(For the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1958)

I. ACQUISITION OF MATERIALS

In the wake of the realization in the West of the scientific and technical strides made by the USSR and some other Soviet-dominated countries, many tasks were added to the Division's normal work load. The emphasis in procurement activities was not so much on seeking a quantitative increase, as it was on ensuring that the Library receive the essential materials from among the mass of publications issued in the East European area. To present some "vital statistics": As is apparent from Appendix II, current materials received from the USSR and from East European countries in fiscal 1958 totaled 19,009 monographs, 4,705 periodicals, and 358 newspapers. Although these impressive figures are, of course, not a result of a "one-Division job," this Division can claim an appreciable share in recommending or otherwise initiating these acquisitions.

An outstanding development was the continuous widening of exchange agreements ensuring, for instance, the automatic receipt by the Library of the complete output of publications issued by various East European academies and institutions. This program was begun some time ago by the Exchange and Gift Division at the initiative and upon the recommendation of this Division and since then the manifold advantages accrued to the Library by this type of arrangements have become evident. At the present time, agreements of that type are in effect with the Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Rumanian, Serbian, Slovak, and USSR academies of sciences, and as a result, a large number of learned publications in all fields find their way automatically to the Library's shelves. Efforts are under way to conclude such agreements with other East European academies of sciences, particularly with that of Bulgaria. In connection with this program, which covers only current publications, the Division's area specialists have scrutinized the Library's holdings of retrospective academic publications with a view to preparing lists of desiderata to be procured either in the original or on microfilm.

In the recent past a marked shift in Soviet publication policies has become noticeable, in which the former Soviet secretiveness in releasing statistical data was replaced by a tendency to make propagandistic use of them. For the first time in decades a relatively large number of statistical handbooks for the USSR as a whole and for local areas have been released; these materials proved to be in great demand by the Library's governmental and private clientele as important sources for the study of the economy of the USSR. The Division considered it a primary acquisitions task to see to it that this hard-to-get material reach the Library as completely and quickly as possible.

Of the 61 statistical handbooks so far published, the Library has now received 53, making its collection one of the best in the country. Ways are being explored to add the remainder to the Library's collections. In this connection, it should be mentioned that the Division has maintained an up-to-date list of statistical handbooks published, showing those available in LC's collections; this aid has been used extensively for reference purposes.

The Division began work on a comprehensive acquisitions list of Soviet Russian serials, now consisting of some 1,100 titles, which will streamline procurement of USSR periodicals, avoid unnecessary duplication of periodicals received from different sources and assist in determining which titles should be received on exchange and which through subscription. It is planned to have this list used in connection with placing subscriptions for 1959.

Perhaps the most important retrospective accession of the year was a copy of the Ostrog Bible published in 1581, and representing the first complete Bible edition in Church Slavic. It was printed by Ivan Fedorov, the first printer in Russia, and was received on exchange from the Lenin State Library. Special mention should also be made of the purchase from a British book dealer, at reasonable prices, of rare 16th to 19th century Czech materials, which considerably enriched the Library's rare book collections in this field, developed at the instance of this Division in the recent past. The Division also made arrangements to acquire from the same source a rare 1626 Hungarian Bible, which when received, will constitute the oldest cultural treasure of that type preserved in any library in this country.

The Library's Lithuanian collections will be strengthened considerably by the addition of a large number of Lithuanian books and periodicals mostly printed in the United States, which were selected by the Division from the private collection of Mr. Frank Lavinskas and were offered to the Library as a gift. Other noteworthy receipts of retrospective materials included sets of Hungarian periodicals published between the two World Wars.

Among rare German language materials acquired by the Library as a result of the recommendations of this Division were the Teutsche Kriegs-Canzley auf das Jahr 1757–59, which gives an excellent example of technical and "psychological" warfare employed during the Seven–Years War, and the Protokolle der Militärkommission der Deutschen Bundesversammlung (Proceeding of the Military Commission of the German Confederation) both representing important German historical background materials. Several hundred captured German items of considerable historical value stored at the Departmental Records Branch in Alexandria, Virginia, were selected by the Central European Specialist for transfer and addition to LC collections. Important material on the white collar worker during the period of the Weimar Republic was traced by the Division and recommended for purchase from the private collection of Dr. Hans Speier, Washington, D.C.

