History of the Central Scientific Library

The history of the scientific library began in 1932 with the opening of the first scientific primary organization of the Kazakhstan Base of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Almaty.

In 1946, with the establishment of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, the library obtained the status of the Central Scientific Library. At the forefront of determining the importance of the library’s development and scientific level stood Kanysh Imantaevich Satpayev, the first President of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR. From this period, new and key stages of the Central Scientific Library’s formation and development began.

Starting March 1, 1957, by order of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, Nurkhan Batishkyzy Akhmedova was appointed Director of the Central Scientific Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR.

N. B. Akhmedova ensured scientifically grounded acquisition of the collection with domestic and foreign literature. Continuous work was carried out to select, train, and properly place specialists for the development of particular areas of librarianship, as well as to supplement the collection with books obtained from the collections of libraries of the union republics. The formation of the collection was supervised by Kanysh Imantaevich Satpayev. Books selected by CSL staff from reserve collections of major libraries across the Soviet Union were delivered to Almaty in containers.

Over the 30 years of leadership by Nurkhan Batishkyzy, the Central Scientific Library ranked among the leading academic libraries of the Union. The greatest achievement was the development of international book exchange. Under N. B. Akhmedova, the library established book exchange with 266 scholarly institutions in 46 countries, including major libraries such as the Library of Congress (USA), the National Library of Paris, the New York Public Library, the State Library of Beijing, and others. In the 1980s, book exchange was conducted with 870 scholarly institutions in 61 countries, and the library’s collection of foreign scholarly literature became the best among libraries in Central Asia.

In 1958, the library, together with the Academy, moved into a new, current building.

In the 1960s–1980s, in accordance with the coordinated R&D and methodological plan, the Central Scientific Library maintained close ties with the country’s major libraries. CSL began participating in international, all‑Union, and republican scientific conferences. Relations with libraries of the USA, Canada, PRC, Japan, France, Germany, and others developed actively.

Since 1983, the Central Scientific Library, one of the first in the republic, began introducing automation of library‑information processes. Subscribers of the research institutes of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan were provided with access to the VINITI database in the automated IRIna mode. The library operated the AIS “Retrospective Search”, AIS “Bibliography”, and AIS “KAA”.

In the 1990s, the new socio‑cultural conditions based on the state independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan expanded the social and functional scope of the library’s activities.

1996 — CSL became a member of the International Association of Academies of Sciences of the CIS and the Baltic countries (IAAS).

1998 — CSL became a member of the Library Association of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

By the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 17, 1999, the Central Scientific Library became the State Republican Treasury Enterprise of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Oрталық ғылыми кітапхана”. The development dynamics of CSL, relying on past traditions, aimed to find new ways of development and coordinate new forms of management.

2001 — CSL became one of the founders of the Information Consortium of Libraries of Kazakhstan.

2012 — transformed into the Scientific Library of the RSE “Gylym Ordasy” of the Committee of Science of the MES RK.

In 2025, the Central Scientific Library signed a memorandum with the centralized library system of the city of Almaty.

As of today, the library holds about 5.8 million scientific publications.

The library houses the largest collection of manuscripts on the history and culture of the Kazakhs — 20,000 items, and scientific publications in more than 100 languages have been collected.

The library's holdings preserve valuable heritage from the 12th–18th centuries, priceless manuscripts, and more than 900,000 foreign scientific publications. For example, the collection includes manuscripts by al‑Farabi, A. Qunanbaiuly, M. Kopeyuly, A. Navoi, Sh. Ualikhanov, M. Auezov, A. Divaev, A. Margulan; a letter from Abylai Khan; Kazakh genealogies; the “Genealogy of the Kazakh Khans” written on a 3‑meter roll of cloth paper; a 26‑meter manuscript of the “Taurat” (Torah) on calfskin from the 12th century; and more than 20,000 other valuable manuscripts.

The range of materials is very broad: from original manuscripts to modern electronic information carriers.

The Scientific Library of the RSE “Gylym Ordasy” of the Committee of Science of the MES RK is the holder of highly valuable rare books and manuscripts.

Main directions of the library’s work:

- Promoting scientific, cultural, and historical documents in the CSL collection that constitute national wealth and scholarly value;

- Digitizing rare documents, manuscripts, and other materials;

- Creating full databases of scientific‑bibliographic and instructional materials, and academic scientific journals;

- Maintaining the electronic catalog;

- Ensuring access to databases of global information centers and publishers.

The Scientific Library of the RSE “Gylym Ordasy” of the Committee of Science of the MES RK is an international book‑exchange center, a partner of 466 scholarly institutions in 65 countries of the world, and the custodian of more than 900,000 units of foreign scholarly literature in Kazakhstan.

The Scientific Library of the RSE “Gylym Ordasy” of the Committee of Science of the MES RK is the republican center for scientific‑bibliographic services. It holds intellectual property certificates for several bibliographic series:

- “Қазақстан және әлемдік қоғамдастық”

- “Қазақстан ғалымдарының биобиблиографиясы”

- “Ұлы тұлғалар”

- “Кітапхана ісінің көрнекті қайраткерлері”

Орталық ғылыми кітапхана – халықаралық кітап алмасу орталығы, дүниежүзінің __ еліндегі ___ ғылыми мекемелерінің серіктесі және Қазақстандағы шетелдік ғылыми әдебиеттің ____-нан астам қорының сақтаушысы.

Scientific work of the library

The library’s series: “Ұлы тұлғалар”, “Қазақстан ғалымдарының биобиблиографиясы”, “Афидология бойынша библиография. 1712–2007”, “Қазақстанның табиғаты және табиғи ресурстары”, “Қазақстан және әлемдік қауымдастық”, “Қазақстанның тарихи – мәдени мұрасы”, “Қазақстандағы ғылым және ғылыми зерттеу жұмыстары”. In addition, the library participated in scientific projects of the Committee of Science of the MES RK, resulting in the publications “История Казахстана дореволюционный период”, Vols. I–II, and “Источники и литература по истории города Алматы”. According to the library’s plans, the following scientific publications have been issued: “Ғылыми кітапхананың қолжазбалар қорында сақтаулы материалдар жинағының мазмұндалған библиографиялық көрсеткіші”, Vols. 1–7; “Ғылыми кітапхана қорында сақтаулы шет тіліндегі сирек кездесетін кітаптардың мазмұндалған суретті библиографиялық көрсеткіші”; “ҚР БҒМ ҒК «Ғылым ордасы» РМК Ғылыми кітапхананың Сирек қорындағы парсы тіліндегі кітаптардың каталогы”.