To make this study comparable and applicable to the similar phenomena in any historical times of any societies, the author set up the 2 fundamental social functions, which are indicated in the form of logical equations—1) Reading Circles: R (readers, books), and 2) Library Activities: R (Bookkeepers, readers, books). All the elements comprising the equations are given a character that each of them evolves, indipendently as well as affecting each others, in accordance with the development of a society, but its substance is not changed in any way. The author pointed out that in the 18 century of Britain, Reading Circles, taking the form of “book clubs”, were prevailing among the gentry and a lot of the book clubs swept the country. In this sence such a phenomenon can be named “the Movement of Reading Circles”, which was followed by the library movement in the form of the establishment of a lot of the subscription libraries in the latter part of the century.
Studying the cases of Russia in the 19 century, the author reached the following conclusions:
(1) The typical form of the Movements of the Reading Circles emerged in the 20's of the 19th century in the process of the activation of the social reform movement by “Dekavlists”. Who put the activities of the Reading Circles in the center of the reform movement.
(2) ln the activities of illegal libraries emerged in the 80's of the century, a combination of the Movement of the Readidg Circles with the library movement took place, as in the 18 century of Britain. The supporters and promoters of the Movement are people of laboring class, lacking those of peasant class, Such a situation affected decisively the course of the development of the Movement of the Reading Circles as well as that of libraries after the birth of Soviet Russia in 1917.
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