Essays on bibliographic activity of the Russian State Library: A monograph" / Russian State Library

The author reviews the joint monograph by the leading specialists of the Russian State Library (RSL). The article is publishedon the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the reference and information office as the division of the library of State Rumyantsev Museum in December 1918. The office rendered all types of bibliographic user services (e. g. address, subject, specifying bibliographic references). The reviewed monograph covers all the main fields of RSL's bibliographic activity: development of reference library collection, reference and information services, building of all the main types of bibliographic directories, bibliographical information service in culture and arts, making of bibliographical indices of Russian emigration literature, research in theory of bibliography, etc. The choice of RSL bibliographic activity as the main object of study makes an appropriate contribution to the development of Russian theory of bibliography. The reviewer regards intensification of research activities of larger libraries (e. g. national) as an attribute of the modern theory of bibliography. The joint monograph is one of few large-scale research works covering the full range of the national library's bibliographic activities of the last century; therefore, it is of high value.