II. ORGANIZATION OF MATERIALS

In the 1958 fiscal year, the Division staff cooperated actively and in a variety of ways in the organization of the Library's Central and East European collections.

Large numbers of incoming text books and new serial titles were screened by the staff as a routine operation to determine whether these materials should be retained by the Library and what disposition was to be made of them.

On the Library's decks are still numerous unprocessed German documentary materials which were captured at the close of World War II by the United States Armed Forces. Considerable attention was devoted to the screening of such items by the Central European Specialist, who scrutinized them and arranged that some of them be channeled to the Manuscript and other Divisions of the Library. To facilitate the cataloging of these materials, such items were identified and described in accompanying memoranda.

III. USE OF MATERIALS

1. Reference Activities

The Division can look back, in this principal sector of its responsibilities, to a busy, productive and — it is felt — successful year. The Division readied for publication three major bibliographies; prepared or participated in the compilation of 43 special studies; and rendered a total of 9,748 direct reference services (nearly 10% more than in fiscal 1957). The last figure includes 522 reference letters — an increase of 28% over the volume in fiscal 1957.

The impact of the launching of the Soviet first earth satellite in the fall of 1957 brought a flood of reference inquiries ranging from questions as to the pronunciation and the meaning of the word "Sputnik" to inquiries concerning Soviet education, organization of scholarship, research developments, economic and industrial progress, and library functions and documentation in the Soviet Union.

This development was particularly reflected in a sharp rise in Congressional inquiries; among the more extensive studies which were prepared in response to these were: "Statistics on School Attendance in the USSR," "The State Scientific and Technical Committee of the USSR," and a survey on "USSR School Curricula," (51 p.). Other Congressional inquiries related to this subject concerned information on the library resources of academies of sciences in the USSR, comparative statistics on graduation and employment of engineers in the USSR and USA, and an estimate of the manpower potential of the USSR. On numerous occasions the Division was called upon to answer questions originating from Congressional, Government and private sources concerning the availability of translation services for Soviet publications. The opportunity arose further for the Division staff to participate in the preparation of extensive studies and reports for Congress. Among them was a series of biographical profiles of Communist leaders which has been issued by the House Un-American Activities Committee. In this project, which is under the overall direction of the Division Chief (in his capacity as Senior Specialist of the Legislative Reference Service), the staff members participated repeatedly and in various capacities. Thus, a biographical sketch of Walter Ulbricht, First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in the German Democratic Republic, was prepared directly in this Division; in the preparation of the other biographies included in the study, the staff members cooperated either through biographical and bibliographical contributions or through editorial assistance. Other major studies completed by the Division for the Legislative Reference Service were "The Expansion of Russia in Asia," (111 p.), and "The Austro-Hungarian Empire and its Problems," (39 p.). In addition to these extensive assignments, the Division staff had a great number of "spot" inquiries and reference calls from the Hill; it also prepared translation for Congressional Committees and for individual members.

A considerable influx of inquiries was noted from Government agencies, libraries, universities, schools and individuals; in many instances they focused on educational and economic developments in Eastern Europe. Among the vast number of Government agencies which availed themselves of the Division's services was the Foreign Service Institute of the Department of State, which consulted repeatedly with this Division concerning the training of diplomats and the teaching of foreign languages in the Soviet Union and was supplied with information on universities, their locations and the languages taught in the USSR. Other queries along these lines involved the preparation by the Division of a list of references in English and Polish on recent developments in Polish science and technology and on the organization of documentation services in Poland as well as biographical data for Mr. George Kennan in connection with his forthcoming visit to Poland under the sponsorship of the State Department. The New York State Library and the Temple University asked for information on Soviet text books in various subjects.

Although the accent was on the USSR for a period of several months, the Division's reference activities covered a wide range of questions pertaining to Central and East Europe, such as requests for information on folklore and linguistics in Rumania and Bulgaria. A selected bibliography of current English-language books about Hungary was prepared for the United States Delegation to the United Nations and in another case materials on East European trade relations etc., were gathered.

