Borys Osypovych Borovych as a Unique Figure and Outstanding Library Scientist of Ukraine

The purpose of this paper is to reproduce all stages of the life and creative path of B. O. Borovych, to reassess his contribution to library science and practice of Ukraine. The methodology. The research was conducted using a complex of methodological approaches: historical, systematic, comparative, as well as research methods: bibliographic, content analysis of the flow of publications by B. Borovych, the modeling method, which made it possible to identify the main stages of the life and creative path of the scientist, the development of his professional and public worldview, identifying the political and socio-cultural factors that influenced his development as a professional, shaped his ideological beliefs. The results. The reconstruction of the biography and professional path of B. Borovych against the background of historical events of the era of revolutionary transformations of Ukrainian society in the first third of the XX century made it possible to identify and characterize three main stages of his life: childhood and youth (1883–1905); the stage of active public and educational activities (1906–1916); the stage of professional formation in librarianship (1920–1931); the stage of political persecution and execution (1932–1938). For the theory and practice of librarianship, the most important thing is the Kharkiv stage of the scientist’s life, his professional activity as the head of the consulting and bibliographic department of Kharkiv Public Library, which he created, which becomes the cultural-informational and scientific-methodological life center of Kharkiv — the capital of that time. The most significant is the contribution of B. Borovych to the development of the theory and methodology of creating a subject catalogue as an effective information and search system, to the development of the methodological foundations of library reader studies and personnel studies. The scientific novelty. For the first time, the periodization of the main stages of the life and professional activity of the outstanding Ukrainian library scientist, one of the best representatives of Kharkiv school of cataloguers, Borys Osypovych Borovych, was introduced into scientific circulation. The key scientific and methodological works of B. Borovych, which had a significant impact on the popularization of the subject catalogue as an effective reference and search system of the library, its introduction and distribution in libraries of various types, are characterized. Thanks to the works of B. Borovych, regional centers of supporters of subject catalogues were formed: Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv (headed by D. Balyka). The first professiogram of a librarian developed by B. Borovych is disclosed, his contribution to the development of bibliographic psychology and sociological methods of reader research is highlighted. The practical significance. B. Borovych’s experience of building a subject catalogue as an effective information and search system of a large scientific library, his approaches to the organization of management of the information and bibliography department are useful for library practitioners, managers of cataloguing and user information service departments.