The 50th anniversary of the Department of the Central Scientific Library of the Far Eastern Branch based at the Botanical Garden-Institute

The article is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Department of the Central Scientific Library (CSL) of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences based at the Botanical Garden-Institute (BGI), established in 1974. For the first time, the history of the department evolution from the small sector to division with the vast collection of books on flora in the Far East of Russia is discussed. The collection is highly demanded by scientists and the widest audience representing public and ecological organizations, and nature enthusiasts. The authors present information on the lifetime publications by Academician Vladimir Leontyevich Komarov, the organizer and first chairman of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who personally brought and mailed to the library the highly demanded science publications, and contributed massively to establishment of scientific organizations in the Far East of Russia. The Department takes the most active part in the life of the Botanical Garden-Institute, interacts with its administration and the Council of Young Scientists. The authors demonstrate how the library adapts to the financial situation, to the BGI expanding and changing research vectors, to acquiring short-circulation scientific literature. The authors share the experience of holding the ecological initiative, i. e. “The Rhododendron Day”, which has become the large-scale annual all-Russian conference for schoolchildren with international participation, and which has had impact on the BGI website and book publishing in the CSL. The open access to scientific information is promoted to the wide range of users in Vladivostok and the Primorsky Kray via the guest displays and ecological educational events based on the scientific books and popular science publications.