Biographical Approach in Bibliology: Preserving the Meaning of Professional Activity

There is a strong tradition of biographical publications on figures in the field of bibliology. Many large libraries publish such book series. Interest and attention to the works and biographies of their predecessors are associated not only with the activities of researchers in the history of books and libraries, but also indicate an awareness of their professional identity and the social significance of their work. The purpose of the publication is to conduct a comparative analysis of two books in the biographical genre, published in 2025: “V.D. In Memory of a Unique Person” (contains materials and concerns the activities of foreign agents) and “Maslov Dmitry Petrovich”. The obtained result can help in the preparation of similar publications in the future. A book dedicated to V.D. Stelmakh (1935—2023), who headed the Book and Reading Sector of the Research Department of Library Science and Theory of Bibliography of the USSR State Library named after V.I. Lenin (now the Russian State Library) is a collection of memoirs and other ego-documents that not only present her professional path, but also provide facts from the history of the country through individual, emotional perception. Under the leadership of V.D. Stelmakh, all-Russian sociological studies on reading were conducted in the 1960s and 1970s. On her initiative, a section on literacy and reading was created within the structure of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. The publication by the staff of the Scientific Library of Tomsk State University is dedicated to D.P. Maslov (1912—1974), a graduate of the Moscow State Library Institute (now the Moscow State Institute of Culture), who set a high professional bar for subsequent generations. The book consists of a preface, a biographical essay, an index of works, a list of literature on his life and work, and also includes archival documents in facsimile reproduction. Two different approaches to publishing are characterized by attention to the personality of the heroes, the use of oral history methods, and the opportunity for readers to familiarize themselves with different types of photo and office documents. The function of a biography is not just a life story, but a meaningful presentation of facts selected by the biographer. For scientific communication, the role of biographical publications is even higher; they serve to preserve the values and meanings of professional activity, as well as the memory of predecessors.

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