Annual Report of the Slavic Section for 1925

Report for the year ending June 30, 1925.

Accessions. The number of publications in the Slavic Section has been increased by about 1500 volumes. Direct dealing with the Book Chamber at Moscow and exchange of official publications between the Library and Book Chamber have been established, and the first consignment of exchange publications has been received, while a large order for Russian publications, over 500 titles, is pending.

The Library has purchased: a collection of Ukrainian publications of 246 titles; a complete set of a rather rare and valuable Russian artistic monthly entitled Zolotoe runo (Golden Fleece) for 1906–09, containing reproduction of modern Russian paintings with comments; the following three important treaties on the history of the dynasty of Romanoffs: Gosudari iz doma Romanovykh 1613–1913, Tri vieka ( Three Centuries ) published by I. D. Sytin, and Trista liet tsarstvovaniia doma Romanovykh 1613–1913; Otechestvennaia voina 1812, five volumes artistically illustrated; Velikaia Reforma, six volumes artistically illustrated.

During the year the Section has begun to develop the Polish sub-section: a collection of 143 titles of representative modern Polish belles-lettres was purchased.

Among the gifts of 26 titles the most noteworthly is a collection of 6 titles of Lithuanian publications presented to the Library by Rev. J. J. Koncevicius.

Exchange of official publications with the Slavic countries outside of Russia — Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovens [sic] — was established years ago. The Library has been sending American publications regularly to these countries through the International Exchange Service of the Smithsonian Institution, but the Library has received very little in return so far, perhaps for the reason that these countries have not as yet succeeded in establishing a special office which would care for exchange of their official publications.

In these Slavic seccession states, especially in Poland and Czechoslovakia, there has been a considerable increase in the output of publications as compared with the pre-war time.

The interest of readers in and visitors to the Library has also grown in regard to these new states. Inquiries in regard to their status and affairs, especially related to the bibliography of their informative and artistic literature are increasing in number.

The considerable assistance given by the Section to other Divisions, especially to the Divisions of Accessions, Documents, Music, Law and the Catalogue Division in the matters of Slavic publications during the year has held back the technical work in the Section. With the appointment of new members with the knowledge of Slavic languages to the staffs of the Divisions of Documents and Music the pressure for assistance was lessened as far as these two Divisions were concerned.

Should the staff of the Section be increased as it is planned the technical work could be resumed on a much larger scale than has hitherto been possible.

A plan has been worked out to classify the publications in the Yudin Collection of the Section according to the Classification Outline of the Library, to write an authors' list on cards, and finally to shelve the publications according to main classes and to alphabetical order of the authors in each class.

The demand for assistance in bibliographical research and for translation of letters, documents and text has required considerable work from the Section.

P. A. Speek