Examples of other subjects involved in inquiries were propaganda techniques of the Nazi Party, the relations of the German Federal Republic with countries of the Near and Middle East, the system of courts and the organization of secret police in Hitler's Germany and table decorations used by the Muscovite czars.

Preparatory to a trip by Mr. Adlai Stevenson to the USSR, the Governor requested and received information which may be helpful in his scheduled negotiations with Soviet authorities concerning the copyright protection of American books translated and published in the Soviet Union.

At the request of the White House, the Division answered an inquiry concerning the participants in the Czechoslovak Declaration of Independence, which was signed in Philadelphia in 1918.

On various occasions the Division was requested to render reference services to the Library Administration, particularly in regard to library developments in East Europe. For instance, a statistical report on the rural library services in the USSR was compiled for the Deputy Chief Assistant Librarian, and a report containing basic information on the State Science Library in Moscow was prepared for the Director of the Reference Department. The Chief also worked out for the Deputy Chief Assistant Librarian a list of libraries to be visited by a delegation of U.S.A. research librarians to the USSR.

At times the Division provided reference services in a rather unorthodox form. Thus, at the request of the Department of Justice, a staff member negotiated over the telephone with the USSR Academy of Sciences in Moscow for the purpose of obtaining information relevant to a patent suit in which the United States Government is a defendant. On another occasion a staff member was delegated to visit the residence of the late Mr. Joseph E. Davies, former U.S. Ambassador to the USSR, for the purpose of identifying the names of Russian artists on certain paintings in Mr. Davies' collection of objets d'art and to translate the text of a plaque attached to a portrait of Catherine the Great.

Under the heading "Curiosa" it may be mentioned that a resident of Canada requested from the Division, in a Finnish language letter, information concerning the procurement of cranberry seeds and instructions for their cultivation. The Division was supposed to enlighten him on this subject in Finnish. This was one of the few incoming letters which the Division did not feel qualified to handle and referred it therefore to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The most telling proof of the quality of services rendered is usually the satisfaction expressed by the customer. It was gratifying for the Division staff to receive a considerable number of letters of acknowledgment; a few excerpts from them should be quoted here. A Professor of the University of California at Los Angeles wrote for instance, as follows: "Your unexpected work and aid once more has made me realize what a valuable institution the Library of Congress is — in the United States and in the world." A representative of the Office of Research Information of the American National Red Cross, to which the Division has repeatedly rendered translation services in a variety of languages, expressed his thanks: ". . .for your help in the past, and, in particular, for the additional information on organizations you have given us. It has been most generous of you." And, to give another example, Col. Kenneth W. Holbert of the U.S. Army Strategic Intelligence School, expressed his appreciation for assistance rendered by the Division in preparation of a bibliography on Yugoslavia for the use of prospective military attaches.

In the performance of these variegated services, the Division's reference files and indexes were of invaluable help and proved to be time- and labor-saving devices in the handling of reference problems. These files cover primarily up-to-date information of potential reference value on East and East Central Europe as contained in periodicals in West European languages. This reference aid has been used extensively, not only by the Division's area specialists, but also on numerous occasions by representatives of Government agencies and private researchers. The current index is organized by twelve East and East Central European countries and areas and each of them is broken down into broad subject categories on which, according to the Division's experience, most of the routine reference inquiries are usually focused. It can be said without hesitation that maintaining and keeping up-to-date this file proved to be a most profitable investment in regard to increasing both speed and quality of reference work. At present about 70 periodicals in various West European languages are screened regularly and an estimated 3,000 new entries were selected, prepared and filed in the fiscal year under review.

2. Bibliographic Activities

Since the first edition of the Library's Polish Abbreviations; a Selective List was sold out 14 months after it publication in 1955, a second and enlarged edition was completed and released in the 1958 fiscal year. Reports on the sale of this and a list of Czech and Slovak abbreviations (also compiled by this Division), indicate that new editions of these reference aids may soon become necessary.

Shortly before the end of this fiscal year Estonia; a Selected Bibliography was released by the Library. This publication was compiled by Dr. Salme Kuri of the East European Accessions Index Project in close cooperation with this Division. The staff of the Division collaborated in taking care of various substantive and technical aspects of this bibliography and considerable time was devoted to editing and preparing it for publication. The purpose of this bibliography is to help the non-specialist find information on Estonia and its people. Preference in the selection of titles was given to more recent publications in the West European languages.

