The Vladimir Regional Scientific Library stores treasures with information on the history of the city and country in the book collections. It was created by many generations of citizens. The first attempts to establish a public, public library in Vladimir date back to the early 19th century.
First library
The first public library in Vladimir lasted five years and was located in the building of the Noble Assembly. The basis of the book fund was the private library of M. S. Benediktov. It consisted of 965 volumes and was bought for donations from individuals. Over the course of its five-year existence, the collection of books and periodicals was constantly replenished, newspapers, magazines, and books were written out. Library users were officials, gymnasium students, seminarians. A.I. Herzen, who lived in Vladimir from 1838 to 1840, was also an active reader and, to draw the attention of the general public to the needs of the library, wrote an article in the provincial sheets. But the first library ceased to exist in 1855, all of its property was transferred to the gymnasium.
Overall success
The next attempt to revive library life, albeit already in the rank of a private collection of books with wide public access, was made in 1859 at the initiative of N.P. Zlatovratsky. A private library with four thousand volumes is also located in the building of the Noble Assembly. In 1861, due to lack of funds, she was moved from the Noble Assembly to the Zlatovratsky house, and in 1863 she was also closed. The surviving books again migrated to the Vladimir gymnasium.
Several attempts to create a library were made repeatedly, but the initiative of the Vladimir intelligentsia in 1897 was crowned with success. A board of trustees was created, which included prominent people of the city, and with their help a new library was created. It is located in just two rooms above the shopping market rows. They paid a fee for using books, and donations to the library were also accepted. By 1902, the collection of books amounted to seven thousand volumes.
Active work
Vladimir Regional Scientific Library is one of the cultural and educational centers of the city. The rise of scientific life within the organization began in 1918, when book funds received a significant replenishment and there was an association with the provincial pedagogical library. The approach to the work of employees has also changed. Since 1922, librarians have been engaged in educational activities: they go to manufacturing enterprises where they give lectures, talk about new book receipts, and fight against illiteracy.
The place of gathering of citizens, the beginning of many initiatives and numerous circles is the regional library. Vladimir, as one of the largest Russian cities, educates a new generation of citizens, focusing on enlightenment and literacy. In 1930, the library was named after Maxim Gorky. By the beginning of World War II, in 1941, the book fund was about forty thousand volumes. In the war years, the library did not stop its activities, but the difficult situation affected the collection of books and periodicals, much was lost. In 1945, two and a half thousand readers used the library. The library periodically moved in search of a better location, but managed to find it only in 1964 in a new building on the street. Dzerzhinsky. Vladimir Regional Scientific Library and is now located there.
Achievements
The scientific life in the library is not interrupted, it is constantly updated with literature and today it has outstanding local history literary monuments. The Vladimir Regional Universal Scientific Library in its walls holds meetings with prominent writers, musicians, local historians. It created and conducts scientific research of 15 departments involved in the preservation and study of literary and scientific heritage, a large fund storage with more than two million units of information storage. During the year, about 27 thousand readers use the services of the library. Every day it is visited by more than 300 people, for whom there is not only a fund for the issuance of books, but also the ability to use rare copies. You can get acquainted with them within the library, whose reading rooms are designed for 320 seats. During the year, employees issue more than 810 thousand books of various kinds.
The Vladimir Regional Scientific Library offers users and readers numerous courses, educational programs, circles, lectures and meetings with the scientific and literary elite of the city.