Secular city libraries of the Tobolsk province in the second half of the XIX - early XX century

Abstract

The article studies the emergence and functioning of secular city libraries of the Tobolsk province in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. The methodological basis of the research is the universally recognized principles of historical science, i.e. scientific objectivity and historicism. The study also uses comparative and historical, comparative and typological and statistical methods. The archival materials and scientific literature have been used, and it has been shown that the above mentioned period was a rather favorable time for the development of librarianship in urban areas of the Tobolsk province. It was then a fairly stable library network was formed that in the studied region, which was composed of various types of libraries: libraries at educational institutions, museums, various public organizations, public, social and folk libraries. It has been revealed that most libraries, along with other cultural and educational institutions, played a significant role in the educational, scientific, and cultural and leisure activities of the urban population. The article pays attention to the problems that faced the development of librarianship in the region: poor material and technical base, lack of necessary specialists, limited ability to satisfy readers' requests, lack of financial support.