As the new fiscal year was ushered in, the multilith mats of another bibliography were almost completed and this publication is scheduled for release early in fiscal 1959. East and East Central Europe: Periodicals in English and West European Languages; a Bibliography is thought to fill a very real demand for a bibliographic guide to current periodicals published in the West European languages and focused on that area. No compilation of that type is available at present and the urgent demand for such a bibliography has been voiced by various specialists in the field. This bibliography of about 550 entries was compiled both for the use of students who find the languages of the area difficult to read and for those who wish to familiarize themselves with such publications on the area as appear in the Western world. The titles included are primarily in English, French and German, and in some cases also in other languages spoken outside East and East Central Europe. In preparing this bibliography the Division worked in close contact with several area experts outside the Library of Congress who reviewed parts of the draft dealing with material published in their countries or covering their specific fields of specialization. Among those whose assistance and counsel the Division was privileged to have were: Professor Henri Chambre, S.J., Centre d'Études Économiques, Paris; Miss Dorothy Galton, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London; Professor Werner Philipp and Mr. Contius, Osteuropa Institut, Freie Universität, Berlin; Professor Jaroslav B. Rudnyckyj, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada and staff members of the Free Europe Committee in New York City.

During his association with the Division as a Lithuanian Consultant, the late Dr. Biržiška prepared a paper on the Lithuanian Press in America; in order to make this scholarly article available to interested readers, the Division undertook to bring the article up to date, provided explanatory notes and contacted Professor S. Harrison Thomson of the Department of History of the University of Colorado and editor of the Journal of Central European Affairs, with a view to publishing this article in the Journal. Dr. Thomson sent word that he was much interested in this contribution and that it will appear in one of the forthcoming issues of the Journal. In this connection it may be mentioned that the late Dr. Biržiška also left a draft of a bibliography on Lithuania and the Lithuanians which covers chiefly the literature in the West European languages. The Division Searcher and Reference Assistant, who is a specialist in Lithuanian affairs in his own right, is at present expanding this bibliography and bringing it up-to-date, primarily for the reference purposes of this Division. It is expected that this bibliography will encompass 1,000 to 1,200 annotated entries and when completed might be considered for possible publication, the more so since it would represent a counterpart — in scope and purpose — to the above-mentioned bibliography on Estonia.

A rough draft of a list of Hungarian abbreviations was prepared in the Division; assuming the availability of manpower for the editing of this list, publication may be considered at a later date. Similarly, two drafts of lists of Bulgarian and Yugoslav abbreviations, prepared by members of the staff of the East European Accessions Index Project, and previously authorized by the Bibliography and Publications Committee, are now ready to be given editorial attention by the area specialists of this Division and may be issued in the courses of the next fiscal year.

As in previous years, the Division's staff wrote acquisitions and bibliographic reports for the Library's Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions. In the May 1958 issue, two such contributions by the Division were published, one under the title "Slavica: USSR" (11 p.), and "Hungarica" (4 p.), respectively.

The German Consultant Program administered by the Division, with the help of funds made available by the Oberlaender Trust, seeks to sponsor the preparation of publications which deal with the advances of research and library activities in the German Federal Republic. One such study on "Library Developments in the German Federal Republic since 1945," has been in progress since August 1957, and is expected to be completed in the first half of the coming fiscal year by its author, Dr. Gisela von Busse of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft in Bad Godesberg. Another survey on the "Progress of East European Studies in the German Federal Republic" was somewhat delayed because Dr. Markert, who was originally envisaged as the author of this study, showed continued disinterest in undertaking it. Consequently, the selection of Dr. Peter Scheibert of the University of Cologne as a substitute for Dr. Market was approved early in June by the Librarian and the Division was authorized to open negotiations with him with a view of bringing this study to a speedy conclusion.

Because of lack of manpower, work on the Guide to the Russian Collections of the Library of Congress has not advanced beyond the stage of a preliminary and tentative draft. However, the Division's original proposal for this guide was taken up by the Reference Department as a basis for discussion of the possibility of preparing such guides on a Library-wide basis. The Division participated in the formulation of contents and scope of such prospective guides. Lists of bibliographies and special studies for the year under review are given in Appendixes III and IV.

IV. EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Continuous liaison was maintained by the Division with Government agencies and scholarly institutions engaged in research in the Central and East European area.

Last October the Division Chief accepted an invitation by the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council to serve for another year on their Joint Committee of Slavic Studies. In this capacity he attended committee meetings in New York City (December 6 and 7), in Cambridge, Mass. (January 30 and 31), and at Berkeley, California (March 29 and 30). On these occasions the Library's East European activities figured prominently in the discussions of the Committee which continued to lend vigorous support to the Library's programs in that area. From April 25 to 27, 1958, the Chief participated in the Arden House Conference at Harriman, N.Y., on "Transformation of the Russian Society Since 1861," and together with the East European Specialist represented the Library at a three-day Conference on East Central Europe in November, 1957, sponsored by Columbia University. The Chief also attended the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association in New York City and took part in its discussions pertaining to East Europe.

Numerous American and foreign scholars paid visits to the Division and consulted with the staff in matters of their specialization. On such occasions the give and take of information proved mutually profitable — the Division's specialists received often first-hand reports on the latest foreign developments in the field, and on the other hand, the visitors were kept abreast of the relevant activities in the Library and in this country in general. To give only a few examples of foreign visitors who were welcomed by the Division: Udo Hein, Director of the Political Department of the Land Chancellery of the Rhineland-Westphalen, Düsseldorf, Germany; Dr. Auguste Bouvier, Director of the Library of the University of Geneva, Switzerland; Sverre Kjelstadli, Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Oslo, Norway; Federal Archivist Dr. Leonhard Haas (Bern, Switzerland); Professors Walter Bussmann, Free University (Berlin-Dahlem), Walther Hofer (Deutsche Hochschule für Politik (Berlin-Charlottenburg), Hans Lades (Erlangen University), Percy E. Schramm (Göttingen University), S. Matsusaka (Nagoya University, Japan), Theodor F. Domaradzki (University of Montreal, Canada), and others.

V. SPECIAL EVENTS

In connection with the fiftieth anniversary of the acquisition of the Yudin Collection (consisting of 64,000 books which laid the foundation of the Russian collections in the Library of Congress), the Division prepared an exhibit which opened on December 17 and was extended until February 29. On display were materials dealing with the colorful personality of Mr. Yudin — from whom these books were acquired — the negotiations which led to the acquisition of the collection, and rare and important items forming a part of it. Among the latter was the Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow (1790) by A. N. Radishchev, which was suppressed by the czarist authorities and caused the author to be exiled to Siberia, and the first edition of the Tale of Igor's Host (1800), the earliest extant Russian ballad, most copies of which were destroyed in the great fire which ravaged Moscow in 1812. The exhibit was given generous coverage in the local press.

The Division also participated actively in preparing for the visit to the Library of Dr. Heuss, President of the German Federal Republic — which took place on June 5 — and, in particular, in organizing a special exhibit in honor of the distinguished visitor. Among the items on view, selected by the Central European Specialist, were materials throwing light on German-American cultural relations during the 19th century and particularly on the contribution made by the German liberals who came to the United States after the revolution of 1848. The Division Chief and the Central European Specialist were in the party guiding Dr. Heuss through the Library.

VI. ADMINISTRATION AND PERSONNEL

At present the Division has six permanent positions, four of them professional (including that of the Chief, who continues to devote one-half of his time to the Legislative Reference Service), and two clerical and administrative. Three additional positions — those of the specialists for Polish and for Hungarian materials (GS-9) and of the Searcher and Reference Assistant (GS-5) — are indefinite and financed by working funds or outside sources. Thus the continuity of the performance of certain functions forming an integral part of the Division's responsibilities hinges on the good will of the "sponsors" of these positions. This situation tends to inject an element of improvisation into the Division's operations and a stabilization of these positions would seem to be called for. Particularly acute is the question in regard to the Division's Searcher and Reference Assistant, who holds a European Ph.D. degree, has teaching experience in American colleges, commands a variety of East European languages, is a well-known expert and author of books on East European ethnography and thoroughly familiar with LC library techniques, but is assigned to and cannot be promoted from his present indefinite GS-5 position.

