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Annual Report of the
Slavic and Central European Division, Fiscal Year 1974

Submitted by
Paul L. Horecky, Chief
July 22, 1974

CONTENTS:    I. ACQUISITION OF MATERIALS    II. ORGANIZATION OF MATERIALS    III. USE OF MATERIALS
IV. PERSONNEL    V. EXTERNAL RELATIONS    VI. PROFESSIONAL BUT UNOFFICIAL ACTIVITIES    APPENDIX I: STATISTICS
APPENDIX II: BIBLIOGRAPHIES PREPARED OR SPONSORED BY THE DIVISION    APPENDIX III: MAJOR SPECIAL STUDIES

I. ACQUISITION OF MATERIALS

No single facet of the work of the Slavic and Central European Division is more central to its mission than that of acquisitions. If we fail to keep pace with the growing volume of publications from or about the countries of our area, we will fail in our other major activity, that of reference service. To avoid this, we must keep watch over a flow of books and journals from the Slavic and Central European countries, which is equal to approximately one-third of the world's total production of printed matter. Nor must we overlook the vast amount of literature relating to our area which is issued elsewhere in the world.

Although statistics offer only one set of indicators of our activity, we can point to some rather impressive figures. During FY 1974, we examined over 11,000 lists and other recommending materials and made approximately 40,000 recommendations for acquisition. A count of proof cards, distributed by country, indicates that during the year the Library received some 47,500 titles from our area. Approximately 19,000 of these were from Germany, 16,500 from the Soviet Union, and 12,000 from the other countries. Although the two sets of figures, those for recommendations and those for proof cards, are not wholly linked to one another, they are indicative of the scope of acquisitions and to a degree are reinforced by the feedback from our reference activities. Day to day experience indicates that we are able to meet our clients' requirements for contemporary information and to supply them with a very high proportion of the publications they request.

In all this effort to assure receipt of materials, we are also guided by another consideration, one enunciated by Benjamin Franklin in his warning against "paying too much for one's whistle." In an era of increasing inflation and financial stringency we must keep in mind the factor of cost, and many of our decisions have been guided by just such thoughts. For example, we have given increasing attention to the acquisition of reprints and microfilms.

Given all the progress in automation in recent years, the Library will continue to rely on the traditional book and journal forms for some time to come, especially for current publications. Although there are rather comprehensive acquisitions agreements with several of the countries in our area that might seem to relieve our specialists of the need to follow every single title issued there, we must remain alert to insure the proper working of these agreements and the inclusion of items which might be overlooked. Furthermore, in the case of Albania, Cyprus, Greece, and Hungary, there are no such arrangements and the recommending officer must follow each issue of the national bibliography or other acquisitions aids in order to make selections.

As but one example of the way in which our specialists engage in this survey of acquisitions guides, one of them reported, "On August 2, I spent over 7 hours recommending from eight national bibliographies, ending up with 600 recommendations for that day alone." In another case, over 300 titles in Modern Greek were recommended in one month.

Our activity is not limited to item-by-item recommendation of individual titles, but we endeavor to shape a consistent program for acquisitions and to aid other units of the Library in implementing these programs. During FY 1974, following the cessation of the PL-480 program in Yugoslavia, members of the Division monitored receipts of Yugoslav publications to determine the types of items received and the speed with which they reached the Library. This survey provided assistance to the Processing Department in its effort to assure continuity and consistency of Yugoslav acquisitions.

Acquisitions trips by our specialists to the countries of their responsibility helped to strengthen the Library's procurement programs, as evidenced by the following examples.

In July 1973 the Finno-Ugrian specialist visited Finland and Sweden, conferring with librarians and dealers. Information he acquired enabled him to recommend, among other items, 104 rare Finnish, Swedish, German, and Russian titles dealing with Finland offered by dealers in retrospective materials; further, 67 publications were requested from Helsinki University, 80 from the Finnish Literature Society, and 16 from the Research Institute of the Economy of Finland.

Exchanges of retrospective material with the Comenius University of Bratislava and of important older serials with the State Library in Prague initiated in FY 1974, resulted from a visit to Czechoslovakia by the Czechoslovakia specialist in the previous fiscal year.

The Polish specialist's visit to Polish libraries in London and Paris in late FY 1973 has resulted in the receipt of a number of non-current monographs from those institutions. Moreover, in May 1974 the Polish specialist made an acquisitions survey trip to Poland to attend the International Book Fair in Warsaw and to confer with Polish publishers, and representatives of libraries and learned institutions. It is expected that the acquisition of Polish publications, both current and retrospective, will be extended and expedited as a result.

