Dynamics of the Number of Libraries in the Corps of Military Engineers (19th — Early 20th Centuries)

The lack of comprehensive and limited number of specific historical studies devoted to determining the number of military libraries in general, as well as in individual branches of the armed forces, necessitated the continuation of their census. The novelty of this article is achieved by significantly expanding the chronological scope of the work, covering the 19th and early 20th centuries, taking into account the typology of military libraries, and expanding the source base. The purpose of the article is to present the dynamics of the number of libraries in the Corps of Military Engineers from 1819 to 1912, both in general and separately for their various types. An extensive representative source base was compiled, including materials from the Russian State Historical Archive, orders of the military department, regulations on officer libraries in the Corps of Military Engineers, regulations and staffing of military educational institutions directly subordinate to the engineering department, etc. Information on the funding of officer libraries in institutions and units of the military engineering department in 1912 is published. Based on the author’s own typology of libraries of the Ministry of War of the Russian Empire, this study presents for the first time a typology of libraries for the Corps of Military Engineers. This typology includes libraries for military research, military educational institutions, officer engineering and sapper libraries, special libraries for enlisted personnel, and personal libraries of military personnel. For the first time, the dynamics of the most complete number of libraries over a period of almost a century — from the early 19th century to the early 20th century — are traced. The theoretical significance of this study lies in its development of a typology for the libraries of the Ministry of War, extending it to libraries of the engineering department and tracing their development in accordance with it. The results obtained can be used today in the acquisition of military library collections, taking into account their specific types.

1. Panchenko A.M. The Military Libraries Classification of the Russian Army, Bibliosfera [Bibliosphere], 2015, no. 1, pp. 28—40 (in Russ.).

2. Dvorkina M.Ya., Dzhigo A.A., Maistrovich T.V. Library Statistics: A New Russian Standard, Universitetskaya kniga [University Book], 2014, no. 5, pp. 42—45 (in Russ.).

3. Svergunova N.M. Statistical Factors: What and How Academic Libraries Count, Nauchnye i tekhnicheskie biblioteki [Scientific and Technical Libraries], 2021, no. 8, pp. 101—118. DOI: 10.33186/1027-3689-2021-8-101-118 (in Russ.).

4. Galyavieva M.S. Library Statistics: The New Standard for New Tasks, Dopolnitel’noe professional’noe obrazovanie kak strategicheskii resurs razvitiya kul’tury regionov: materialy III Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii (Kazan’, 19 aprelya 2017 g.) [Advanced Professional Education as a Strategic Resource for Regional Cultural Development: Proceedings of the 3rd International Scientific and Practical Conference (Kazan, April 19, 2017)]. Kazan, Meditsina Publ., 2017, pp. 48—54 (in Russ.).

5. Baryshev R.A., Babina O.I., Sergienko T.V., Zakharov P.A. New Approaches Toward Statistical Form Design in User Services, Nauchnye i tekhnicheskie biblioteki [Scientific and Technical Libraries], 2018, no. 2, pp. 16—25. DOI: 10.33186/1027-3689-2018-2-16-25 (in Russ.).

6. Kleshchuk S.E. Scientific and Technical Libraries in the Russian Army of the 19th Century, Nauchnye i tekhnicheskie biblioteki [Scientific and Technical Libraries], 1997, no. 9, pp. 23—27 (in Russ.).

7. Kleshchuk S.E. Military Scientific and Technical Libraries in the Russian Imperial Army, Nauchnye i tekhnicheskie biblioteki [Scientific and Technical Libraries], 1999, no. 9, pp. 64—78 (in Russ.).

8. Pismensky A.G. Istoriya voenno-inzhenernogo obrazovaniya sukhoputnykh voisk Rossii: monografiya [History of Military Engineering Education in the Russian Army: monograph]. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo Sovremennogo Gumanitarnogo Universiteta, 2012, 486 p.

9. Pismensky A.G. Zarozhdenie, stanovlenie i razvitie voenno-inzhenernogo obrazovaniya sukhoputnykh voisk do Pervoi mirovoi voiny: monografiya [The Birth, Formation, and Development of Military Engineering Education in the Land Forces Until World War I: monograph]. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo Sovremennogo Gumanitarnogo Universiteta, 2009, 266 p.

