Academician Zh. I. Alferov and the Russian Academy of Sciences Library. (To the 90th birthday anniversary)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the activity of Zhores I. Alferov as a curator of the Russian Academy of Sciences Library (BAN), which is little known to a wide audience. It reports about his role in the construction of a new book depository for the funds suffered after the 1988 tragic fire, in expanding international contacts in the Academy of Sciences; participation in the publication of unique materials of the “Academicians’ case of 1929–1931”, and “Annals of the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences”; initiative in attracting the attention of students of the Academic University of the Russian Academy of Sciences to the history of the Library. Zh. I. Alferov supported establishing the Council for defending PhD theses on specialty 05.25.03 "Library Science, Bibliography and Book Science” in BAN that worked during 1998–2007. For nine years, more than 20 people defended their dissertations. The author emphasizes the special role of Zh. I. Alferov in discussing library science issues in the academic community at the meetings of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the St. Petersburg Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His openness, responsiveness and democratic attitude toward the staff of the Russian Academy of SciencesLibrary made him a respected person of all library staff. Evidence of this is the fundamental bibliographic index of Zh. I. Alferov’s publications, which was issued in 2010 in the famous series “Materials for the biobibliography of scientists”.