посещает больше 800 тысяч человек, ежегодно выдается около 100 тысяч новых читательских билетов. В РГБ 36 читальных залов. Читателем библиотеки может стать любой гражданин России или другого государства, которому исполнилось 14 лет.

В конце 2014 года решением Министерства культуры РФ РГБ была назначена оператором Национальной электронной библиотеки. НЭБ — это современный проект, цель которого — свободный доступ читателей к фондам ключевых российских библиотек через единый портал и поисковую систему.

С января 2017 года РГБ стала получателем обязательного экземпляра печатных изданий и диссертаций в электронной форме.

Корпуса РГБ частично доступны для инвалидов и лиц с ОВЗ.

Лучшее и самое интересное из фондов демонстрируется на выставках. С экскурсиями можно посетить книгохранилище, Дом Пашкова, Музей книги, пройти по главному зданию.

РГБ

(улица Воздвиженка, 3), национальная библиотека, научно-исследовательский и научно-информационный центр Российской Федерации в области библиотековедения, библиографии и книговедения. Основана в 1862 в составе Румянцевского музея, в 1919 выведена из него, с 1924 Всероссийская публичная библиотека имени В.И. Ленина, с 1925 Государственная библиотека СССР имени Ленина, с 1992 современное название. Первоначально в фондах насчитывалось около 100 единиц хранения. Библиотека получала обязательный экземпляр всех отечественных публикаций (с 1922 — 2 экземпляра, с 1945 — 3). Фонды большей частью пополнялись за счёт пожертвований всех слоёв московского общества. Большую ценность представляли личные собрания книг Н.П. Румянцева, С.Д. Полторацкого, Д.А. Гурьева, В.Ф. Одоевского, В.М. Ундольского, М.Ю. Виельгорского, П.Я. Чаадаева и др. В 1914—15 открыто книгохранилище на 500 тыс. книг; число читательских мест увеличилось с 20 до 300. В библиотеке сотрудничали библиотековеды и учёные Е.Ф. Корш, Я.Г. Квасков, А.И. Калишевский, А.А. Борзов, Ю.В. Готье, Н.Ф. Фёдоров и др. После 1917 в библиотеку поступило свыше 1,5 млн. томов из 400 национализированных книжных собраний (Шереметевых, Барятинских, Юсуповых и др.). В 1919 организованы читальный зал для научных работников и научные отделы по отраслям знаний, в 1925—26 — функциональные и специализированные отделы, Музей книги, в 1960-х гг. — отделы гигиены и реставрации и лаборатория консервации (в 1992 объединены в научный центр). В разные годы в библиотеке работали О.С. Чубарьян, Н.М. Сикорский, Е.Л. Немировский, Н.И. Тюлина и др.

В фондах (1995) свыше 38,7 млн. единиц хранения (11,6 млн. — иностранные издания), в том числе свыше 1,3 млн. книг, свыше 12,3 млн. журналов, около 1,2 млн. продолжающихся изданий, свыше 592 тыс. экземпляров годовых комплектов газет и др., свыше 2,5 млн. экземпляров изданий на микроносителях. Представлены рукописные книги, в том числе Архангельское Евангелие (1092), Евангелие Хитрово (конец XIV — начало XV вв.) и др., печатные книги с середины XVI в., русские периодические издания, в том числе «Московские ведомости» (с 1756), в отделе редких книг — издания славянских первопечатников Ш. Фиоля, Ф. Скорины, И. Фёдорова и П. Мстиславца, коллекции инкунабулов и палеотипов, первые издания трудов Дж. Бруно, Данте, Н. Коперника, архивы Н.В. Гоголя, И.С. Тургенева, А.П. Чехова, А.А. Блока, М.А. Булгакова и др.

