Since the 70s of the XIX century, orders for the military department began to appear in Russia about the need to organize officer meetings in regiments and on ships. They have contributed to a significant increase in the role and importance of these corporate communities. The Emperor and the military officials of the army and Navy were convinced that officers ' meetings serve to bring together the professional and spiritual interests of the army and Navy commanders. To strengthen the best qualities, it was necessary to constantly analyze the organizational and educational work carried out with them. Knowledge and experience for this purpose could be gathered only from printed sources. Therefore, it is no coincidence that during the creation of military communities and in later periods of their formation, issues related to the arrangement of libraries and the organization of their work were primarily resolved. So, in the draft Charter of the Officers ' Assembly of the Army and Navy, published in 1897, it was written:: "At the meeting there are: a library, a common room, living rooms, dining rooms, billiards and rooms for visitors. With the permission of the chairman, lectures, talks, military and other games, friendly dinners, balls, concerts, as well as shooting, hunting, musical, dramatic and other clubs and associations of members and visitors for scientific or entertainment purposes may be organized in the assembly." Creating libraries in officers ' collections, many regimental and ship commanders believed that the accumulated literature, in particular military literature, would help officers find answers to numerous questions about military life. The library of the oldest officer's collection - the Kronstadt Naval Museum-was organized in 1831. All members of the community voluntarily contributed one percent of their monthly salary to purchase books, brochures, and magazines. Three rooms were allocated for the library from the meeting rooms. Its work was carri ... Read more