Establishing and developing the system of libraries of the USSR Academy of Sciences regional branches: the 1930s-1945

The article is devoted to organizing the work of the USSR Academy of Sciences (AS) libraries in the 1930s, while creating a network of scientific branches and bases of AS in the country regions. The main goal of the created library system was to provide scientists working far from Moscow and Leningrad with scientific publications according with the specialization of newly created scientific institutions. The article attempts to recall how the expansion of the system of academic libraries in the USSR has started, and provides real data on their work. The authors overview the academic organizations created on the periphery, describes the processes of acquisitions and methodological management of libraries of branches and bases of the USSR Academy of Sciences.The principles of formation of science library network proved to be effective and the system of academic libraries expanded successfully for decades. The factual base of the article were the documents found in the archives of the Library of Natural Sciences RAS, in the Moscow and St. Petersburg Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in some regional archives and materials available on the Internet sites. The authors used a general scientific methodology, applying source study, archaeographic and analytical-synthetic methods of working with archival documents.

The article is devoted to organizing the work of the USSR Academy of Sciences (AS) libraries in the 1930s, while creating a network of scientific branches and bases of AS in the country regions. The main goal of the created library system was to provide scientists working far from Moscow and Leningrad with scientific publications according with the specialization of newly created scientific institutions. The article attempts to recall how the expansion of the system of academic libraries in the USSR has started, and provides real data on their work. The authors overview the academic organizations created on the periphery, describes the processes of acquisitions and methodological management of libraries of branches and bases of the USSR Academy of Sciences.The principles of formation of science library network proved to be effective and the system of academic libraries expanded successfully for decades. The factual base of the article were the documents found in the archives of the Library of Natural Sciences RAS, in the Moscow and St. Petersburg Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in some regional archives and materials available on the Internet sites. The authors used a general scientific methodology, applying source study, archaeographic and analytical-synthetic methods of working with archival documents.

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