Biblioteca Pública<br>(Biblioteca Estatal de Jarkiv V. G. Korolenko)5 fotos

```--- Public Library
(V. G. Korolenko Kharkiv State Library)

One of the important buildings constructed by Beketov for the purpose of promoting public education,
is the Public Library (1899–1901).
Its opening took place as early as 1886, at the initiative of the Society for Promoting Literacy among the People.

For over twelve years, this institution operated in rented premises, and its collection soon grew to such an extent that the need arose to build a dedicated building for it. Seeking assistance with designing the project, the library management turned to A. N. Beketov. It is worth noting that the architect had already acquired extensive knowledge regarding the design of this type of buildings during his research for the degree of academician, when his thesis topic was „A Library for 1.5 Million Volumes, Including a Gallery of Great Figures and a Numismatics Room“ (1894). He successfully applied these insights to the project in Kharkiv.

This small building, located in Petrovsky Lane (now Korolenko Lane), was constructed using advanced European technologies and standards. Its design allowed for efficient functional interaction between its various components, and the book storage areas were organized in such a way that books could be easily transported to the reading rooms using specialized lifting equipment. As stated in the 1911 magazine „Bibliotekar“, this Kharkiv library held „hardly any rivals“ among similar institutions in Russia.