Submitted by
Sergius Yakobson, Chief
July 8, 1963

I. ACQUISITIONS

The Library continued to receive a high proportion of the publications output of the Central, East, and East Central European area, on the average probably as much as one-fifth of the total. Once types and subjects of materials outside the acquisitions scope of the Library have been excluded, the ratio is even higher, perhaps amounting to 40 to 45 percent of the Soviet book output and 25 percent of that in the East European countries. A large part of these materials came to the Library as the result of a continuing survey of the listings in the national bibliographies and a variety of other recommending tools from which the Division's specialists selected relevant publications and indicated practicable sources of supply. In order to improve the intake further, the possibility of using trade catalogs announcing publications prior to their issuance has been under constant study. The experimental use of such a selection tool is now in effect with regard to Czechoslovak publications.

The absence of funds for the purchase of non-current materials has proved to be a real handicap in the Division's recommending operations and has impelled reliance on exchange procurement which is, of course, only a rather inadequate substitute. In particular, the Division has been unable to recommend the purchase of important basic materials which have come within easy reach in the last few years through perfected photoduplication techniques. Only for certain types of Russian-language materials has the modest Babine Fund been available for the purchase of retrospective materials, but it has to be used with extreme care and the recommendation of a number of significant items, notwithstanding their value to the Library's collections, had to be foregone.

Members of the Division staff have undertaken in a variety of ways to develop new sources of information about the supply of relevant publications, often through direct contact with visiting representatives of foreign libraries and publishing agencies. For instance, as the result of profitable conversations between the Chief, the Processing Department staff, and the Director of the Polish publishing agency, RUCH, new catalogs of serials published in Poland were received and the way was paved for the claiming of back issues missing from sets of Polish periodicals. Dr. Barbara Krader, while on a vacation trip to Czechoslovakia, had several conversations on acquisitions problems and, as a result, the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, an important supplier of learned publications, agreed to reconsider the terms of their exchange agreement and a more advantageous currency conversion rate was secured.

The Division took an active part in working out with the Polish National Library in Warsaw an agreement for the exchange of official publications. For several years this agreement had been dormant and it was only reactivated in the fiscal year under review. In this connection, the Polish and Slavic Research Librarian, Dr. Hoskins, made a study of current Polish official serial publications which would qualify under the terms of the agreement and a number were added to the final list of titles to be supplied to the Library.

Continuing surveys probing into the completeness of the coverage of acquisitions from various countries have formed an integral part of the Division's recommending operations. Thus, a thorough investigation was made, in cooperation with the Exchange and Gift Division, of the intake of current Rumanian materials with the aim of providing a fuller coverage of materials and delineating purchase and exchange procurements.

For the first time in the history of the Division, it has become possible to arrange for a trip by a staff member to several countries within the Division's area assignment. It has been acutely felt that firsthand, on-the-spot observation of the cultural scene in this area would be invaluable to the Division's activities. A trip by the Assistant Chief to Poland, Austria, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria to survey publishing and cultural developments is a beginning in that direction. Among the objectives of this journey was the establishment of direct contacts with academic organizations, learned societies, establishments of higher learning, the academies of sciences, libraries, bibliographic centers, and archives. In preparation for this trip, conferences and briefing sessions were held with officials of the Processing Department. The Law Library supplied extensive lists of Yugoslav, Polish, and Bulgarian law publications which they would like to purchase and made funds available for this purpose. The Manuscript Division expressed great interest in receiving information on the availability of archival materials on U.S. cultural, diplomatic, and political relations with these countries in the interest of possible microfilming of these materials under the provisions of the Wilbur Fund. The Library's new specialist for children's literature also had some fact-finding assignments within the field of her interest. Meticulous preparations were made for this trip by the Division staff. Detailed and extensive want lists of the most important materials were prepared primarily to pinpoint basic desiderata such as bibliographies, academy publications, encyclopedias, and reference materials, and missing issues or sets of periodicals and newspapers to be procured on microfilm once funds become available. Over the years, the Division has been able to establish contacts with visiting cultural dignitaries from the countries under discussion and these contacts now came in handy in connection with the preparations for the trip.

II. ORGANIZATION OF THE COLLECTIONS

Like a housewife who, having just finished a vigorous spring cleaning, looks around her home, sees new potentials, and takes on new projects, the Division surveyed Deck 8 after the successful, but arduous, campaign to dispose of the mass of accumulated older and unbound serials (see Annual Report for FY 1962). It came to the realization that it now had the space for custody of new materials which could make a valuable and logical contribution to the range of services rendered by the Division.

