A new stage in the life of the Imperial Public Library (now the National Library of Russia) began in 1850, when M. A. Korf, who carried out the organizational restructuring of the Library, became its director for many years and determined the order of its activities. The Library began to function on the principle of separate departments. From the largest meetings in various specialties, the departments turned into stable administrative units. For the fi rst time, the history of the Department of Fine Arts and Technology, containing unique collections of prints, lithographs, notes, and others, was recreated in detail. The activities of V. I. Sobolshchikov, V. V. Stasov, I. I. Gornostaev, N. D. Chechulin, L. A. Sakketti, M. L. Lozinsky, who served in it, are disclosed. The order of preparing its catalogs and the organization of large collections, in particular the Peter the Great Gallery, are analyzed. The reasons for the liquidation of the departmental system of the Public Library and the replacement of its functional one is substantiated.
Wilhelm Kotarbinskyi in documentary photography artifacts of the Department of Fine Arts of V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine (to 170-birthday anniversary)