While the total number of positions in this Division remained unchanged, there was a certain amount of turnover attributable in part to personal reasons and in part to possibilities of advancement outside the Library. Mrs. Helen J. Mavritte, Clerk Stenographer of the Division, resigned on July 26, for reasons of health and was succeeded by Mrs. Gunborg C. Nowotny, who has been in this position since August 5, 1957. Miss Nellie M. Apanasewicz, Research Assistant and Administrative Secretary of the Division, tendered her resignation as of September 20, 1957, because of poor health and was replaced on October 14, by Miss Kitty E. Foutty, who in turn resigned effective February 28, 1958, to accept a position in a newly created unit of the Defense establishment. The incumbent in the position is Mrs. Lillian T. Simon, formerly with the Copyright Office. After five years of service with this Division as a Searcher and Reference Assistant, Mrs. Yolanda Horan decided that the time had come to devote herself to domestic responsibilities. She resigned on October 18 and was succeeded on November 4, by Dr. John P. Balys, who has served the Division in an exemplary manner.

With the launching of the Sputniks and the attendant repercussions in the Western World, the need for a systematic and thorough scrutiny of the intellectual, and particularly the creative effort in the USSR and its satellites has become obvious. A sharply increased demand for information by the Division is being made by Congress, the Federal establishments, industry and business, scholarly and research organizations, as well as the general public. There is every indication that this state of affairs will persists in the foreseeable future and will even become more accentuated.

With its present professional staff, the Division has barely managed to carry its routine workload, but has not been able to give intensive and sustained attention to the following topics on which many inquiries are received: 1) Scholarship in the USSR and the Soviet bloc in various fields of knowledge as well as the structure and methods of organized research behind the Iron Curtain; 2) The cultural and educational systems and manpower resources in this area; 3) Process of dissemination of knowledge and propaganda; 4) Biographical data on leading personalities of the East European political and cultural systems; 5) The harnessing of foreign economic aid and trade to Soviet policies.

In order to insure that these areas receive the attention they deserve, the Division Chief proposed that two permanent positions, of a Research and Acquisitions Specialist (GS-11) and of a Reference and Bibliographical Assistant (GS-7), be added to the Division's table of organization. These two positions were included in the Library's budgetary requests for the 1959 fiscal year.

VII. PROFESSIONAL BUT UNOFFICIAL ACTIVITIES

As in the past years, the professional members of the staff engaged in a variety of activities focused on the Division's area and specialization. They included services as officers of professional organizations and committees, participation in conferences and institutes, lecturing, and writing of articles and books. The Division's most prolific writer of the year was Dr. Balys, who completed two books and a number of other contributions in folklore. An extensive study was prepared by Mr. Gorokhoff and Dr. Horecky on non-Library time, dealing with library activities and publishing processes in the USSR. This report, under-taken for the Council on Library Resources, Inc., includes descriptions of the types of publications issued in the Soviet Union, the publishing system, library systems, and the principal Soviet libraries and bibliographic centers. Dr. Yakobson acted as consultant to the study. Negotiations are under way toward publishing this report, either jointly or as two separate books. Mr. Gorokhoff has further prepared transliteration tables for 130 alphabets of languages spoken by national minorities in the USSR; these tables are now under consideration by the Processing Department.

The articles and book reviews written by members of the staff are too numerous to be specified here.

The following examples show the active participation of staff members in professional meetings, round table conferences and tours: Dr. Bako attended a Seminar on the Ecological Factors of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, held at Columbia University; Dr. Balys participated in a round table conference of the Institute of Ethnic Studies at Georgetown University; Dr. Epstein, along with ten other American scholars, was invited by the German Federal Government to tour learned institutions in West Germany for over four weeks in June and July of this year; and Dr. Wojcicka attended a conference on Central and Eastern Europe held at the University of Colorado.

Drs. Bako and Wojcicka continued course work in Library science at Catholic University.

Respectfully submitted,
Sergius Yakobson, Chief
Slavic and Central European Division
July 15, 1958
[The report is signed by Sergius Yakobson. Ed.]