libraries

The article examines the evolution of various forms of leisure for Saratov workers in the 1920s and 1930s. When the Bolsheviks came to power, they began to pay great attention to the education of the “new man.” The object of this policy was, first of all, workers, among whom the practices proclaimed by the new government as “remnants of the past” – drunkenness and religiosity – were widespread. The contradictory policy of the party and state authorities towards the alcohol problem has been revealed.

The article examines various elements of the intellectual landscape of London in the XIV–XV centuries, which created and disseminated knowledge of different levels. It is shown that the city has favorable conditions for the realization by citizens of the need to teach literacy not only in Latin and French, but also in English. The social demand of wealthy merchants and artisan masters for secular, practice-oriented knowledge and skills has led to the emergence of new licensed grammar and singing schools, as well as an increasing number of informal schools.

This article examines the question of how the development of education and librarianship influenced the changing interests of readers in Russia in the second half of XIX and the early XX century. The author relies on the study of published and archival materials of the Vyatka province. The comparative analysis of the data of the Zemstvo and library statistics gives the basis to draw a conclusion about the relationship between the readers’ demand and the increase in the number of students of educational institutions.