Central Reference Library. Brief Summary

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:

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

Other holdings containing publications of the same type: