Sometimes there is something all too familiar about a conversation with a Russian librarian.
At a recent Library of Congress reception for 10 visiting Russian librarians, this writer expected to hear tales of secret archives, hidden histories and triumphant truth. Instead, when Nina Bakhova was asked about her main concerns at the Russian State Library in Moscow, she responded as would most American librarians: budget cuts and automation.
Ms. Bakhova and nine others had just returned from four weeks of visiting local American libraries in a program sponsored by the Margaret Thatcher Foundation. The program included an introductory week at the Library of Congress, followed by individual assignments at a variety of libraries around the United States. The final week was also spent at the Library.
The $75,000 grant to the Library of Congress that supported the program was the first for the Thatcher Foundation, established last April by former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The funds that support the foundation are raised entirely through private philanthropy. The initial phase of grants will concentrate on providing scholarships to individuals throughout Eastern Europe who have shown interest in establishing free market capitalism, according to Robert Higdon, director of finance for the Thatcher Foundation.
Visiting librarian Nina Bakhova, who heads the Department of Foreign Acquisitions and International Exchange, said her experience as one of four Russian guests at the University of Illinois was "a brillant opportunity to see a wide range of different types of American libraries."
The range was indeed wide, from a library for a waste management laboratory to one inside a large Chicago advertising firm. ("Absolutely a new experience," according to Ms. Bakhova.)
What most impressed her about the American library system was how easy it is to charge out any book from any other library, thanks to automated interlibrary loan. Ms. Bakhova also was happy to have made many new personal contacts in the United States.
Because of economic uncertainties in her country, the only way she can acquire foreign publications is through international exchange.
Another Russian librarian, Elena Alferova, faces the formidable task of viturally reinventing her library in Ekaterinburg, the city where Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed during the Russian Revolution. Ekaterinburg was formally a "closed" city, a vast center in the Ural mountains for the Soviet military-industrial complex. As the factories struggle to switch their assembly lines from tanks to refrigerators, Ms. Alferova is struggling to transform her formerly secret military information center into a Cultural and Business Information Center.
Amid all the political change in Russia, the concerns of at least one of the visiting librarians have stayed the same. Evgenia Shepovalova, director of the Municipal Library for the Blind in St. Petersburg, continues to try to improve access to library materials for blind individuals. In a city of approximately 10 million inhabitants, she directs Russia's second largest library for the blind, with about 11,000 patrons. After working closely with Frank Kurt Cylke, director of the Library of Congress's National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Ms. Shepovalova reported that although the details of her program may be different the general picture is the same.
During her visit, she was pleased to work out an exchange agreement with Mr. Cylke. Her clients need English-language talking books, and the Library of Congress service is interested in expanding its offerings of Russian-language titles. They also agreed to swap braille music scores, which use a common musical notation system.
From Ms. Shepovalova's comments, one is left with the impression that the Soviet system did very little to meet the needs of the blind. Now, with assistance from the West, that is beginning to change. One of her goals in visiting the United States was to get advice and bids for equipment to build a sound studio to record talking books. It has been very difficult for the blind to keep up with the changing political scene.
On her own, Ms. Shepovalova herself has recorded readings of popular magazines on equipment donated by the Soros Foundation. A few years ago, she started a support group for parents with blind children. In four years, the group has grown from five families to more than 150. However, there is very little children's literature available on tape.
While most of the visiting librarians used their time to make contacts and discover sources for bringing material back to Russia, Nelli Belova, deputy director of the Vologda Regional Research Library, took advantage of the vast resources of the Library of Congress to deal with a little homesickness. With help from LC staff member Mike Neubert, Ms. Belova took a trip into the Library's stacks in search of books about her hometown. Thanks to the cutter number classification feature, she quickly was able to locate an entire shelf of books about Vologda, according to Mr. Neubert. She reached up and pulled down a familiar volume and showed him the object of her quest. Inside was a picture of her husband, an art restoration expert.
