College and Research Libraries


By F . L E O N T I E V 

Soviet Library of Historical Research 

TH E S O V I E T L I B R A R Y of Historical Re-search was founded in Moscow in 
1938. Similar libraries have been estab-
lished 'in several of the U.S.S.R. republics. 
O n the shelves of this library, which con-
tains one and a half million volumes in all 
the principal languages of the world, are 
editions of historical works issued in the 
United States, Great Britain, France, and 
other countries, from the rise of printing to 
the present day. Particularly well repre-
sented are books on the history of the 
peoples of the U.S.S.R. A large number 
of rare and unique editions of the fifteenth, 
sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries are 
preserved in the library's storeroom. 

By a special decree of the government, 
the Library of Historical Research is pro-
vided gratis with one copy of every book 
published in the U.S.S.R., but it also re-
ceives from abroad a considerable part of 
its historic and bibliographic materials. It 
has established a regular exchange of books 
with many libraries and institutions of 
learning in the United States, England, 
China, and other countries. Neither before 
nor during the war, however, has it suf-
fered from lack of funds for its numerous 
subscriptions. One of its recent acquisi-
tions is a large private collection of the 
admirable Elzevir editions published in 
Amsterdam at the end of the sixteenth and 
the beginning of the seventeenth centuries. 

T h e r e are four spacious reading rooms 
at the library, each serving its own pur-
pose—the general reading room, a special 
reading room for historical research, the 
U.S.S.R. history reading room, and a 
separate world history hall. T h e r e is also 

a room for Oriental history and a branch 
library for secondary school pupils. 

D u r i n g the brief period of its existence, 
the Library of Historical Research has 
served nearly a million and a half readers, 
to whom over four million books were 
issued. Ever since its inception, the num-
ber of readers has been constantly growing. 
In the current year attendance as well as 
the number of books drawn have reached 
the prewar level. In 1940 the library 
served 309,717 persons with 1,018,990 
books. In eight months of 1944, 824,803 
books were given out to 247,267 readers. 

T h e library is frequented by historians, 
college teachers, postgraduates, and students. 
T h e r e also are a large number of writers, 
journalists, theatre and film people, artists, 
and architects among the regular clients. 
T h e library staff has maintained a regular 
contact with readers in the ranks of the 
Red Army. 

N o t for a single day did the library cease 
work during the war. I t was open even in 
the stern days when the Nazi hordes, hav-
ing reached Moscow's gates, threatened to 
seize the capital. 

M u c h of the work of the library's staff 
is devoted to the compilation of bibliog-
raphies of U.S.S.R. and world history. 
Several copious bibliographic works in the 
field of history appeared in Russia before 
the revolution of 1917. Most important 
among these are Historical Research of 
Russian Periodicals and Anthologies Issued 

in 1703-1802 by A. N . Neustroev; V. I. 
M e z h o v ' s Bibliography of Russian History 
1800-1854 in three volumes; ten volumes of 
Bibliography of Works of Russian History 

24 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



(1855-1864) by P. and B. Lambin; and 
A Guidebook to Russian Historical Litera-

ture (1865-1876) by V . I . M e z h o v , in 
eight volumes. These books cover Russian 
historical literature from the beginning of 
printing in Russia up to 1876; that is, a 
period of 175 years, and include some two 
hundred thousand works. Today the com-
pilation of bibliographies of historical litera-
ture is regarded as an affair of national 
importance. In a comparatively brief 
period of time, the library staff listed ninety 
thousand editions. However, there is still 
a great deal of bibliographical work ahead 
for the historical works published after 
1873 and particularly during the years fol-
lowing the revolution. 

Historical Literature, a bulletin issued 
by the Library of Historical Research, plays 
an important role in popularizing books on 
Russian and world history in the U.S.S.R. 
T h e bulletin contains information on all 
new works on history published in the 
U.S.S.R. and abroad, and is a valuable 
guide'to the ever-growing number of stu-
dents in the Soviet Union. 

