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| Russian Academy of Sciences Library | |
|---|---|
| Name | Russian Academy of Sciences Library |
| Country | Russia |
| Location | Saint Petersburg |
| Established | 1714 |
| Collection size | over 16 million items |
Russian Academy of Sciences Library is one of the largest and oldest research libraries in Russia, with origins tied to early modern imperial institutions. It serves as a major repository for materials related to the Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and contemporary Russian scholarship, supporting scholars associated with the Russian Academy of Sciences and other scientific, historical, and cultural institutions. The library's holdings reflect collections accumulated across centuries, including manuscripts, rare books, periodicals, maps, and archival materials connected to prominent figures and events in Eurasian history.
The library traces institutional antecedents to the early 18th century under the reign of Peter the Great and the creation of the Imperial Academy of Sciences; later developments involved administrators and scholars such as Mikhail Lomonosov, Dmitri Mendeleev, Ivan Pavlov, and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. During the 19th century the library expanded alongside projects by figures like Alexander Herzen, Nikolai Chernyshevsky, and Vladimir Stasov, while physical relocations and architectural commissions connected it to architects influenced by Carlo Rossi, Vasily Stasov, and Andrei Voronikhin. The collection suffered disruptions during the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, and notably during World War II and the Siege of Leningrad, when librarians coordinated evacuations with institutions such as the Hermitage Museum and the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art. In Soviet times the library was integrated into networks with the Lenin Library, the Russian State Library, and the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, interacting with scientists including Sergei Korolev, Andrei Sakharov, Lev Landau, and Igor Tamm. Post-Soviet reforms saw collaboration with international partners like the British Library, the Library of Congress, the National Library of France, and the German National Library.
Holdings encompass printed works from the 15th century onward, manuscripts, personal papers, scientific correspondence, maps, and iconographic materials linked to institutions and individuals such as Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences, Moscow State University, Tsar Nicholas II, Catherine the Great, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak, Marina Tsvetaeva, Alexander Blok, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Mikhail Bulgakov, Vasily Grossman, Isaac Babel, Solomon Mikhoels, Semyon Frank, Nikolai Bukharin, Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Vladimir Putin. Scientific collections document work by Mikhail Lomonosov, Dmitri Mendeleev, Ivan Sechenov, Sofia Kovalevskaya, Andrey Kolmogorov, Sergei Winogradsky, Nikolai Vavilov, Ilya Mechnikov, Alexander Friedmann, Boris Hessen, Lev Shubnikov, Yuri Gagarin, and Valentina Tereshkova. Cartographic and ethnographic holdings relate to explorers and scholars such as Vitus Bering, Nikolai Przhevalsky, Pyotr Kropotkin, Vladimir Obruchev, Alexander von Humboldt, Friedrich von Schiller, Adam Mickiewicz, and institutions like the Russian Geographical Society. Special collections include diplomatic papers concerning events such as the Treaty of Nystad, the Congress of Vienna, the October Revolution, the Yalta Conference, and the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Administratively the library operates within structures linked to the Russian Academy of Sciences and coordinates with national repositories including the Russian State Library and the National Library of Russia. Leadership historically intersected with notable scholars and administrators connected to Vladimir Vernadsky, Alexander Karpinsky, Ivan Pavlov, and Sergey Vavilov. Governance models evolved through decrees and reorganizations under regimes from the Russian Empire to the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, involving ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations. The library maintains partnerships and exchange agreements with foreign institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, UNESCO, the European Research Council, the Max Planck Society, and the Académie des Sciences.
The library provides reading rooms, reference services, interlibrary loan, cataloguing, conservation, and exhibition spaces used by researchers tied to Saint Petersburg State University, Moscow State University, the Petersburg Institute of History, the Institute of World History, and scientific schools associated with Academician members. Facilities include conservation labs staffed by specialists trained in methods promulgated by organizations like the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and the International Council on Archives. Public outreach includes lectures, displays, and collaborations with cultural venues such as the Russian Museum, the Mariinsky Theatre, and the State Hermitage Museum. Educational programs reach students from institutions such as the Higher School of Economics, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and the Saint Petersburg Mining University.
Digitization initiatives have partnered with technology and cultural organizations including the Google Books project, the Europeana network, the Digital Public Library of America, and national digitization programs tied to the Russian Science Foundation. Digital catalogs integrate standards and protocols developed by bodies such as Dublin Core-based systems and cooperate with repositories like the European Nucleotide Archive for scientific data. Online portals provide access to metadata, digitized manuscripts, incunabula, and periodicals; they serve researchers from institutions like the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, the Kurchatov Institute, and the Institute of Archaeology. Cyberinfrastructure work involves collaborations with the Skolkovo Innovation Center and national research networks.
The library supports and produces bibliographies, catalogues, scientific monographs, and exhibition catalogues often authored by staff and scholars affiliated with the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Historical Society, the Institute of Oriental Studies, the Pushkin House, and the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts. Publications address topics relevant to figures such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mikhail Lomonosov, Dmitri Mendeleev, Ivan Pavlov, Nikolai Vavilov, Andrei Sakharov, and events like the October Revolution and the Great Patriotic War. The institution organizes conferences and symposia in partnership with bodies like the International Congress of Historical Sciences and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
Notable items include rare manuscripts and autographs by Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and scientific papers by Dmitri Mendeleev, Mikhail Lomonosov, Sofia Kovalevskaya, and Andrey Kolmogorov. Maps and travelogues relate to Vitus Bering and Nikolai Przhevalsky expeditions; archival holdings preserve correspondence linked to Catherine the Great, Peter the Great, and diplomats involved in the Congress of Vienna and the Treaty of Nystad. Musical and theatrical archives include materials associated with Mikhail Glinka, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Konstantin Stanislavski. Scientific relics and laboratory records reflect experiments by Ivan Sechenov, Ilya Mechnikov, Nikolai Vavilov, and research connected to the Kurchatov Institute and Soviet space program figures like Sergei Korolev and Yuri Gagarin.
Category:Libraries in Saint Petersburg Category:Libraries established in 1714