Central Naval Library

The library was founded on November 25, 1799 by Emperor Paul I at the Scientific Committee of the Admiralty College "to discuss issues of shipbuilding and navigation" and is located in the building of the Admiralty. The main focus of the Committee's activities was the publication of books and articles on maritime affairs, the translation and publication of the best foreign writings. The collection of books on marine subjects of the Scientific Committee of the Admiralty College in Russian and European languages ​​became the basis of the collection of the Marine Library. The main scientific work in the Committee was: Vice Admiral A. S. Shishkov , an outstanding naval historian, a famous writer; P. Ya. Gamaleya , teacher of mathematics and marine sciences at the Naval Cadet Corps . Count Xavier de Mestre was appointed the first director of the library (1805-1810), who enriched the library with valuable revenues and laid the foundations for universal acquisition. In subsequent years, the Maritime Library was part of the Hydrographic Department (1827–1860), the Maritime Ministry (1860–1891), and the Main Hydrographic Directorate (1891–1917).

In 1938, the Maritime Library was renamed the Central Naval Library. In 1940, it was moved to the building of the former Stock Exchange on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island. In August 1941, part of the fund was evacuated to Ulyanovsk , and the remaining books were placed in the basement of the Stock Exchange. The library worked during the blockade of Leningrad. During the years of the war, bibliographic and systematic indexes were compiled, work was carried out to study the fund. Book collections were saved and returned to the library. In 1957, the library moved to the Mikhailovsky (Engineering) castle and is still in it. In the 1960s and 1980s, work on the promotion of naval literature, reference, information and methodological activities was widely deployed. Now the library holds scientific conferences, book presentations, thematic evenings related to naval topics, geographical discoveries and travels, methodological events, and book illustrative exhibitions. The library issues bibliographic publications: thematic and reference books, annotated indexes of literature, a bulletin of Russian and foreign literature “Naval literature”, a retrospective index of books and articles in Russian. The annual and monthly calendar of significant and memorable dates of the Navy is published. The library has a literary association named after Vsevolod Azarov "Way to the Sea."

The library fund of the Central Computer Library consists of the following funds: Russian books and Russian periodicals; foreign books; foreign magazines, newspapers and translations; “A rare book”; exchange fund. At present, the TsVMB fund has over 600,000 documents, many of which are bibliographic rarities, 16,000 of which are part of the Rare Book Fund. The library presents books and periodicals in European and Oriental languages. The richest newspaper fund has been compiled, representing the domestic periodical from the end of the 18th century. to the present day. The book collections of the Central Stock Exchange contain literature on the history of the country's Navy for three centuries of its existence. Widely represented are publications in all branches of knowledge related to the history of the navy. The Central Bank of Moscow stores in its collections the charters and regulations of Peter I , Catherine II ; rare translations of books on shipbuilding, navigation, maritime practice, valuable and interesting collections of books of maritime institutions of Russia of the 19th century, a complex of ownership collections of the 18th – 19th centuries, unique literature on all aspects of the activities of the Russian Navy, navies of many countries. The personal library of Admiral I.F. Kruzenshtern, which reflects all the main stages of his scientific activity, has been preserved and is kept at the Central Military Library. Among the collections of the Rare Book Foundation, one should note the publications from the library of the reformer of the Russian fleet, Admiral General Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich , who headed in 1853-1881. Maritime Office . Now the TsVMB, being a special naval book depository, has valuable, well-stocked funds in the exact, natural, applied and social sciences. The library contains the most complete Russian and foreign geographical and historical literature. The funds are dominated by a humanitarian book - history, the history of geographical and exact sciences, regional geography and a description of swimming. CVMB collects all materials about human activities related to the sea, which distinguishes it from other scientific repositories of the country.

• Vice Admiral A.S. Shishkov ,
• Count Xavier de Mestre ,
• Admiral G. A. Sarychev ,
• Admiral I.F. Kruzenshtern ,
• Admiral F.P. Wrangel ,
• Oceanographer Yu. M. Shokalsky .

Currently, the structure of the computer is:

• collection and processing department
• fund storage and service department
• bibliographic department
• methodical department
• publishing department

The library actively participates in all military-historical events held in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities, maintains constant contact with authors, publishers, veteran unions, naval educational institutions and historical clubs, replenishing the book fund with their help. Over the 215 years of its existence, the library has become a major center not only for military and naval, but also for scientific literature of the 18th – 21st centuries.

• Central Naval Library on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense
• Fedorova O. M. Preserving the marine history of Russia. A brief historical outline of the Central Naval Library / Central Military Library. - M: "Neptune XXI Century", 2007. - 144 p.: Ill.