After a rather complicated correspondence, arrangements were being completed at the end of this fiscal year for the Soviet Area specialist's visit to the Soviet Union from August 5 to 25. This trip will provide a means of becoming more closely acquainted with libraries and publication activities in that country and will be a step toward enabling the Library to overcome some problems which have arisen in the acquisition of Soviet materials. Among these problems, to which serious preparatory attention has been given, are duplication, delay in the receipt of publications, and difficulties in obtaining titles issued outside major cities and in small editions.

A few random samples of the titles which the Library has received as a result of all this activity are mentioned here by way of example. One item of special interest in view of the rise of American study of the various ethnic groups which make up this nation is Paul Soboleski's Poets and Poetry of Poland ( Chicago, 1883), the first American collection of extensive translations from the Polish. Another Polish item, dealing with a field in which the Division is frequently called upon for assistance, is S. Uruski's Rodzina, herbarz szlachty polskiej, a source on genealogy and heraldry, missing volumes of which were acquired on microfilm. A copy was acquired of the Teutsche Gedichte (Barby, 1766) of Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf, an eighteenth century leader of the Moravian Brethren who, during a short stay in North America in the 1740s, furthered the founding of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and endeavored to support missions among the Indians.

Two works of value for the study of Russia in the period just prior to the fall of the Empire are Istoriia russkoi armii i flota, of 1911, edited by A. S. Grushinskii and others, which was acquired on microfilm, and A. A. Heyking's A Practical Guide for Russian Consular Officers (London, 1916), which was intended as a handbook for non-Russians acting as honorary consuls in places in which the flow of business was too small to warrant the appointment of professionals. The present day is represented by many other publications in Russian issued outside the Soviet Union and dealing with subjects or points of view not found in Soviet editions. We also continue to receive copies of the so-called Samizdat materials, items which are clandestinely distributed in the Soviet Union since they deal with topics or provide interpretations that do not meet official approval. These items are provided by the Radio Liberty Committee (see report for FY 1972).

Study of the Ukraine in the period between the two World Wars will be facilitated by the Library's acquisition of such works as Ivan Herasymovych's Holod na Ukraini (Berlin, 1922), a study of the famine in that area, and Theophil Hornykiewicz' Ereignisse in der Ukraine, 1914–1922 . . . (Philadelphia, 1968–1969).

Among acquisitions in Modern Greek was a collection of 40 volumes of a military history of Modern Greece, issued by the Greek Army History Directorate and presented to the Library by the Greek Defense and Army Attaches at a ceremony in August. From the Republic of Cyprus there came a gift of 38 titles, extending the donation made by that nation in the previous fiscal year.

The interwar economy, society, and government of Czechoslovakia are the subject of Slovník národohospodařský, sociální a politický (Praha, 1929–1933. 3 v.) which was acquired in FY 1974. Two groups of materials on two important phases of Czech history were also added to the Library's collections. The first consisted of several dozen items on the Czech Legion, which played an important role in Russia in the years 1917–1920, and the second dealt with Czech church history. Another collection of books on the prehistory of Moravia and zoological research in Yugoslavia was presented as a gift by the widow of the late Dr. Karel Absolon, a prominent archaeologist and speleologist.

One of our most interesting and important acquisitions relating to present-day Yugoslavia was that of three years, 1844–1846, of the Belgrade newspaper Srpske novine, dealing with a formative period of Serbian history as the nation sought to reestablish its statehood. Another item of importance was a volume acquired to complete the Library's set of Archiv za Arbanasku starinu, jezik . . . an annual devoted to Albanian studies which was issued by the University of Belgrade in 1923–1926.

The Chief of the Division continued to serve as the Reference Department Representative on the Library's Acquisitions Committee, which is charged with the formulation and codification of Acquisitions Policy Statements.


II. ORGANIZATION OF MATERIALS

A major factor affecting the Slavic and Central European Division's organization of materials during FY 1974 was the move of the Slavic Room and of the serial collections on Deck 8 to the Main Building, along with the transfer of other materials in the custody of the Division (see section IV). These changes, although they altered patterns of many years standing, have not diminished the Division's standard of service to readers. This move was thoroughly planned and prepared through discussions among officers of the Reference Department, the Buildings Management Office, the Collections Maintenance Office, and the Chief and Assistant to the Chief of the Division. Alternate possibilities were considered and the most suitable location for the Slavic Room and the deck were determined.

