visitors required a larger reading room in the new building closing the library court along the perimeter (designed by Sobolshchikov, built in 1860—62). The visitors were offered such novelties as continuous reading room service by library staff members, a reference desk, printed catalogues and guide books, lists of new acquisitions, and longer hours of service in the reading room (10 a.m. to 9 p.m). An avalanche-like growth of attendance persisted in the second part of the 19th century. Library cards and attendance grew tenfold between 1860 and 1913. The public principle triumphed when the class barriers maintained until the mid-19th century were abolished and the petty bourgeois, peasants and even women were often seen among the visitors. Women were also employed by the Library but only as volunteer members rather than formal staff. From 1849 to 1861 the library was managed by Count Modest von Korff (1800–76), who had been Alexander Pushkin's school-fellow at the Lyceum. Korff and his successor, Ivan Delyanov, added to the library's collections some of the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament (the Codex Sinaiticus from the 340s), the Old Testament (the so-called Leningrad Codex), and one of the earliest Qur'ans (the Uthman Qur'an from the mid-7th century). The Library’s role was adapted to changing conditions requiring close contacts with universities, scientific societies, leading research centers and major international libraries. The Public library engaged eminent scholars and cultural workers, and research groups were formed to study precious books and manuscripts. The Library continued to build a comprehensive collection of national publications. The growing collections were located in a new building (designed by E.S. Vorotilov, 1896—1901). By 1913, the Library held one million Russian books (total collections comprising three million titles), emerging as one of the world’s great libraries and the richest manuscript collection in Russia. 20th century In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, the institution was placed under the management of Ernest Radlov and Nicholas Marr, although its national preeminence was relinquished to the Lenin State Library in Moscow. The library was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1939 and remained open during the gruesome Siege of Leningrad. In 1948, the Neoclassical campus of the Catherine Institute on the Fontanka Embankment (Giacomo Quarenghi, 1804–07) was assigned to the library. By 1970, the Library contained more than 17,000,000 items. The modern building for the book depository was erected on Moskovsky Prospekt in