For citation:
Anikin V. M., Shashkina M. N. The Physics Institute of Saratov University in the history of the fundamental university library. Izvestiya of Saratov University. Physics , 2026, vol. 26, iss. 3, pp. 377-391. DOI: 10.18500/1817-3020-2026-26-3-377-391, EDN: QNHPPR
The Physics Institute of Saratov University in the history of the fundamental university library
Background and Objectives: The Scientific Library of N. G. Chernyshevsky Saratov State University played a pivotal role in the establishment and development of the university’s educational and scientific excellence in the 20th century and remains significant today as a major collection of scientific and fiction literature and a source of contemporary electronic-based scientific information. During its first half-century (1909–1956), the library operated under challenging conditions, lacking its own premises and forced to migrate across various locations. The article aims to highlight the role of the Institute of Physics in supporting the library’s operations for 40 years (1914–1956). Methods: The article briefly traces the history of library relocations and the problems they generated over the specified period. When the Imperial Nicholas Saratov University was founded in 1909, a specially constructed building with the inscription “Physics Institute” on the pediment was intended for scientific and educational activities in the field of physics with development prospects. Here, in 1914, a significant portion of the building was allocated to the library’s collections and departments. Results: It is noted that the most favorable conditions for the library’s work were created in the university’s physics building, where for many years (in addition to storing the collections) the continuous operation of the scientific library as an integrated university unit with a developed network of specialized departments was ensured. But this wasn’t just a matter of “territorial hospitality”. The support of the faculty of the mathematics and physics departments to the library included skillful organization of the educational process under extreme space constraints, direct assistance in cataloging physics and mathematics literature, and the expansion of the library’s collections, including through the publication of their original lectures. The article is illustrated with photographs of the library interiors at the Physics Institute from the State Archives of the Saratov Region, taken in 1935 for the 25th anniversary of Saratov University. Conclusion: The story of the library’s “quartering” in the physics building (along with other university departments) serves as a clear illustration of the peculiarities of the development of university education in Saratov and the synergistic relationships between staff that are characteristic of the university environment.
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