Prior to this transfer, the Slavic Room collections were examined with a view toward weeding out obsolete or otherwise unsuitable materials. About 500 volumes were removed and some 800 volumes were substituted for them. In the interest of aligning the reference collections of the Slavic Room, hitherto confined to Slavic and Baltic materials, with the area assignment of the Division, core collections of the non-Slavic countries were developed by the Division's area specialists. The approximately 9,500 volumes in the Slavic Room are now divided into about 5,750 volumes on the Soviet Union and about 3,750 on the other countries. The Chief has suggested that this change in area coverage be reflected in a change of name, from the Slavic Room to the Slavic and Eastern European Reading Room.

The relocation of materials involved the current newspaper and serial collections in the Division's custody. These materials are now on the same floor as the Slavic Room and are easily accessible to it (previously they were separated by several levels), with a resultant increase in the speed of service and ease of supervision. The volume of work has remained high: 133,000 periodical issues and 580,000 newspaper issues were processed in FY 1974, slightly exceeding the figures reported for the previous year.

For some time it had been our observation that a considerable number of newspapers coming to the deck through agency transfers were duplicates requiring a disproportionate amount of labor. Further, the deck space available to the Division after the move was reduced considerably. It was therefore determined that the influx of transferred newspapers could be limited to the most productive agency source, reducing the volume from about 500,000 issues per year to about 100,000, without detriment to the quality of the newspaper collections. This change became effective toward the close of the present FY.

Work continued on the maintenance and extension of the Division's card files and other reference aids. Some 9,300 cards, a significant portion of which was supplied by the American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies project, were added to the Division's area reference file, which is maintained in Division offices in the Annex. This file lists books and periodicals in Western languages on the social, political, and cultural life of Eastern Europe. Approximately 1,600 cards were prepared for the Slavic Room shelf list. Over 500 new entries were added to the accessions record (visible file) for unbound Slavic and Baltic publications received by the Slavic Room. This file, containing more than 10,200 entries, serves as a control of receipts and as an information source for readers. The clipping file of articles from the New York Times was continued.

By special arrangements, the Slavic Room staff routed Slavic and Baltic newspapers and serials to various divisions of the Library, among them the Science and Technology Division and the Federal Research Division. About 3,000 items were charged for circulation within the Library and about 700 items for interlibrary loan.

In an effort to assist the Descriptive Cataloging Division in diminishing the German-language cataloging arrearages, the Central European specialist of the Division has earmarked large quantities of materials for retention or discard by the Library. Similarly, the Soviet and Russian area specialist has been selecting materials form the uncataloged Yudin collection for cataloging priority, so that the more important materials will reach the shelves as soon as possible.

The decision to transfer the residual Yudin collection, comprising about 10,500 titles, to the Descriptive Cataloging Division proved to be desirable and practical. The cataloging of this material is proceeding at a satisfactory rate and will ultimately lead to the long-overdue incorporation of the residue of this collection, acquired 67 years ago, into the Library's general cataloged holdings. Experience thus far has shown the reader requests for uncataloged Yudin material have been filled rapidly and effectively by the Descriptive Cataloging Division, according to procedures arrived at by that Division and the Slavic and Central European Division.


III. USE OF MATERIALS

a. Reference

The rendering of reference service is one of the principal missions of the Division and, in a large sense, is a measure of the efficacy of the acquisition program and the organization of materials. The Division can look back on a very successful year in this respect, having provided information on a wide range of subjects and area expeditiously and conscientiously for a diversified clientele. In FY 1974 the Division answered more than 44,000 reference inquiries in person, by telephone, or by correspondence.

Reference questions fall into two broad categories: those that can be answered spontaneously or by consulting ready reference, and those that can be answered only on the basis of specialized knowledge or research in greater depth, this latter category requiring application of the Division's area specializations. By way of example, a question on the transliteration of a Serbian proper name, the pronunciation of a Romanian word, or the translation of a serial title can usually be answered without consulting a reference source, while a question on the birth date of a Russian general or the first mention of a Baltic tribe in foreign sources would probably require a brief excursion into an encyclopedia, probably a foreign language one. However, only specialized knowledge or more extensive digging could produce answers to questions on American-Bulgarian relations during the reign of Tsar Ferdinand, provide a list of Hungarian materials as a basis for preparing a textbook for American children of Hungarian descent, or identify terrain and cultural features in a satellite photograph of a historic Russian city.

