The Scientific and Technical Library of Kyiv Polytechnic keeps a lot of interesting things that can give an inquisitive researcher of the university history materials for reflection and further research. In particular, many old books have preserved so-called provenance - various seals, stickers, and inscriptions left by their former owners. These owners could be individuals-students, institute professors, or various government and public figures or institutions-educational institutions, societies, clubs, etc. Sometimes we find several inscriptions on the title pages, which means that the book passed from hand to hand. Often, it is thanks to such signs that book collections that were once donated to the KPI Library are re-formed.
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To make it easier for everyone interested to get acquainted with these book marks, the librarians have created a separate collection in the Digital Library of Kyiv Polytechnic. The digital library page is available 24/7 - this electronic resource can be used at any convenient time.
So, which famous and unknown people do we meet on the pages of library publications? First of all, these are the legendary professors of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute - V.L. Kyrpychov, M.I. Konovalov, M.A. Artemiev, V.P. Izhevsky and others. One of the largest book collections is the personal library of Mikhail Ivanovich Konovalov. Thanks to the stamp specially created for these publications, we can now identify the books of the outstanding chemist, the second director of the KPI. Archival materials show that the total number of documents in this collection was 912 books and 34 titles of periodicals. Along with the library of the Institute, the manuscript archive of the scientist was also transferred.
Another rather large collection, that of Isidor Hryhorovych Rekashev, a teacher of descriptive geometry, is also being gradually restored. Today, the Department of Rare and Valuable Editions has almost 80 titles of documents, most of which are old prints published before 1850.
The libraries of Vasyl Izhevsky (KPI professor, organizer and first head of the Department of Metallurgy), Ivan Zhukov (chemist, KPI rector), Mykhailo Tikhvinsky (KPI professor of chemistry), and others are being replenished thanks to the owner's and donor's inscriptions.
In different periods, national scientists or public figures studied at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. For example, Ukrainian art historian and researcher of ancient Russian architecture Ipolit Morgylevsky graduated from the Chemical Department of KPI in 1918, and the library has several books with his autograph. Or Mykola Konstantinovych Metelskyi, a chemist by profession, assistant manager at one of the sugar factories. We have several books from his own library and his scientific work “Extraction of sugar from beet molasses” (1885). By the way, the “sugar” theme occupied a significant place in the library's book collection. And for good reason: it is well known that the opening of our educational institution was initiated by Ukrainian industrialists who needed domestic specialists for sugar enterprises.
Gifts from KPI students were not the last source of literature. The largest collection to date (33 editions) belonged to Vladyslav Zaluskyi. It is known that he entered the Mechanical Department of the KPI in 1909, and his further fate is not traced. We also find some names of the donors in the lists of students preserved in the library for 1899-1917 and presented on the page of the Digital Library of Kyiv Polytechnic. Gradually, the names of students who once studied and then donated their books (mostly textbooks) to the library are emerging from oblivion.
Still, most of the inscriptions or seals on the pre-1945 editions were left by people we know nothing about. Probably, these are KPI students or staff, teachers. Some editions were once transferred from other libraries... Nevertheless, we record each such mark of the owner or even a part of the mark, continue to search for information and do not give up hope to add new facts or names to the history of the university library.