Nuria Garaeva - Tatar Islamic Libraries - from Oxford

Nuria Garaeva : Tatar Islamic libraries in the first quarter of the 20th century,

At the turn of the 19th -20th centuries in Kazan there were existed several well known private libraries of Tatar intelligentsia („ulamah). In 1932-1934 the considerable part manuscripts and books from these libraries were past to the Library of Kazan University. The history of Tatar libraries during the first quarter of 20th century is not clear, even this period was a time of dynamic changes within the Tatar society and of a splash in development of Islamic and Eastern studies in Kazan. New data helps to correct the known outline in this period of history of Islamic libraries in Kazan. In 1881 one of the main founders of Djadidi movement, Galim-Djan Barudi (1857-1921, opened madrasah “Muhammadiya” and passed his own collection of Islamic manuscripts and printed books to the library of this madrasah. In 1906 another reformer of education, Ahmad-Hadi Maqsudi (1868-1941), founded the public, free of charge library for Muslims (e.i. Tatars). This library, well known as “Kitab-hane Islamiya”, was a Branch of Public Library of the City of Kazan with official name “Kazan Central Islamic Library” and it was financed by Imperial Authorities of Kazan. In 1913 under the initiative of Kazan University prof. Nickolay Katanov (1862-1922) the library of madrasah “Muhammadiya” changed it‟s status into public, free of charge library and took the name “Central Oriental library”. In 1921 both libraries (“Kitab-hane Islamiya” and “Central Oriental library”) were united under the name “Central Oriental Library-Museum”.
In 1927 Central Oriental Library-Museum became the library of „The House of Tatar Culture”, which in about 1930 was transfered into “Library of TatRepublic”. Finally, “Library of TatRepublic” and Library of Kazan University were united, and the majority of private libraries of Tatar intelligentsia became essential part of manuscript and book collection in Аrabic script held at the library of Kazan University.