Akhmet-Zaki Validi National Library

Overview

The Akhmet-Zaki Validi National Library of the Republic of Bashkortostan is the state, central, universal, scientific, public library of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, located in Ufa. It functions as the republic's central document repository and a research center for library science, bibliography, and book studies.

History

The first state library in Bashkortostan was a provincial public library opened March 25, 1836, at the Assembly of Nobility in Ufa. The Central Scientific Library of the Bashkir ASSR opened on June 9, 1921, with roughly 17,600 books. In 1933 it merged with the Central Muslim Library, and in 1936 with the Central Mass Library named for Maxim Gorky, at which point it gained the status of a republican library. In 1960 it was named for Nadezhda Krupskaya. In 1988, the republican children's and youth libraries became its branches. In 1992, following the formation of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the library was renamed the National Library of the Republic of Bashkortostan and given the name of state and public figure and orientalist Akhmet-Zaki Validi.

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

The library's holdings exceed 3.3 million items in more than 80 languages, including over 1 million items of specialized technical literature and more than 48,000 pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary period books, newspapers, and magazines. It receives a legal deposit copy of all printed material published in the Republic of Bashkortostan and holds a collection of Akhmet-Zaki Validi's own pre-emigration works published in Russia.

Access and Usage

The library is located at Ulitsa Lenina 4 in Ufa and comprises 27 departments and 2 sectors across 4 buildings.