10. Pismensky A.G. Otechestvennoe voenno-inzhenernoe obrazovanie. Zarozhdenie, stanovlenie i razvitie do Pervoi mirovoi voiny [Russian Military Engineering Education: The Birth, Formation, and Development of Military Engineering Education in Russia Until World War I], Cand. his. sci. diss. abstr. Moscow, 2006, 25 p.

11. Korovin V.M. Voennoe obrazovanie v Rossiiskoi imperii (seredina XIX — nachalo XX veka) [Military Education in the Russian Empire (Mid-19th to Early 20th Century)]. Voronezh, Izdatel’sko-Poligraficheskii Tsentr Voronezhskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta Publ., 2009, 704 p.

12. Sazonov A.I. Voenno-inzhenernye uchebnye zavedeniya Rossii v XVIII—XIX vekakh [Military Engineering Educational Institutions in Russia in the 18th—19th Centuries], Cand. his. sci, diss. abstr. Yaroslavl, 2006, 22 p.

13. Sidorova E.V. Catalogues in the Museum’s Book Collection (Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps), Sokhrannost’ kul’turnogo naslediya: nauka i praktika. Vyp. 15. Konservatsiya, restavratsiya i ehksponirovanie pamyatnikov voennoi istorii: materialy sektsii “Aktual’nye voprosy sovremennogo muzeinogo dela” Desyatoi mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii “Voina i oruzhie. Novye issledovaniya i materialy” (Sankt-Peterburg, 12—14 maya 2021 g.) [Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Science and Practice. Issue 15. Conservation, Restoration, and Exhibition of Military History Monuments: Proceedings of the Section “Current Issues in Modern Museum Practice” of the 10th International Scientific and Practical Conference “War and Weapons. New Research and Materials” (St. Petersburg, May 12—14, 2021)]. St. Petersburg, 2022, pp. 84—96 (in Russ.).

14. Bondarenko M.A. Libraries in Military Schools of the 18th — Beginning the 20th Century and Their Role in Educating Russian Army Officers, Bibliosfera [Bibliosphere], 2012, no. 3, pp. 18—25 (in Russ.).

15. Benda A.N. Problems of Material and Technical Support of the First Military Schools in the Early 18th Century, Vestnik Kostromskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Vestnik of Kostroma State University], 2019, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 20—24. DOI: 10.34216/1998-0817-2019-25-4-20-24 (in Russ.).

16. Benda V.N., Kozlov N.D. Material and Technical Resources for the Educational Process at the St. Petersburg Engineering School in the Second Quarter of the 18th Century., XXII Tsarskosel’skie chteniya: materialy Mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii (Sankt-Peterburg, 23—24 aprelya 2018 g.) [22nd Tsarskoye Selo Readings: Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference (St. Petersburg, April 23—24, 2018)]. St. Petersburg, 2018, vol. 1, pp. 212—214 (in Russ.).

17. Ryzhikova N.N. Fortification Science of the 17th—19th Centuries. Books on Fortification in the Collections of the Central Naval Library, Voenno-istoricheskii zhurnal [Military Historical Journal], 2020, no. 7, pp. 86—93 (in Russ.).

18. Bolenko K.G. Special Military Literature in the Library of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (1751—1831), Pamyatniki knizhnoi kul’tury: Ezhegodnye chteniya: sbornik materialov (Ryazan’, 24 maya 2023 g.) [Monuments of Book Culture: Annual Readings: Proceedings (Ryazan, May 24, 2023)]. Ryazan, 2024, pp. 19—29 (in Russ.).

19. Ryabova V.I. Military Libraries and Editions of the Military Garrisons of the Russian Empire as a Source of Studies of the Socio-Cultural Space of the Military Environment, Dokument v sotsiokul’turnom prostranstve: teorii i tsifrovye transformatsii: materialy V Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii (Kazan’, 27 maya 2022 g.) [Documents in the Sociocultural Space: Theories and Digital Transformations: Proceedings of the 5th International Scientific and Practical Conference (Kazan, May 27, 2022)]. Kazan, 2022, pp. 362—368 (in Russ.).

20. Panchenko A.M. Officers’ Libraries in the Corps of Military Engineers: How Many of Them Were There? Bibliotekovedenie [Russian Journal of Library Science], 2016, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 205—216. DOI: 10.25281/0869-608X-2016-1-2-205-216 (in Russ.).