It had long been obvious that geographical and political realities had in many instances turned research and study toward the Soviet bloc rather than to the Slavic countries alone. Staff members reported that many readers felt that the existing arrangement whereby unbound Slavic and Baltic materials were in the Division's custody while Albanian, Hungarian, and Rumanian were not was not consistent with this trend. The specialists in the Division, too, found it cumbersome to provide consultative services for those countries without the support of a reference collection. In addition, recommending officers felt that their work would be enhanced by having unbound serials from these three countries close at hand and under Division control.

Therefore, in November 1962, the Curator of the Slavic Room recommended that unbound Albanian, Hungarian, and Rumanian serial publications and newspapers be added to the custodial responsibilities of the Division. He reported that he could make 530 shelves available to house this new material, which he estimated at 950 titles (870 periodicals and 80 newspapers). He also pointed out that the Yudin and Cyrillic 4 collections were diminishing, although at a slow rate, as Descriptive Cataloging Division gradually withdrew this material for full cataloging and incorporation into the general collections, and that thus eventually more space will be released. Moreover, additional freeing of precious space could be expected in connection with the planned microfilming of Russian-language UN documents, which could then be removed from the shelves. Obviously, added responsibility meant added workloads, but it was felt that the new task was a most important one and could be undertaken without requesting additional positions to increase the Deck 8 staff. The recommendation has been approved in principle by Reference Department and, provided the appropriate General Orders are issued, the new responsibility will be integrated into the Division's operations.

The cleanup operation is a continuing process, however, since without constant watchfulness it would be all too easy for the mass of material which flows into Deck 8 to pile up again. The target dates for the binding of Soviet serials of the previous year by June 30 and of other Slavic-language materials by September 1 have been met. Incomplete sets which could not be bound were segregated and well policed by means of a suspense file which alerts Deck 8 personnel to the dates for proceeding with the clearance of such materials after all reasonable efforts to complete sets have been made. New techniques were put into operation by which the Deck 8 staff takes into account the qualitative aspects of the binding operation, now that the condition of chronic backlog no longer exists. For example, material for which no service copy is available is now kept nine months after the date of accession, in order that users may have ample opportunity to have use of the issues before they enter the binding stage from which retrieval, in case of necessity, is extremely difficult. One last pocket of resistance, the older serials which managed to evade the "clean sweep" has also been dealt with — material which had been judged too brittle for binding. Of this, 1,029 issues of 34 titles were discarded, 248 issues of 26 titles were held for microfilming, and 35 issues of 15 titles were referred to Science and Technology Division for decision.

Another area which merits, and constantly receives, close scrutiny is that of devising ways to improve service to readers. For example, second sets of non-current volumes of such materials as the Soviet national bibliographies, statistical handbooks, and stenographic reports of the USSR Supreme Soviet meetings are now kept on Deck 8 instead of being released to the general collections, since it was found that this vastly speeds up service on these heavily-used volumes, some first sets of which are housed in the Main Building. In order to measure the relative completeness of the Slavic Room reference collection of Russian materials, they have been checked against a definitive bibliography edited by the Assistant Chief, Basic Russian Publications; an Annotated Bibliography on Russia and the Soviet Union, and as a result of use of this yardstick, 35 titles have been added and other materials, no longer of essential reference value, weeded out. A new system of subject headings for the Division's reference files was worked out and the list of periodicals regularly screened for new entries to these files was revised thus improving the usefulness of this important reference tool.

Other Divisions in the Library often called upon the language skills and specialized know-how of the Division's staff in solving knotty problems of processing or organizing their collections. Thus, Drs. Allen, Bako, Krader and Price, at the request of the General Reference and Bibliography Division, within their fields of specialization, assisted in revamping the reference collections in the Main Reading Room alcoves. Numbers of books were singled out for return to the general collections and recommendations were made for the addition of new titles. As of January 1, 1963, the number and the makeup of Referativnye zhurnaly, published by the Institute of Scientific Information of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, changed drastically, and the Serial Record Division requested assistance from the Slavic Room staff in establishing the identity of the new journals and in determining which of the abstract journals are originals and not reprints. Dr. Krader helped the Music Division with translating titles and describing a quantity of old phonograph cylinders of Czech popular and folk music, as well as a number of Russian recordings. She also recommended that preliminary cards be prepared for the backlog of uncataloged Bulgarian materials, since lack of any controls was resulting in the reordering of many works already in the possession of the Library.