The Slavic Room, as the public reference area of the Division with reference collections and finding aids, has played an active role in the Division's service to readers by supplying answers to numerous spot inquiries in person or by telephone and by preparing written reference correspondence, which often involves information on the location and availability of materials in the Library, bibliographic data, or the solution of more complex reference problems for which the subject or area competence of the senior staff of the Slavic Room stands in good stead.

Each year certain themes emerge that characterize the Division's reference activities for that year. In FY 1974 two major areas of reader concern were the forthcoming celebration of the American Bicentennial at home and abroad, and America's ethnic heritage.

Preparation for the commemoration of the Bicentennial of the American Revolution elicited questions not only about the participation of individuals such as Kazimierz Pułaski and Tadeusz Kościuszko in that struggle, but about the effect that America's attainment of independent constitutional government had on peoples who were striving toward similar goals.

Numerous and highly varied inquiries were received concerning the contributions of various national groups to American life. The rising public interest in this topic is evidenced in the well over 300 courses offered by numerous colleges and universities this past year in the area of ethnic studies. In this connection, the Division staff prepared extensive lists of American organizations of ethnic groups for the Office of Education's Ethnic Heritage Branch, which was established to administer new programs in this field, with the help of congressional appropriations.

Another facet of this general effort to find historical roots is the search for one's heritage. The Division received many inquiries about the cultural background and the sociopolitical environment which shaped a parent's or a grandparent's life: What sort of village was my ancestor born in? Is there any validity to the family tradition that grandfather was of the minor gentry? Who are the prominent Americans of my ethnic background? Are there any texts of our Christmas carols? Many such inquiries, of course, are not of a personal nature, for example, a query was received concerning the German antecedents of Secretary of State Kissinger, and a group of 125 military reservists who came to the Library with an assignment to prepare a handbook on Austria were given extensive assistance by the Central European specialist. Nor were questions confined to persons originating in our geographic area. An educator engaged in research on early attempts to teach the blind sought information on a Frenchman who founded a school for the blind in 19th-century Russia.

Interest in topics of a historical nature also made an imprint on the Division's reference activities. In connection with plans for the restoration of the 16th-century royal castle in Tîrgovişte, the old capital of Romania, assistance was given to the Romanian Embassy in its search for details on the architecture of the original structure. Information was provided the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri on an early Serbian liturgical work in that Library's possession. The 500th anniversary of the history of printing in Poland generated many questions on the early art of printing in that country.

Some idea of the range of other inquiries received by the Division may be had from a small sampling of topics and sources of inquiry: a doctor in New York requested and received a report on materials held by the Library on the Yugoslav scientists Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin; a scholar was provided references to sources for a Slovak bibliography; information was supplied on Hungarian scientists and on the modern Greek writer Lilika Nakou; a reader from Calcutta was furnished references to materials in East European languages on the medieval Central Asian writer Avicenna (Ibn Sina), and a researcher in Paris sought and received information on certain Latvian and Lithuanian word forms and folk practices.

The Division's clientele included many American and foreign institutions of learning, cultural and governmental institutions and agencies, and industry, as well as individuals. Among the scores of such institutions served by the Division were universities in the United States (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Chicago, California, Indiana, to name a few) and abroad (Helsinki, Moscow, Düsseldorf, Birmingham, Laval in Quebec, Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn, Lorand Eötvös University in Budapest, and the École des Hautes Études in Paris), the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, the Federation of American Scientists, the American Red Cross, and many others. Information was also supplied to numerous government agencies, including the National Archives, the Departments of State and Interior, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, and the Voice of America. (See Section V for details on foreign diplomatic personnel and foreign visitors served.)

Although satisfaction with a job well done is ample reward in itself, formal recognition of service adds to that satisfaction. Tangible evidence of appreciation for the Division's efforts came when, at a luncheon given at the Polish Embassy, the Chief accepted for the Library a copy of a medal struck by the Polish government in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Copernicus, presented in recognition of the excellence of the Copernicus exhibit, which was selected and arranged by the Polish area specialist in FY 1973.

