Don State Public Library


Don State Public Library is the main public library of Rostov Oblast that is situated in the city of Rostov-on-Don. It was established in 1886 and is the oldest library in Southern Russia. It is also an important cultural center of the city, with many art festivals and exhibitions taking place there.

History

Rostov-on-Don Public Library, which became the first major library in the city, was opened on January 7, 1886. The fund of the new library consisted of 3000 books, which were purchased by city administration from a private library for a sum of 5,000 rubles. Up until 1894, Rostov-on-Don Public Library did not actually have its own building, like other libraries in Rostov-on-Don, and was housed in various private houses on Bolshaya Sadovaya Street. From 1921 to 1994 the library was located in Velikanova House on Serafimovich Street.
In 1974, the construction of a new library building on Pushkinskaya Street began. It was designed by architect Jan Zanis and engineer Boris Sidelkovsky, however the construction was delayed for 20 years and was finished only in 1994. On May 25, 1994, the library was moved to a new place. Three months later ― in September, the library invited Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn to meet with his readers at their place.
In May 2010, Don State Public Library hosted a conference of Russian Wikipedians.