20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

302 Sirkka Havuuniversity’s research work was based on generous gifts from St. Petersburg.The most important of these were: 1) the gift of St. Petersburg Academyof Sciences, 2) the gift of Paul Alexandroff and 3) the gift of Nicholas I.In addition, the Library retained its copyright status, which was alreadygranted to it in 1820, guaranteeing a copy of every book printed in thewhole Russian empire.As early as November 1827 the Imperial Academy of Sciences decidedto donate books to the University of Finland, giving Helsinki University acopy of each of its own publications, as well as all duplicate copies. Besidethese, they finally decided also to give the theological and juridical sectionsof their own collections. In 1829, about 4,000 volumes of scientific Europeanwriting were sent from St. Petersburg to Helsinki. The thematic focus ofthis gift was on theology and law, and as a result the National Library ofFinland has today the essential works of great theological thinkers and ofcontroversial religious writers of the Western Christianity. Most of the basictexts of Roman and Canon law and the major works on the philosophy oflaw may be found in the National Library of Finland, as well.The largest Russian donation came in 1832 from cavalry captain PaulAlexandroff (1808-1857), natural son of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich.The donation comprised 24,000 volumes.These books came from two libraries Paul had inherited from hisfather, namely the libraries of the Gatchina and Marble Palaces, which bothwere founded by Catherine II. The thematic contents of Paul Alexandroff’smagnificent gift of the imperial palace libraries represent a typical18 th century “art et lettres” library, which may also be characterized asencyclopaedic, comprising – to some extent – all the branches of sciences.However, literature, history and art are dominant in this library, while thenatural sciences altogether comprise only about 10% of the whole. 10Emperor Nicholas I showed personal interest in the development ofthe collections of Helsinki University Library. He donated three importantbook collections: the libraries 1) of Johann Henning and 2) of Joseph vonRehmann and 3) the large collection of academic dissertations from theexceptionally large private library of general Jan Pieter van Suchtelen. Thiscollection of some 30,000 European academic dissertations was extremelyimportant to the University.Probably the small amount of the natural sciences in HelsinkiUniversity Library made the emperor Nicholas I to consent to donate thecollections of these two St. Petersburg doctors, Johann Henning and JosephJoseph von Rehmann to Helsinki University. Both these libraries are of10Jörgensen: 81-82.