Ежегодно библиотека обслуживает свыше 1,3 млн.читателей в 20 научных и специализированных залах, является крупнейшим центром межбиблиотечного абонемента (3,7 тыс. абонентов, в том числе более чем 400 абонентов зарубежных стран). Ведёт международный книгообмен с организациями более чем в 100 государствах. Имеет центральную справочную библиотеку и систему каталогов и картотек (в том числе сводные каталоги русской книги, иностранной книги и периодических изданий, хранящихся в библиотеках страны). При РГБ действует центр по повышению квалификации библиотечных кадров. Издаёт «Труды» (с 1957), «Записки Отдела рукописей» (с 1938), журнал «Библиотековедение» (с 1952), библиографические каталоги, указатели и др. Член Международной федерации библиотечных ассоциаций и учреждений (ИФЛА); штаб-квартира Библиотечной ассамблеи Евразии (БАЕ); сотрудничает с ЮНЕСКО и другими организациями.

Старое здание — дом Пашкова (1784 — 1786, приписывается архитектору В.И. Баженову) — памятник русского классицизма XVIII в. Новое здание (1928—58, архитекторы В.Г. Гельфрейх, В.А. Щуко и др.) включает шесть корпусов, в том числе 19-этажное книгохранилище. В 1975 построено 10-этажное книгохранилище с читальным залом в г. Химки Московской области.

Литература: Клевенский М.М., История библиотеки Московского публичного Румянцевского музея. 1862—1917, М., 1953; История Государственной ордена Ленина библиотеки СССР имени В.И. Ленина за 100 лет. 1862—1962, [М., 1962]; Голос прошлого. Государственная ордена Ленина библиотека СССР имени В.И. Ленина в годы Великой Отечественной войны, М., 1991; Государственная ордена Ленина библиотека СССР имени В.И. Ленина. Библиографический указатель, ч. 1—2, М., 1986.

Д.Н. Бакун.

РГБ

Полезное

1 июля 2012 года исполняется 150 лет со дня основания Российской государственной библиотеки.

Московская публичная библиотека (ныне — Российская государственная библиотека, или РГБ) была основана 1 июля (19 июня по старому стилю) 1862 года.

Фонд Российской государственной библиотеки берет свое начало с коллекции графа Николая Румянцева (1754-1826), в составе которой было более 28 тысяч книг, 710 рукописей, более 1000 карт. Собрание относилось к частному музею графа, созданного им в Санкт-Петербурге. После смерти Румянцева его брат обратился к императору Николаю I с просьбой принять в дар и передать в ведение правительства музей и библиотеку с рукописной и книжной коллекциями. Указом императора музей стал именоваться Румянцевским.

Петербургский период истории Румянцевского музея и его библиотеки завершился в 1861 году, когда по инициативе москвичей, желавших организовать в городе публичную библиотеку, было принято решение о переводе коллекции в Москву. Библиотеку разместили в здании, построенном русским зодчим Василием Баженовым рядом с Кремлем в конце XVIII века и известном как Дом Пашкова.

Это здание принадлежит библиотеке до сих пор. В нем расположен отдел рукописей, где хранится 600 тысяч письменных и графических памятников, самые древние из которых датируются VII веком. Там же находится отдел нотно-музыкальных изданий и звукозаписей и картографический отдел.

Официально датой основания Российской государственной библиотеки считается 1 июля 1862 года, когда указом императора Александра II был утвержден штат, бюджет библиотеки, а также было узаконено получение библиотекой одного обязательного экземпляра всей издаваемой в России печатной продукции. Помимо обязательных поступлений фонд библиотеки пополнялся за счет дарений и пожертвований. Так, переданная в дар библиотеке коллекция книг министра народного просвещения Авраама Норова насчитывала 16 000 книг. В состав этой коллекции вошли издания греческих и римских писателей, сочинения Макиавелли, единственная в своем роде коллекция прижизненных изданий Джордано Бруно с автографом на одной из книг, русские научные монографии первой половины XIX века — собрание до сих пор является одним из самых ценных в составе фонда библиотеки.

Сотни коллекций, отдельных книг, рукописей поступили в библиотеку от дарителей, среди которых были купец и издатель Козьма Солдатенков, ученый Федор Чижов, библиофил и музыковед Владимир Одоевский, сын Александра Пушкина Александр, дочь Льва Толстого Софья и многие другие.

