The Republican Scientific and Technical Library (RSTL) under the Intellectual Property Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan is one of the largest libraries of our country. At the moment, the library's general fund consists of approximately 14 million copies. Books on various fields of science, technology and economy are collected here in accordance with the direction of activity in RSTL. One of the advantages of the library is that the "Gold Fund" operates here.

About 4,000 (3,621) copies of literature are kept in the gold fund of RSTL. The literature included in the gold fund covers the years 1880-1940. The main part of them is the oil fund, and the rest is made up of literature on architecture, construction, mathematics, physics, chemistry, science and other fields of technology, including encyclopedic dictionaries.

It should be noted that in 1884, at the first congress of Baku oil industrialists, the Baku Oil Industrialists Congress Council (BOICC) was elected. BOICC was one of the first entrepreneurial organizations of the Russian bourgeoisie. In 1898, BOICC established its first publication - "Neftyanoe Delo" ("Oil business") magazine. The first issue of the magazine was published in Russian on January 10, 1899. All issues of this magazine are stored in the gold fund of RSTL.

"Oil business" magazine was the first media outlet in the world that covered the achievements and problems of the oil industry. In May 1920, by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the Azerbaijan SSR, the name of the magazine "Oil business" was changed to "Azerbaijan oil industry". Laws and decisions about the oil industry, chronicles of the oil industry (drilling wells, oil production, processing, trading of oil products), oil industry statistics, reports of oil industry companies and other information was been published in the magazine.

In addition, the "Trudi" and "Obzor" books of the congresses of Oil Industrialists are stored in the golden fund of RSTL. In each of these books, plans and maps of the oil lands of Baku's Absheron peninsula (Balakhani, Bibi Heybat, Ramana, Gala), production of oil wells, monthly and annual indicators are shown with tables and diagrams.

Recently, various book exhibitions, including mobile exhibitions, have been organized by RSTL. Thus, at the Baku VIII International Book Fair held at the Baku Expo Center on October 5-9, 2022, literature related to oil, chemistry, physics, mathematics, architecture, construction, science and technology and other fields included in the "Gold fund" of RSTL has been demonstrated. These measures also affect the increase in the number of readers of the library. Scientists, specialists, students and other interested persons can use the services of RSTL.

These books are the wealth of our nation. They are the true history of the black gold of Azerbaijan. When you get acquainted with these books, you feel as if you are traveling to the last century, that time comes alive in your eyes.