N.A. Rubakin, the Great Man of Book, in Letters and Memoirs

The article presents an overview of the published and unpublished correspondence and memoirs of Nikolay Alexandrovich Rubakin, the outstanding Russian bibliologist, library scientist, bibliographer, educator and writer, whose versatile work and activities occupy the prominent place in the history of Russian culture and spiritual life of Russia in the second half of the 19th — the first half of the 20th century. The relevance of the appeal to the personality and creative heritage of N.A. Rubakin is defined by his role in studying the problems of reading and reader. In the context of the development of modern information society, the reading is of great importance in the development of spiritual and creative abilities of individual. There is highlighted the role of N.A. Rubakin in the history of the Russian State Library. The letters and memoirs are considered as documentary and historical sources containing unique biographical information. In the overview there is given their substantial characteristics and special purpose. Publications presented in the Biobibliographic Index “Nikolay Rubakin (1862—1946)”, published in the “Pashkov Dom” Publishing House of the Russian State Library in 2012, as well as the materials revealed after publication of the Index, are combined into a single array. The article gives many excerpts from the letters and memoirs, illustrating various events and facts from the life of N.A. Rubakin, which were not represented in the Indexes. There are determined the groups of his correspondents; and identified different archives holding his correspondence. Memoirs type materials, their connection with publication of the correspondence are characterized. There is revealed their potential for further research and detailed description with the purpose of introducing into the scientific circulation of new information about the life and activities of N.A. Rubakin..