The Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians also as the Society for the Extension of Literacy among the Georgians was a charity founded by a group ofleading Georgian intellectuals in May 1879 in order to promote a cultural and operated until 1926/7.
Organized by the noblemen Ilia Chavchavadze, Dimitri Kipiani, and local educators like Iakob Gogebashvili and Mariam Jambakur-Orbeliani, the Society ran a network of schools, bookshops and libraries throughout the country; trained teachers, and sponsored Georgian-language books and journals. Prince Chavchavadze, a prominent writer, went on to play a leading role in the Society, succeeding the first chairman Kipiani in 1885 until his assassination in 1907.
The organization, involved virtually all active Georgians, several philanthropists and officials, and was instrumental in Georgian national revival in the latter half of the 19th century.
Since the establishment of Soviet rule in Georgia in 1921, the various departments of the Society for the Promotion of Literacy among Georgians started to close down, the membership and donations dwindled, and there was no money to purchase new books. In December, 1925, the book depository and archives of the Society were transferred to Tbilisi University, and two years later, the Society ceased to exist. In spring 1937, the government decreed that the book collection be transferred to the Public Library in its entirety. The invaluable collection of the Society, which comprised personal collections of Ilia Chavchavadze, Davit Chubinashvili, Rapiel Eristavi, Dimitri Bakradze, Iakob Gogebashvili and Petre Umikashvili among others, was scattered throughout the Library’s book depository and among various departments.
From 1941 onwards, efforts had been underway to restore the book collection of the Society to its former glory, with the initiative coming to fruition when the collection was recovered using the old accession numbers. Currently, this collection in the library is designated by FS (for Georgian-language titles) and TS (for foreign titles) codes. The collection of the Society for the Promotion of Literacy among Georgians is included in the online catalog of the National Library.
