Transbaikalia Universal Research Library n. a. A. S. Pushkin was founded

On April 16 (28), 1895 on the initiative of Transbaikalia Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society was founded the Chita Public Library (now Transbaikalia Universal Research Library n. a. A. S. Pushkin).

The library was housed in a small room at the ground floor of the wooden building which belonged to a men’s gymnasium. The room was rented by the library, it was very narrow and hardly accommodated 10 people.

The library’s collections were developed owing to the annual subsidies allotted by Chita’s town council and private donations from Chita citizens and organizations. The library’s founders local historian A. K. Kuznetsov and ethnographer N. V. Kirillov made a significant contribution to the collections’ development having donated altogether over five hundred volumes. The Emperor Nikolai II donated over 2 000 volumes and an album of 42 gravures from his personal library. A year after the foundation the library’s holdings numbered already 4 095 items.

Most of the library holdings was represented by belles-lettres and natural science literature. From the moment of the library foundation, there was developed a fund of Siberian subject matter which later became a valuable collection named “Sibirica”. Periodicals played a significant role in the collection.

By 1905 the library’s holdings had increased four times and numbered 12 000 volumes, many of which were unique and represented a bibliographic rarity (books from Decembrists’ library, books once belonging to democrat and poet M. I. Mikhailov and to other state convicts of Nerchinsk prisons).

In the beginning of January 1908 the Military governor of Transbaikalia region approved ‘The Regulations of Chita municipal library and Trustee Committee under it’. A month later the library was transferred to the new facilities, the pavilion in Zhukovsky garden.

In September of 1937, when Chita region was formed, the library gained the status of a regional one. The same year it was named after A. S. Pushkin.

During the post-war period the library became the center of local history of Chita region. From 1967 under the library was formed the Transbaikalia Literature Museum holding the collections of original manuscripts, autographed books, letters, photographs, memorial objects, original drawings, etc. all of which belonged to writers and other eminent figures who had contributed to the history of literature and culture of Transbaikalia.

Under the decree of the regional administration N 441 of May 14, 1997 the Regional State Library n. a. A. S. Pushkin was recognized an object of cultural heritage of Chita region and the Central Library of the area.

Today the Transbaikalia Universal Research Library n. a. A. S. Pushkin is the largest book depository of Transbaikalia region. Its holdings number over 1 million documents on all fields of knowledge. The library houses the Foreign Language Literature Department which holds the volumes in over 60 languages of the world; it also has holdings of literature on art; holdings of periodicals; of rare editions and rarities of XVII-XIX centuries; of local history editions.

Lit.: Хроника развития краевой универсальной научной библиотеки им. А. С. Пушкина [Электронный ресурс] // Забайкальская краевая универсальная научная библиотека имени А. С. Пушкина. Б. д. URL: http://www.zabunb.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8:history&catid=4:about&Itemid=182.