III. USE OF MATERIALS

1. Reference Activities

The scope of the Division's reference activities for the current fiscal year is well demonstrated by a look through its correspondence files which contain letters to many departments of the U.S. government, scholarly institutions both in the U.S. and abroad, some of the nation's best-known educational centers, and topflight business corporations, as well as to some organizations, for example the American Bible Society, whose interest in Slavic and Central European affairs might prove puzzling to the observer. The geographical spread of reference activity encompassed nearly all of the states of the Union including the two newest, Alaska and Hawaii, many of the countries of Europe and, in addition, replies were sent to inquirers below the equator in South Africa and Australia and in the Far East in Japan.

The subjects chosen by the Division's clients were equally diverse, but interest often centered on several general areas so that certain "trends" became discernible. For a number of years, the Division has handled requests to check the records of the Alaska Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church to substantiate citizenship or social security claims for persons born in Alaska, and this year an unusually heavy number of such requests came in, particularly from the Social Security Administration. Various statements attributed to Soviet leaders continued to be of interest this year to a number of persons; it was possible to authenticate some of these pronouncements, but others appeared to be fictitious. A pattern which was first observed last year continued, as a number of patrons asked for plans for a typical Soviet one-family dwelling. The first of these dwellings was erected as a basis for obvious comparisons in a Florida real estate development; other builders have followed the example, and more such plans have been requested recently by individuals who wanted to set up an interesting tourist attraction. Specialized bibliographic assistance was also rendered to a number of clients. For example, one Latin American Embassy in the process of establishing a reference library on East Europe was supplied with a list of 91 books in English and French pertaining to the individual countries of East Europe and to the area as a whole, as well as with a list of basic periodicals in the field. Other bibliographic listings concerned economic relations between East Europe and the Soviet Union during the period 1944 to 1948, materials for the teaching of foreign languages in the USSR, and Max Frisch, the Swiss dramatist.

uring the year, several studies were completed at the request of Congressional committees or individual Members. One such project involved the preparation of a list of major Soviet cities with a population of over 50,000 and a computation of the area of each. There was a three-part inquiry on the system of government in the USSR from a committee which urgently needed the information; it was supplied on the same day the request was received and the Division was commended by the staff director for its prompt action. Other Congressional requests involved the compilation of detailed reports on the struggle for power between Trotsky and Stalin and on the Russian historian, M.N. Pokrovskii. Government agencies (The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the Departments of Agriculture, State, Defense, and Health, Education and Welfare, to name only a few) often called upon the Division's professional expertise. The Chief, along with representatives from the Executive Branch, participated in a briefing session held to orient an American publishers' delegation on its way to the Soviet Union. A distinguished client was Secretary of the Interior Udall, who needed data on the river basins of the USSR, the amount of flow, the growth of the Soviet electric power industry, and the comparative coal and petroleum reserves of the U.S. and the USSR. The Office of Secretary of Defense McNamara was supplied with information concerning destruction of architectural monuments and objets d'art. The Assistant Chief reviewed a manuscript prepared in the Department of Commerce on the economy of Czechoslovakia. When preparing an exhibit of technical books to be displayed in the USSR, USIA consulted the Division's specialists who also assisted in the evaluation of the materials to be forwarded for this purpose.

Clients from the world of business included General Mills, Inc., the International Nickel Company, and Union Carbide. Students and faculty of universities from all over the United States contacted the Division for various types of information — from Georgia Tech in the South to the University of Alaska and from the University of Washington to the great eastern universities, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Cornell. Cultural institutions abroad also made frequent calls upon the specialist staff. A few examples are given: the State Public Saltykov-Shchedrin Library in Leningrad, the National Central Library in London, the Katholieke Economische Hogeschool in Tilburg, Holland, and the Bibliothek des Instituts für Weltwirtschaft in Kiel.

Divisions in the Library sought out the staff for consultation. The Area Specialist (USSR) provided the Hispanic Foundation and the African Section of General Reference and Bibliography Division with regular data on new Soviet publications pertaining to these areas. Advice was given to Prints and Photographs Division on the availability of sound films for use in teaching in the various countries falling under the Division's area responsibility, and assistance was provided to Science and Technology Division in the preparation of the Finnish and Hungarian sections of two of their publications, Aeronautical and Space Publications and World Guide to Indexing and Abstracting Services in Science and Technology.

