East of the Urals, no library holds more books, patents and journals than this one on Voskhod Street.
At a glance
SPSTL SB RAS is a public universal library and a research institute in its own right. It functions as Siberia’s state repository, receiving a legally mandated free copy of every book published in Russia. Roughly 14 million documents sit on its shelves and servers, alongside 18 reading rooms built to hold 600 readers at once.
History
The institution began in 1918 in Moscow, as the State Scientific Library under the Presidium of the Highest Council of national economy. Its early organizers included L.A. Schlossberg, A.I. Yakovlev and D.I. Ulyanov. By 1927 it had become the Central Library for Industry. Government decisions kept reshaping its mandate. In 1946 it passed to the Ministry of Higher Education, tasked with serving engineers and researchers across Soviet ministries. Two years later it won the right to receive free obligatory copies from the All-Union Book Chamber, a privilege it retains. The decisive move came in 1958, when the USSR Council of Ministers transferred the library to the newly formed Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences and gave it its current name.
What you see
Construction of the present building began in 1961. It was designed by a group of architects, an institutional commission rather than a single named author. The article does not record a completion date or describe the exterior in detail. Inside, however, the scale is functional and dense: eighteen reading rooms, extensive stack space, and dedicated facilities including the Museum of the Book and centers for document conservation and patent services housed under one roof.
Cultural significance
The library’s rare book and manuscript collection is treated as a monument of Russian culture, built substantially from material recovered during archaeographical expeditions across Siberia and the Russian Far East. Scholars consider it an insurance stock of national memory. Digitization now gives remote access to more than 1,000 unique documents too fragile for regular handling. The library also trains the region’s librarians, hosts a dissertation council active since 1995, and publishes Bibliosphere, the only bibliology and librarianship journal east of the Urals.
Key facts
- Location: Voskhod Street 15, Novosibirsk, Russia
- Founded: 1918, as the State Scientific Library in Moscow
- Renamed and transferred to Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences: 1958
- Building construction began: 1961, by a group of architects
- Collection: approximately 14 million documents, including 3.5 million foreign items
- Heritage-listed site
Practical information & getting there
You’ll find the library at Voskhod Street 15 in Novosibirsk, within the Akademgorodok scientific district that gives the Siberian Branch its base. Reading rooms serve professors, postgraduates and students in large numbers daily, and the institution also runs public lectures, exhibitions and conferences. Check the official website before visiting, since access rules and hours for specific collections vary.
Sources & resources
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