…With the establishment of the gymnasium in 1880, the educational process was supported by the necessary manuals. The gymnasium had an excellent fundamental and student library, which were annually replenished with the required teaching aids, social literature, new works of domestic and foreign writers, as well as some newspapers and magazines.
Thus, the library's fund in 1890 amounted to 2775 volumes with 1272 titles in the fundamental library and 568 volumes with 344 titles in the student library. In that year, the fundamental library acquired 314 volumes with 139 titles and 32 volumes with 21 titles for the student library, costing 340 rubles; this was a significant amount at that time. The following year, the fundamental library was replenished with 2954 new volumes with 1415 titles at a cost of 237 rubles, while the student library received 633 school textbooks with 404 titles for a total of just six rubles! The following years did not deviate from this trend: in 1893, 3068 volumes with 1484 titles were acquired for the fundamental library, and 652 volumes with 421 titles for the student library; in 1895, 3482 volumes with 1695 titles (amounting to 356 rubles and 20 kopecks) were purchased for the fundamental library and 821 volumes with 524 titles for the student library.
Thus, the gymnasium's library already held over 10,000 volumes of various literature for the educational process.
As of January 1, 1915, the fundamental library, located in the old premises of the former house of A.N. Sokolov and in several cabinets along the corridor walls in the new premises, contained 3544 titles in 7325 volumes with a total value of 13614 rubles and 71 kopecks. In 1914, 357 titles in 455 volumes were acquired for 442 rubles and 82 kopecks. The school library held 2264 titles in 3629 volumes for a total of 3640 rubles and 35 kopecks, including 43 titles in 50 volumes for 42 rubles and 07 kopecks.
The fundamental library of the gymnasium included manuals on the history of Ancient Greece and Rome, allowing senior students studying ancient languages to read works by Aristides, Virgil, Horace, Aristotle, and other philosophers of the ancient world, thus entering the world of European culture.
Did the gymnasium students read books? Yes. Moreover, this was monitored by “pedeles” – pedagogical supervisors, and twice a week, “on Wednesdays and Fridays, the lazy librarian, who was panting from asthma, issued two books to those who wished…” recalls O.G. Lebedenko in his autobiographical story. “In the corridors stood heavy cabinets filled with folios and volumes bound in calico. But this was the fundamental library, and books were not issued to the gymnasium students.” It was used by teachers and outstanding students.
The modern appearance of our library is quite different. A new reading room was opened in December 2002.
“If the old library was a source to which everyone went,
who wished for knowledge, then the new one is a water supply that
delivers life-giving moisture to the homes”
Melville Dewey
The idea of creating a reading room emerged back in 2000. This idea was supported by the winners of the program “Ukrainian-American Awards for Achievements in Teaching” N.V. Ananiev, the deputy director of the gymnasium, a honored teacher of Ukraine, and geography teacher Richard Lus from the USA, who made every effort for its realization.
“The ancient library looks to the past,
the modern one – to the future”
Paul Landevich
The first funds for the construction of the reading room were contributed by a group of teachers and students from the sister school Fort Atkinson High School in Wisconsin, USA, led by Richard Lus during their two-week visit to the gymnasium. The group brought $2800. An additional personal contribution of $2000 was made by Pastor Vic Jacobson, president of the international fund “Hope Now” from Great Britain. This enabled the purchase of furniture for the reading room. A pleasant surprise was receiving $5000 from Mr. R. Rychka, the head of the Committee for Assistance to Ukraine of the “Movement” educational foundation, USA.
The construction of the reading room was overseen by the mother of our gymnasium graduate P. Podobyedova. Thanks to the efforts of Vira Mykolayivna Podobyedova, the construction was completed in the shortest possible time. The major renovation of two classrooms that had not been renovated for almost 30 years required a lot of funds. The students and teachers of the sister school Fort Atkinson High School, Wisconsin, learned about this. From the pages of local periodicals in Fort Atkinson, Richard Lus appealed for financial assistance. A fundraising campaign for the reading room was organized at the sister school. Its implementation was facilitated by the fact that at that time a Ukrainian delegation of teachers and students from the gymnasium was on a study visit to their American friends. The gymnasts prepared a presentation about their country and gymnasium in English, recited poems in both Ukrainian and English, sang Ukrainian songs, and danced. Their performances were well received at both educational institutions in the city. And here’s the result: $2100 was raised. The parent fund “To Ukraine through Education” (headed by A.P. Dobryanska) also provided significant support.
To strengthen the role of educational, popular science, and artistic literature in the educational process and to improve library services for teachers and gymnasium students, it was decided to reorganize the school library and in 2002 to create the Information Resources Center (IRC).
The Center consists of a subscription department with a book storage area and two reading rooms: for primary students and gymnasts in grades 5-11. The reading room for grades 5-11 has two sections: a Ukrainian literature section and a foreign literature section.
The First City Gymnasium of Cherkasy, an Associated UNESCO School, is the only multilingual gymnasium in Ukraine. We teach 14 languages: Ukrainian, Russian, English, Spanish, French, German, Polish, Latin, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Hebrew. Naturally, to master them, the gymnasts needed a well-equipped reading room.
The reading room has a modern appearance and is well-suited for work. It is equipped with comfortable individual spaces for independent study with books.
“What a pleasure it is to be in a beautiful library. To look at books – that alone is happiness. Before you lies a feast worthy of the gods; you realize you can take part in it and fill your cup to the brim.”
Ch. Lemb
There are two computers and a printer installed here. The computers are connected to the Internet. There is also a television and a DVD player.
“...The assertion that the Internet can replace books, libraries, and reading rooms sounds absurd... After all, a book is not just an object: you want to hold it in your hands, flip through the pages, and I enjoy doing that...”
Stanislaw Lem, a prominent Polish writer
Thus, it is impossible to imagine a modern library without computer technology. It allows increasing the number of visits, conducting registrations of all actions related to book lending, usage, and return of resources. Most importantly, the informatization of libraries opens up broader opportunities for the independent creative work of gymnasts, increases the percentage of quality preparation for homework, reduces the time spent searching for necessary information, and makes access to almost any information open.
In the photo: The director of the gymnasium introduces students to the new iPad, with which they will be able to work in the reading room
But we must not forget that the main conductor of the process of searching for information has always been, is, and will remain the librarian. M. Roerich said: “No catalogs, no descriptions can replace the librarian. A loving word and an experienced hand perform the true miracle of enlightenment.”
A pharmacy for the soul, a temple of knowledge, a treasury of wisdom—however grandly the library has been called over the millennia.
Today we have the status of information and cultural-educational centers.
Currently, all gymnasts come to the school library with lists of literature, topics for reports, and teachers come for information. Each of them is greeted warmly, we help them navigate the ocean of information, and we thoughtfully consider their requests and wishes, as the main principle of a librarian's work is “Everything for the reader.”
“Reading good books is like having a conversation with the best people of past times, and it is such a conversation that they share with us only their best thoughts.”
R. Descartes
Focusing on personalized learning, the librarians of the gymnasium pay special attention to an individual approach to readers. The reading room is an island of silence and tranquility in the turbulent sea of the gymnasium's educational activities.
“Without a passion for books, a person cannot access the culture of the modern world, intellectual and emotional improvement.”
V.O. Sukhomlinsky
The moments spent here are a rest for the student's psyche. An opportunity to meet with the dearest friend – a book. The gymnasts love their library, and the reading room is almost never empty.