The numerous letters of commendation addressed to the Division are a particularly welcome expression of appreciation. A few excerpts from these letters can be cited here: "Many thanks for your splendid help in assembling the Griboedov materials. I am forwarding them to the Cultural Counselor in Moscow, who will be most pleased." "I cannot find the words to express my thanks and admiration for the thorough research work you did to solve my problem." "The participants to the Seminar on Austria are deeply grateful to you for having made it possible for them to finish their assignments in such a short time." "Thank you so much for your letter of June 3 and all the extremely helpful information which you included and enclosed." "Please accept our sincere thanks for your effort on our behalf in researching General Tadeusz Kościuszko's will."

b. Bibliography

Bibliographic activity this fiscal year was dominated by the American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies project. Work on the 1973 volume has been completed, except for some clerical tasks connected with the preparation of the copy for publication, and work on the 1974 volume continues. This annual bibliography, which in the past had been prepared by university staff members (Indiana University, then the Ohio State University) represents works by North American authors on Slavic and East European subjects in the humanities and social sciences. Monographs, journal articles, published governmental and academic reports, doctoral dissertations, reviews, and obituaries are included. Staff members of the Division selected more than 5,000 items for the 1973 volume, or about double the number of items included in previous annual volumes. This reflects, in part, the abundant source materials held by the Library of Congress and the monitoring devices employed by the bibliography project. Articles were selected from 730 of the journals regularly routed to the project by the Serial Division; monograph and report information obtained from standard bibliographic sources was supplemented by publication announcements solicited from more than 100 publishers; an excellent response was received from announcements placed in 25 professional newsletters requesting information on completed doctoral dissertations and works by North American authors published abroad — two categories of material for which information is often difficult to obtain. Resources available in other divisions of the Library were used as monitoring devices. Three especially productive sources of this type were the weekly CRS computerized bibliography of articles on Eastern Europe, the monthly computerized printout of monographs cataloged by the Library of Congress that pertain to the Slavic countries and Eastern Europe (these are selected from the MARC data base according to a program designed especially for the project), and the weekly English-language cards received from the Shared Cataloging Division.

The bibliography, an invaluable source of information for the governmental and academic communities, is also beneficial to the Library and the Division, calling attention to new reference sources. The bibliography is substantially aided by information supplied by the area specialists, and the area specialists and reference librarians, in turn, receive duplicate bibliography cards, according to their area or subject specialty, while a complete set of cards is contributed to the East European area file.

Reports on the publication of statistics in Romania and Yugoslavia, with accompanying bibliographies, and a selected bibliography of Hungarian statistical publications were contributed to a special project sponsored and funded by the American Council of Learned Societies. Bibliographic data on these and other area statistical publications and their availability in libraries in North American and West European libraries are now being automated at the International Development Research Center at Indiana University. An example of the Division's service to the library community is the regular contribution of lists of notable recent reference works to the semiannual Foreign Acquisitions Newsletter, published by the Association of Research Libraries.

Two earlier bibliographic efforts of the Division appeared in print this fiscal year. Yugoslavia: A Bibliographic Guide, (270 p.), compiled by Professor Michael Petrovich of the University of Wisconsin for this Division with the assistance of Division staff members, was published by the Government Printing Office and has been favorably received. A Selected List of Central and East European Publications Reviewing Western Publications, covering 11 countries and compiled in the past fiscal year by staff members of the Division at the request of the Publications Committee of the AAASS, was published by the American Association of University Publishers as an aid for disseminating information on American scholarly publications to the reading public in Eastern and Central Europe. Polish Books in English, compiled by the Polish area specialist, was completed and is with the printer.

Several ad hoc studies and bibliographies were compiled as well. Two of them were in depth — a survey of Lithuanian materials in the Library of Congress and a list of reference books on Russian history and literature for high-school students. The Lithuanian survey is scheduled for publication in a scholarly journal. Among the other topics treated in the ad hoc bibliographies were the Nazi Party, books on the early history of Hungary, and government reorganization in the Habsburg Monarchy.


IV. ADMINISTRATION AND PERSONNEL

The move of CRS units into the Thomas Jefferson Room of the Annex involved, directly or indirectly, the relocation of several staff members of the Division and most of the materials in the Division's custody. The Slavic Room staff, collections, files, and equipment were transferred to room G-147 Main Building. The current Slavic and Baltic journals and newspapers, and the staff members who service these materials, were moved from Deck 8 Annex to Deck 18 Main Building. The Plochev collection of Bulgarian rare books, the Cyrillic 4 collection, and the remaining custodial materials on Deck 8 were transferred to the Northwest Attic of the Main Building. The American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies project, three of the Division's area specialists, and the Senior Searcher were moved to offices in the immediate vicinity of the Division Office. Although some inconvenience has resulted from the separation of the Division's staff and materials into four locations, the effectiveness of the Division's services does not appear to be appreciably impaired.

