Society and book culture: Unique collections of books of the family of Polevye brought to Irkutsk

On July 3, the last part of a unique library of the family of Polevye arrived from the United States in the Irkutsk Humanitarian Center, named in honor of the legendary dynasty. 600 boxes of humanitarian aid contain 11,769 books in different languages ​​and about 18,000 periodicals.

The first unique book collection was first presented to members of the public and journalists of Irkutsk. In the auditorium of the Humanitarian Center of the family of Polevye is demonstrated the most valuable specimens. In this list - collections of Schiller, Voltaire and Goethe, published at the beginning of the XX century (1901 - 1904) in St. Petersburg, rare copy of the novel "Oblomov" with notes of Ivan Goncharov and a collection of poems by Alexander Blok, published in the poet's life, which begins with a author's appeal to readers.

The library of the family of Polevye, numbering about 15,000 books in Russian, English, French and German languages​​, was stored in Salt Lake City (Utah) at Professor Leonid Sergeyevich Polevoy. In 1990, the heir of the family of Polevye bequeathed Irkutsk a unique book collection, which includes rare and rare editions, collected works of the classics of Russian and Western writers, scientific works and albums devoted to the eastern and southern countries. The collection of Professor Leonid Polevoy, who was fluent in 22 languages​​, contains more than 4 thousand books in English, French, German and other languages.

Now the books are unpacked, rewritten and prepared for transfer to the library storage, which specially for the library of the family of Polevye acquired modern mobile racks. If necessary, the books are restored and made new bindings. The books that cannot get into the hands of readers due to its dilapidation, will be digitized and posted at the website of the humanitarian center of the family of Polevye.