The book collection of A.N. Nortsov: the history of formation, thematic coverage and significance for the creative laboratory of the owner

INTRODUCTION. The book heritage of the region’s personal libraries analysis allows us to understand the reading interests’ specifics of different generations of library owners, and to clarify important aspects of the intellectual and spiritual growth of Tambov bibliophiles in the process of working with books. In this regard, the stages of Alexey Nikolaevich Nortsov’s biography are considered in the context of its influence on bibliophilism.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The fundamental methodology in the work is the principles of objectivity and historicism. The historicism principle made it possible to analyze the book collection of A.N. Nortsov in close connection with the specifics of the epoch and the reader’s needs of the bibliophile. The objectivity principle is i mplemented on the basis of a detailed analysis of historical sources, which makes it possible to comprehensively study the process of completing the Norts library.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. A passion for genealogy and history of his native land inevitably left a mark on A.N. Nortsov’s library collection. His personal collection included voluminous collections of books on local history, regional archeology, and genealogy.CONCLUSION. The study of A.N. Nortsov’s personal library complements the cultural and educational portrait of its owner. The extensive thematic repertoire of the presented books allows us to speak about the broad reading interests of Alexey Nikolaevich, his high artistic taste. At the same time, the library collection acted as a creative laboratory for writing numerous works on the history of the Tambov Region, philosophical, religious, socio-political works.