Publications and manuscripts on astronomy in book collections in Ukraine in the XVIII century

The article analyzes book collections of individual libraries, schools, monasteries and private book collections of representatives of various segments of the population on the territory of Ukraine in the XVIII century in order to identify both historical and bibliological characteristics of the books and manuscripts on astronomy and their place and importance among the other books covering natural science subjects. Analysis of the book collections of various members of the nobility, the clergy, the Cossacks, as well as the teachers and scholars allowed to determine the educational level of the collections' owners, their interests, the level of scientific knowledge, personal preferences, as well as the extent of distribution and nature of use of the books and manuscripts on astronomy, specifics of their impact on the spiritual life and formation of the world view. It was revealed that the majority of book collections included works on astronomy, calendars, atlases, star sky maps and so on. As a result, the analysis proves that book collections of scientists and teachers included mostly the books covering natural science subjects, and therefore works on astronomy were presented by a large number of the studied books compared to their part of the book collections of other types of libraries. The article reveals the sources of acquisition of book collections of libraries and the spread of the books of the studied subject, it shows that the books on astronomy were a communicational means of acquaintance with the latest achievements of West-European science and the basis for the development of the proper scientific thought in Ukraine. The paper clarifies the value of books on astronomy in the semination of scientific knowledge and education