A management survey of the Division by an outside specialist, initiated at the request of the Department Director to study the administrative procedures, chain of supervision, flow of materials, and services performed by the Division, has resulted in some recommendations for modification of the present organization and has been submitted to Library authorities for consideration.

Keeping in mind the paper shortage, a system was devised for monitoring the Xeroxing done in the Division with respect to type and quantity of material reproduced.

The Division continued to participate in the Library's orientation and training programs. The Soviet area specialist briefed the participants of the Library's professional Orientation Series on the Division's mission, activities, and relationship to Slavic and East European studies in general.

Only one change in staff occurred during the fiscal year. Mrs. Susan B. Hornik, Bibliographic Assistant on the American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies project, resigned on March 8 and Mr. Douglas N. Cruickshank was appointed to that position on March 27. The Chief was presented the 25-year Federal Service Award by the Department Director.

Division staff members were active in Library committees and organizations. Mr. Albert E. Graham was elected Division representative and Mr. Justyn Iwasechko alternate representative on the Reference Department's Human Relations Committee. Mr. George E. Perry is Chairman of the Committee on Acquisitions of the Reference Round Table and is founder and president of the Ethnic Employees of the Library of Congress.

Staff members of the Division participated in Library programs for professional advancement including a series of seminars on acquisitions, sponsored by the Reference Department for recommending officers.

The performance of several staff members was recognized by advancements in grade. Dr. Elemer Bako, Finno-Ugrian area specialist, was promoted from GS-12 to GS-13; Dr. John P. Balys, Senior Reference Librarian and Area Specialist (Baltic), was promoted from GS-11 to GS-12; Dr. Yaroslav Shaviak, Mr. Justyn Iwasechko, Mr. Mykola Kormeluk, and Mr. Andrew Fessenko, Senior Reference and Processing Assistants, were promoted from GS-7 to GS-8. A promotion ladder GS-9 to GS-12 for reference librarians in the Slavic Room was established to further promotion opportunities for the staff.


V. EXTERNAL RELATIONS

The Slavic and Central European Division also serves as a link between the Library and professional associations, learned institutions, diplomatic representatives, and individual scholars involved in its area. Liaison of this type offers opportunities for gaining essential knowledge for our operations.

A major element in this interchange is active participation in scholarly organizations such as the membership of the Assistant to the Chief on the Committee on Bibliography and Documentation of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS), which sponsors the Division's American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies, and the Chief's memberships on the Joint Committee on East Europe of the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council, and on the Task Force on Library and Information Resources of the Government/Academic Interface Committee of the American Council of Education.

There are also ties with more specialized professional organizations in the field. For example, the Finno-Ugrian specialist is Chairman of the Hungarian Library Association of America, has worked with the Northern Libraries Association, which is concerned with the North Polar regions, and is active in the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies. The Baltic specialist serves on the Cultural Council of the American Lithuanian Community.

The Division provided orientation on the Library's collections and services and rendered reference assistance to numerous embassies including those of Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, France, the German Federal Republic, Greece, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia.

Representatives of foreign embassies often introduce scholars who have come to the United States under exchange programs and who wish to do research in the Library with the assistance of our staff. These visitors included Dr. Veselin Traikov of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Valeriu Moldoveanu, Head of the Information and Documentation Center of the Romanian Council of Culture and Art, Mme. Galina Tarasova of Moscow State University, Professor Longin Pastusiak of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, Mme. Z. A. Apatian of the M. I. Glinka Music Museum in Moscow, and Professor Jan Szczepański, Vice President of the Polish Academy of Sciences.


VI. PROFESSIONAL BUT UNOFFICIAL ACTIVITIES

As in years past, many staff members participated in a variety of ways in the advancement of East and Central European scholarship, be it by serving in professional organizations, by lecturing before select groups, or by publishing in learned journals. They intensified the Library's links with the academic community and, conversely, enriched their contributions to the Library by newly gained insights. Because of limitations of space, only some aspects of such activities can be epitomized here:

Dr. Robert V. Allen continued to serve as a section editor for the American Historical Review, supplying it with lists of articles on Russian history.