Почти столетие, с конца 20-х годов XIX века до начала 20-х годов ХХ века (в петербургский и московский периоды), библиотека функционировала, находясь в составе комплекса, который сохранял неизменным имя Румянцевского музея в своих официальных названиях.

Библиотека Московского публичного и Румянцевского музеев стала подлинным центром культуры. В ее читальных залах создавались художественные произведения, ученые труды. Читателями библиотеки были Лев Толстой, Федор Достоевский, Антон Чехов, Владимир Короленко.

В 1914-1915 годах были открыты новое книгохранилище на 500 тысяч томов и читальный зал на 300 мест.

Новый этап качественных перемен в жизни библиотеки связан с советским периодом. После революции 1917 года библиотека некоторое время еще находилась в составе Государственного Румянцевского музея, но затем обрела самостоятельность. В 1924 году она стала называться Российская публичная библиотека имени Владимира Ильича Ульянова (Ленина), а с 1925 года — Государственной библиотекой СССР имени В. И. Ленина. На нее были возложены функции государственного книгохранилища и национальной библиотеки.

Преобразование во многом изменило характер деятельности. В 1925-1926 годах были созданы функциональные и специализированные отделы, Музей книги. В годы Великой Отечественной войны библиотека была единственной действующей научной библиотекой, не эвакуированной из Москвы, за исключением наиболее ценной части фонда.

С 1930 по 1960 год длилось строительство и освоение нового здания библиотеки по проекту архитекторов Владимира Щуко и Владимира Гельфрейха. В послевоенные годы значительно расширился фонд библиотеки, а также круг читателей. В это время сложилась система читальных залов в новых помещениях, началось внедрение электронно-вычислительной техники.

29 января 1992 года указом президента России Государственная ордена Ленина библиотека СССР имени В.И.Ленина была преобразована в Российскую государственную библиотеку (РГБ).

Во второй половине 1990-х годов в работе библиотеки начали применяться автоматизированные системы библиографического поиска и создаваться электронные каталоги.

Российская государственная библиотека является участником программы ЮНЕСКО «Память мира», призванной защищать всемирное документальное наследие и по мере возможностей обеспечивать широкий доступ к нему. В 1997 году по представлению РГБ в международный реестр «Память мира» были включены несколько библиотечных коллекций и отдельных книг, признанных всемирным документальным наследием: Архангельское Евангелие 1092 года, Евангелие Хитрово, Славянские издания кириллического шрифта XV века, коллекция карт Российской империи XVIII века, российские плакаты конца XIX — начала XX веков.

В 2000 году основное книгохранилище библиотеки было закрыто на реконструкцию, связанную, в том числе, с необходимостью его технического переоснащения. В 2003 году реконструкция завершилась, но это не сняло проблему нехватки площадей для размещения фонда библиотеки. Возможности ее хранилищ были исчерпаны уже к началу 80-х годов ХХ века. С тех пор библиотека ежегодно пополняется 300 — 500 тысячами изданий.

В 2007 году строительство нового здания РГБ распоряжением правительства РФ было включено в перечень строек и объектов для федеральных нужд на 2008-2010 годы.

Новое здание Российской государственной библиотеки планируется построить за основным зданием, на улице Воздвиженка. Начало стройки ожидается в текущем, 2012 году.

Объем нового хранилища рассчитан таким образом, чтобы места в нем хватило на 50 лет, а залы спроектированы так, чтобы ни одному из 2 тысяч читателей, которые смогут одновременно в них находиться, не пришлось ждать заказа более 30 минут. Новый корпус предполагается объединить со старыми с помощью тоннеля.

В настоящий момент ведется масштабная оцифровка книг и архивов РГБ. В 2008 в библиотеке открылось крупнейшее в Европе электронное хранилище книг, а в 2009 году Российская национальная библиотека присоединилась к проекту Мировой цифровой библиотеки.

В стенах Российской государственной библиотеки находится уникальное собрание отечественных и зарубежных документов на 367 языках мира. Объем фонда превышает 43 миллионов единиц хранения. Здесь имеются специализированные собрания карт, нот, звукозаписей, редких книг, диссертаций, газет и других видов изданий.