The Altai Mining District Officers’ Activities for Acquisition of the Barnaul Public Library in 1830–1850

The article examines the mining officials’ business correspondence in the Kolyvan-Voskresensk (Altai) mining district as a source of studying the book culture of the mid-XIX century. The details of acquisition and use of collections of the Barnaul Public Library in 1830-1850 are revealed basing on documents stored in the State Archive of the Altai Region. 
The purpose of the article is to elicit and analyze the information potential of the official documentation of functionaries of the Altai Mining District for studying the history of the book culture of Siberia. Special attention is paid to the accompanying documentation for the books received by the Kolyvan-Voskresensk plants. These documents allow us to identify the main thematic lines in the purchased literature, to characterize the sources of replenishment and options for using the collections of the Barnaul Public Library.
The work of the library was primarily subordinated to the needs and goals of the mining industry of the Altai. In 1830–1850 it continued to participate in teaching and training of mining specialists, which influenced the specifics of collections building. Books could be purchased not only on the initiative of the Staff of the Corps of Mining Engineers, but also at the requests of employees of the Altai Mining District. In addition to specialized literature, the mining plants received works published by specialists who worked here for many years.
The results of archival documents analysis clearly demonstrate that the incoming books were shared due to mining chief judgment between the Barnaul Public Library, the educational department, mining offices and other institutions in the structure of the Altai Mining District. Some archival documents reflect the titles, number and, in some cases, the cost of received books.
The research shows that the office documents of the Altai Mining District can be used for the reconstruction of the composition of the book collection of the Kolyvan-Voskresensk plants and attribution of separate books from this collection.

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