Dr. Elemer Bako was appointed coordinator of the Bicentennial Program of the American Hungarian Federation, lectured in Cleveland on Hungarian libraries and librarians in the United States, and spoke in New Brunswick, N.J. on early Hungarian printing. In the summer of 1973, he attended a colloquium of Scandinavian libraries in Cambridge, England, establishing contacts with institutions in Lapland.

Dr. John P. Balys delivered a paper on Lithuanian bibliographies to the May 1974 Baltic Conference, continued to edit contributions on folklore for the Encyclopedia Lithuanica, and is the coauthor of "Estonian Bibliographies: A Selected List" in Lituanus (Fall 1973) and "Latvian Bibliographies: A Selected List" in Journal of Baltic Studies.

Mr. Douglas N. Cruickshank continued his course work in Russian Studies at George Washington University.

Mr. Andrew Fessenko published an article, entitled "An Outline of Russian Bibliography Abroad" in the July 1973 issue of Novyi zhurnal.

Mr. Albert E. Graham, Jr. completed his course work at Catholic University for the M.L.S., which he expects to receive in the Fall of 1974.

Dr. Paul L. Horecky continued to serve as Project Director and Chief Editor for three publications sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies and pertaining to library and archival resources in Eastern Europe, was appointed to the Board of Advisors (Macmillan Educational Corporation) for the English-language translation of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, and was a member of a George Washington University doctoral committee.

Dr. Janina W. Hoskins was interviewed by the Voice of America for broadcasts on "Slavic Christmas Customs in the United States" and on "Rare Polonica in American Collections."

Mr. David H. Kraus published a translation of V.S. Khromchenko's account of Alaska under the title Coastal Exploration in Southwestern Alaska 1822 (Chicago, 1973) and is also the author of "Libraries in Hungary" in the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, vol. 11 (New York, 1974).

Mr. George E. Perry continued his work in the Bicentennial Program of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, reporting on these activities in the November–December 1973 issue of its journal AHEPA. He was appointed associate editor of the Greek Review of Social Research (Athens). Mr. Perry served as chairman of a panel of specialists on ethnicity in the United States convened by the Ethnic Heritage Studies Program, U.S. Office of Education, to review proposals from educational and ethnic organizations for funding of ethnic studies programs under the Title IX program.

Miss Ruzica Popovitch attended a conference on the 1804–1813 Serbian Revolution at Stanford University in May of 1974.

Dr. Arnold H. Price organized and chaired a session on German Quantitative Studies in connection with the American Historical Association meeting in San Francisco in December of 1973. His book The Evolution of the Zollverein was reprinted in 1973 and his article on the Nibelungen as a warrior club was published in June of 1974 in the Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-und Wirtschaftsgeschichte (Wiesbaden).

Dr. Yaroslav Shaviak delivered three lectures in Washington and New York on the history of the founding of the Shevchenko Scientific Society on the occasion of its hundredth anniversary in the fall of 1973.


APPENDIX I: STATISTICS

I. REFERENCE ACTIVITIES FY 1973 FY 1974 % Diff.
A. Reference Services: 1. In Person: Estimated number of readers 29,837 25,025 –16.2
No. of readers given reference assistance 17,975 19,174* +6.6
2. By Telephone: a. Congressional calls 159 158 –0.7
b. Government calls 1,931 2,022 +4.7
c. Library of Congress calls 12,186 12,402 +1.7
d. Other calls 8,213 9,150 +11.4
e. Total 22,489 23,732* +5.5
3. By Correspondence: a. Letters and memos prepared 1,356 1,172 –13.6
b. Form letters, prepared material, etc. 476 438 –8.0
c. Total 1,832 1,610* –12.2
4. Total Direct Reference Services
(add figures marked with asterisk):
42,296 44,516 +5.2
B. Circulation and Service: 1. Volumes and Other Units in LC: 41,794 33.268 –20.5
2. Volumes and Other Units on Loan: 804 671 –16.6
3. Items or Containers Shelved: 398,793 464,100 +16.3
C. Bibliographic and Other Publishing Operations: 1. Number of Bibliographies Completed: 20 16 –20.0
2. Number of Bibliographies in Progress: 33 33
3. Number of Bibliographic Entries Completed: a. Annotated entries 6,036 10,616 +75.8 1
b. Unannotated entries 26,044 21,897 –16.0
c. Total 32,080 32,513 +1.3
4. Number of Other Reference Aids Completed: Aids completed 2
a. Pages of reference aids prepared:
b. Number of cards and entries prepared: 190 15 –92.2 2
D. Number of Special Studies or Projects Completed: Special Studies or Projects Completed 19 33 +73.6 3
1. Number of Pages 154 184 +19.4
E. Total Number of Hours Devoted to Reference Activities: 17,393 19,674 +13.1


