Collection Holder:
Department of the Library Holdings and Services
Time Span:
from 17th cent. – to the present. - publications in Western European languages – from 17th cent. to the present; - Russian publications in Slavonic languages – from 18th cent. to the present.
Size:
904 901 thousand items (for 01.01.2022) from 17th cent. to 1980 – about 450 thousand items; from 1980 to the present - about 450 thousand items.
Range:
The Reference Library is a specialized, universal collection of reference books and journals. Domestic items, dating from the 18th century onwards, are stored, mainly, in duplicate. Foreign items, dating from the 16th century to the present, are, as a rule, in one copy. The collection embraces about 204 thousand books and 688 thousand journals in Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and Western European languages.
Description of the Collection
Reading Rooms:
Reference Information and E-Resources Room (1/3, Ostrovsky Sq.; Russian publications from 1728 to 1974 and foreign items from the 17th cent. to 1984 ) Central Reference Library Room (165/2, Moskovsky Pr.; Russian publications from 1975 onwards and foreign items from 1985 onwards)
Catalogues:
ELECTRONIC CATALOGUE, General Author/ Title Catalogue of Books in Russian (1725 – 1998). Journals/Serials in Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian If you have not found the publication, you can send an inquiry to bibliographers through the online enquiry form.
Shelf Marks:
The Reference Library copies are held at the NLR shelfmarks beginning 'C' . For instance: С 841-420/П-76; С К-2/179; С 2001-1/8680
Full-text resources (in Russian):
Commemorative Books of the Provinces and Regions of the Russian Empire Address Books and Directories of St. Petersburg in the 19 century (1809-1891) Address Book of the city of St. Petersburg, edited by P.O. Yablonsky (1892-1902) The All in Petersburg - the All in Petrograd (1894-1917) The All in Petrograd - the All in Leningrad (1922-1935)
Other holdings containing publications of the same type:
Brief Summary
Collections