A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky’s Books as a Source for Collection Development in the Russian Academy of Sciences Library

The personal library of Academician A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky (1863—1919) was acquired in 1919 by the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS, since 1925 the USSR Academy of Sciences, since 1991 again the RAS). Its inventory was not compiled; the ownership stamp was affixed not by the owner, but by staff of the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (now Russian Academy of Sciences Library, RASL), and not in all copies. Processing of the collection, for the most part, took place significantly later than its acquisition and proved to be a protracted process. Administrative records providing insight into this process do not allow for a unified opinion on the number of books inventoried or on their distribution within and beyond the RASL collections. The processing and placement of publications were uneven. Moreover, even after their transfer to a particular collection, changes could occur. This is precisely what happened to the library fragment that became part of the reference (auxiliary) collection of the general (main) reading room of the RASL, established in 1925.

This article examines the role of this fragment in the formation of the reference collection of the reading room and the organization of its work, and explores the subsequent fate of this part of the library, as well as the A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky collection as a whole (within this collection and beyond). The relevance of this topic is due to the high level of interest in studying the history of private libraries in Russia, the significant role of A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky in the development of historical scholarship and the organization of archeographic, expert, and research activities at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the value of the scholar’s book collection for the development of librarianship. The experience gained from processing this collection offers valuable lessons for preserving personal collections in libraries and reorganizing library structures. A particular difficulty arises from the discrepancy between the modern and historical names of several library departments and the overlapping functions of these departments. Changes in the composition and status of library departments may entail a redistribution of books previously held in the library’s collections. It is also necessary to consider the potential for personal collections (and fragments thereof) to migrate within the RASL collections (and beyond), the specifics of publishing activity, and the evolution of the library’s book depository structure. A chronological principle was applied to the reconstruction of A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky’s personal library collection.

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