Development of Soviet Library Science during the Great Patriotic War

The article is devoted to the history of library science during the Great Patriotic War. The study reconstructs the development of domestic library science during the war years (June 1941 - May 1945) based on analysis of dissertations and scientific events. Particular attention is paid to the history of the preparation and analysis of V. A. Artisevich’s report at a scientific conference held in December 1942 in the Scientific Library at the Saratov State University. The report was devoted to the development of Soviet library science and the thesis of M. I. Slukhovskiy, who laid the foundations of the history of librarianship as a scientific discipline. On the one hand, there was a reduction in research in the field of library science and practice, its reorientation to solving applied problems in the interests of the front. On the other hand, there was an appeal to fundamental problems, the solution of which laid the foundations for the subsequent development of library science and made it possible to preserve the library science scientific schools that emerged in the late 1930s. The theoretical significance of the article lies in expanding the understanding of the history of library science during the war years, its role and place in the development of Soviet library science, and the practical significance lies in updating the educational role of the history of domestic library science.