The library was opened in 1896 and has played an important role in the academic life of the university since then. By January 1, 1896 the library had numbered 12,201 items in 19,316 volumes.
In 1898 new buildings in the Bachmetiev street (now the Obraztsov street) were erected for Emperor’s Moscow Engineering School.
The library was housed in suitable premises on the second floor of the first building including the hall with ornately shaped cast-iron columns resembling those used for metal platform ceiling in the railway terminals.
The book storage cabinets were ordered from Germany and have been in use ever since. The glass in the cabinets differs in texture from the one produced today –looking up to the light through it one can see an undulating surface. In 1999-2001 the library premises were reconstructed as per the photographs made in 1901. The look of the interior of those years turned out fully restored upon reconstruction.
The original stock of the library was notable for its excellent selection of scientific publications in mathematics, chemistry, electrical engineering, transport, civil engineering, architecture, bridges, foreign languages.
The direct participation of many prominent scholars in library stock formation has been an important element in the library’s development since the beginning of the century.
Today the library is one of the largest and oldest libraries of Russian institutions of higher education.
The library deposits number over 4.4 million printed items. The e-catalogue exceeds 300,000 items including over 50,000 textbooks and full-text teaching manuals. The library has more than 51,000 readers and serves out up to 2 million items annually. The library employs 75 people. The staff help readers select required literature and provide timely information requests.
A new system of handing out reading items based on “IRBIS” software has been in operation since September 1, 2002. Today old card drawers have been replaced by computers, and book selection through e-catalogue is done in a matter of seconds. The development of full-text data base of the library fund is underway, a part of which being already available in the reading hall of the first building.
