Libraries of noble estates in the cultural environment of the Tambov Governorate in the late 18th – 19th centuries

The authors analyze the concept of «cultural environment», highlight its components on the example of the Tambov Governorate, show its progress. The libraries of the noble estates played an important role in the development of cultural life in province, performed memorial, informational and socializing functions. We reveal the trends in the development of personal collections, the core of the library fund, which allowed to determine the structure of the cultural heritage – publications distributed over the 19th–21th centuries. We make the conclusion about most popular authors, books and reading fashion. The authors reconstructed an objective picture of establishing and functioning of estate libraries in this period as an element of the cultural environment. A number of technologies for creating personal libraries can be used at present. Family reading techniques are applicable in promoting reading, books and book culture.

libraries of noble estate, cultural environment, Tambov Governorate