II. ACQUISITIONS ACTIVITIES FY 1973 FY 1974 % +/–
A. Lists and Offers Scanned 11,895 13,349 +12.2
B. Items Searched 19,626 22,347 +13.8
C. Items Recommended for Acquisition 33,890 43,893 +29.5 4
D. Letters of Solicitation Prepared
E. Items Accessioned
F. Items Disposed of: 1. From Collections
2. Other Items 247,011 423,572 71.4 5
G. Total Hours Devoted to Acquisitions 2,854 3,573 +25.1


III. PROCESSING ACTIVITIES FY 1973 FY 1974 % +/–
A. Items Sorted or Arranged 739,504 765,501 +3.5
B. Items Cataloged or Recataloged
C. Entries Prepared for Other Finding Aids 1,963 2,505 +27.6
D. Authorities Established
E. Items or Containers Labeled, Titled, Captioned, or Lettered
F. Volumes, Items, or Issues Prepared for: 1. Binding 52,513 37,363 –28.9
2. Microfilming
G. Volumes, Items, or Issues Selected for: 1. Rebinding
2. Lamination
3. Microfilming
4. Repair
H. Cards Arranged and Filed 13,417 14,068 +4.8
I. Total Hours Devoted to Processing Activities 5,544 5,116 –7.8


IV. RELATED ACTIVITIES FY 1973 FY 1974 % +/–
A. Total Hours Devoted to External Relations 238 288 +21.0
B. Total Hours Devoted to Cultural and Exhibit Activities 407 5 –98.8 6
C. Total Hours Devoted to Other Activities 3,122 3,332 +6.7

Footnotes for FY 1974 statistical report

1 Attributable primarily to the entries prepared for the American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies.

2 Fewer cards were required for reference aids.

3 A larger number of requests for translations.

4 There was a significant increase in the number of German-language recommendations for acquisitions, due to changes in the recommending mechanism and to the arrival of overdue national bibliographies.

5 Large quantities of older materials, particularly newspapers, were disposed of in preparation for the move from Deck 8 to Deck 18.

6 No new exhibits were prepared in FY 1974.


APPENDIX II: BIBLIOGRAPHIES PREPARED OR SPONSORED BY THE DIVISION

In Press

Polish Books in English (Dr. Janina W. Hoskins)

Completed

Yugoslavia: A Bibliographic Guide (Professor Michael B. Petrovich)

Reference materials and books on Russian history and literature for high school students (Ms. Ruzica Popovitch)

Four topical bibliographies (Area specialists)

Ten bibliographies for the ARL Newsletter (Area specialists)

In Process

American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies for 1973, 1974, consisting of 3 card files (Staff members)

Index to Festschriften in the field of Slavic studies (Ms. Anita R. Navon)

Continuing

Twenty-five bibliographic card files organized by area (for reference purposes)

Card file of Slavic and Baltic serials

Master List of Soviet Serials

Statistical Handbooks Published in the USSR

Western-Language Periodicals on the USSR and Eastern Europe (continuation file)

Selected List of Finnish Reference Works

Inactive

Guide to Russian Collections in the Library of Congress

Hungarian Abbreviations: a Selective List


APPENDIX III: MAJOR SPECIAL STUDIES

For Congress

Twelve translations from or into East European languages (reference staff)

Miscellaneous

Captured German Documents in the Library of Congress (Dr. A. H. Price)

Lithuanian Materials Available in the Library of Congress (Dr. John P. Balys)

Survey of Romanian Statistics (Mr. David H. Kraus)

Survey of Yugoslav Statistics (Mr. David H. Kraus)

Survey of Hungarian Statistical Publications (Mr. David K. Kraus and Dr. Elemer Bako)

Institute and Graduate Programs in Soviet Studies (Ms. Anita R. Navon)

Material on Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin in LC Collections (Ms. Ruzica Popovitch)

Ethnic Groups in the United States (Reference staff)

Translation of Red Cross Letters (Reference staff)



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