Another phase of the library's activities 
is the compilation of indexes on various 
fields of historical research and major his-
torical problems. At present, for example, 
the staff is working on indexes of historical 
literature on the Patriotic W a r of 1812, on 
the history of the Middle Ages, and on the 
first volume of the history of the U.S.S.R., 
which covers books down to the twentieth 
century. A guide to bibliographies on 
Russian historical works was compiled re-
cently. W o r k on a bibliographic index of 
Russian history books for secondary school 
teachers is now nearing completion. Simul-
taneously the library's staff is engaged in 
compiling a guide to literature on the his-
tory of the Slav people and historical works 
dealing with the Great Patriotic W a r 
against the German invaders. A volumi-
nous guidebook to the books on the history 

of Moscow will be issued in 1947 on the 
occasion of the eight hundredth anniversary 
of the founding of Moscow. 

T h e reference department supplies 
written and oral information to state and 
public institutions, as well as to individual 
readers desiring historical data. 

At the beginning of the recent war the 
library set up two branches—one in an 
Army hospital and the other in the 
Kurskaya station of the Moscow under-
ground. It was in the perilous days of 
November 1941, when the enemy threat-
ened Moscow, that the branch in the under-
ground station was opened. This, whose 
chief purpose it was to supply books to 
Moscovites taking cover from Nazi bombs, 
was a great success. Apart from issuing 
books, the librarians arranged lectures and 
talks and conducted discussions. T h e li-
brarians also provided reading matter for 
the children. 

Opened in December 1941,' the hospital 
branch of the library exists to this day. 
Convalescent men and officers are always 
asking for more materials on history. Read-
ings and book discussions are organized for 
the patients. In their letters to the library, 
the soldier-patients express their gratitude 
to the staff for the large number of interest-
ing books placed at their disposal. 

Another branch has been set up by the . 
library to supply books to secondary school 
pupils. W i t h a daily attendance of from 
four to five hundred school children, it is 
extremely popular and is a great aid to the 
study of history in the schools. T h e branch 
recommends books, supplies historical data, 
arranges exhibits, and organizes historical 
essay competitions. 

T h e activities of the Library of Histori-
cal Research are not confined to Moscow 
alone. Through an exchange system among 
Soviet libraries, history lovers and scholars 
of history living in the most remote parts 
of the Soviet Union may receive books from 

JANUARY, 1946 
3 7 



it through their local libraries. 
W h e n the enemy was approaching Mos-

cow, the library's staff, helped by the 
citizens of Moscow, took all possible steps 
to preserve the collections. By then the 
most precious editions already had been 
transported to the interior of the country. 
A good part of the books, however, re-
mained in the capital. D u r i n g the enemy's 
raids, library workers took up posts on the 
roof and attics of the library to extinguish 
incendiaries dropped by Nazi bombers. Re-
cently thirty-eight members of the library's 
staff were awarded the For Defence of 

Moscow medal for their gallant services in 
those perilous days. 

Today the Soviet people are happy in the 
knowledge that their great efforts and sacri-
fices were not in vain. T h e personnel of 
the Library of Historical Research, along 
with the libraries all over the Soviet Union, 
derive inspiration from the fact that their 
labor is highly valued by the government 
both in war and peace. Additional proof 
of this is the considerable rise in salaries 
recently granted to all library workers, 
despite the great demands made by the war 
on the country's budget. 

Academic Status for University Librarians 
(Continued from page 9) 

tember and ending in June, while librarians 
are on twelve-month appointments. For 
hours of work, vacations, and holidays, li-
brarians are grouped with general adminis-
trative officers. T h i s means a work week 
of thirty-nine hours, an annual vacation of 
one month, and all holidays observed by 
the university. Incidentally, analogous 
provisions govern the university's nonteach-
ing research staff in various departments. 

Summary 

In summary, it is the conclusion of those 
who have given long study to library staff 
problems at the University of Illinois, first, 
that professional librarians, by the nature 
of their functions, definitely belong in the 
instructional and research group; second, 

by comparative standards of education and 
preparation, they qualify for inclusion with 
the teaching staff; and, third, there are 
numerous tangible and intangible ad-
vantages for librarians in holding an aca-
demic classification. W i t h reference to the 
last point, the factor of staff morale is of 
primary significance. One can expect the 
best results from any organization only if 
its place is clearly understood and appre-
ciated. T h e improved status of librarians 
at Illinois is certain to play a major part, 
as time goes on, in the development of a 
library staff with a high sense of profes-
sional pride and responsibility, conscious of 
the importance of its work, and receiving 
proper compensation and recognition for its 
contribution to the institution. 

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COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES