The Library of the Society for Agriculture and Applied Arts in Carniola and the Beginnings of the Lyceum Library

Abstract

The library of the Society for Agriculture and Applied Arts in Carniola represents a specific monument of the organized Enlightenment effort for economic reforms and the development of applied sciences and natural sciences in present-day Slovenian territory. The article presents an overview of the connections between the Society's library and the beginnings of the Lyceum library. The scope and content of the collection are reviewed with special attention to the Society's core activities and interests. Since the library was established from regular grants from the Provincial Chamber, the Estates Domestic Fund and government funds, as well as with the help of donations from individual members, the collection is also analysed from the point of view of provenances and documents that testify to the books’ origin and their circulation among the personal collections of the society members, other collections of the time and the Society's library. The significance of the library of the Society for Agriculture and Applied Arts in Carniola is assessed in the context of the relevance of its content for the Lyceum library.