And, of course, there were the individuals from all walks of life, with all sorts of problems for solution from the seventh grader, who wanted to know why the Library allegedly possessed a copy of Adolf Hitler's birth certificate, to Drew Pearson. That many of these clients were well satisfied with the reference service obtained is evidenced by the Division's collection of "Thank You" letters. Somewhat comparable to the proverbial "carrying coals to Newcastle" was a request from an American student who was doing research in Leningrad. He wrote: "I was impressed by the exhaustiveness of your reply [a five-page listing of Russian newspapers available in the Library of Congress] . . . and extremely grateful for these details which will be of great help to me in my work here." The files also include letters with such comments as: "Wonderfully prompt, informative, and courteous service . . . The Library of Congress always does the maximum to help."; "I had no idea so much apparently useful material is available on such a specialized subject."; "Friendly cooperation and expert help . . ."; "I do not know how it would be possible to carry on research in the field without such great help."; "I've been looking for the book for six months, and am very grateful for your help in locating it for me." There were occasions, however, when the questions raised proved too much even for the skill of the professional staff so highly praised above — i.e. the case of the reader who wanted us to check a Polish book entitled, he claimed, Tamze. It was not possible to accommodate him since "Tamze" is the Polish equivalent of "Ibid."

2. Bibliographies, Related Studies, and Exhibits

Beginning with the year 1953, the Division has compiled, edited, or sponsored fourteen publications, some of which are now in their second editions. Included in this body of works are five lists of abbreviations in common use in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Yugoslavia, as well as a number of bibliographies dealing with the literature on areas within the Division's assignment or with special segments of this literature, as for example, the well-received Eighteenth Century Russian Publications in the Library of Congress, which made its appearance during the previous fiscal year and was praised in the March 1963 Slavic Review as follows: "The major Slavic libraries in this country would render yeoman service to American Slavic scholarship if they followed the example set by the Library Of Congress." That these contributions have met a real demand is attested to by the way in which the public has availed itself of these publications once they appeared in print. Of the total of fourteen, six sold out quickly and can now be obtained only on microfilm through the Library's Photoduplication Service. Another volume, Latin America in Soviet Writings, 1945–1958. A Bibliography, was reprinted only a year after its initial appearance, and two of the listings of abbreviations mentioned above have reappeared in revised and enlarged editions. In FY 1963 another recent work, West German Library Developments since 1945, was sold out at the Government Printing Office and additional copies were transferred there form the Library's supply in order to meet continuing demands. This publication was also praised in the April 1963 Library Quarterly — "The translators [all members of the Library staff] undoubtedly have spent a great deal of time and effort in sifting material to present an impressive amount of information in a relatively small and yet readable brochure of 82 pages . . . Dr. von Busse and the Library of Congress staff should be complimented."

Lack of funds for the purchase of retrospective materials and the resulting time now available which the specialist staff had previously spent in scanning offers and negotiating for these materials has been out to use in stepping up the Division's current bibliographic programs. At present four new volumes are in various stages of preparation and one other was published during this fiscal year. The Assistant Chief, with the assistance of Dr. Balys and Mr. Carlton, compiled Newspapers of the Soviet Union in the Library of Congress, bringing up to date the Division's first publication issued in 1953, Russian, Ukrainian, and Belorussian Newspapers, 1917–1953. This new, 79–page bibliography appeared in mid–winter and covers Slavic language newspapers of the USSR from 1954 to 1960, Baltic newspapers from June 1940 until the end of 1960, and newspapers in other languages published within the boundaries of the USSR from 1917 until the end of 1960.

Rumania. A Bibliographic Guide, prepared by Dr. Stephen A. Fischer–Galati and readied for publication during FY 1963 by the Division's staff, is a trail–blazer, the first of a planned series of concise bibliographic guides to specific areas. This study, brought into being during the compiler's six–week tour of duty at the Library as an expert in this field, presents in essay form carefully chosen works, grouped by sections and described in brief evaluative comments. Work on this guide revealed some gaps in the Library's Rumanian collections, and, as a result, want lists have been prepared seeking to fill these in. The Guide's potential usefulness both as a bibliographic tool and as a gauge of the strength of the collections clearly indicated the extension of this approach to other areas, and arrangements have been made to repeat the process in the field of Bulgarian materials. Dr. Marin Pundeff of San Fernando Valley State College, a former member of the staff of the Law Library, was invited to join the Division for six weeks in the summer of 1963 to compile the new guide. He will also survey Bulgarian serial holdings and prepare lists to fill existing gaps.

Work is progressing on a new, up–to–date compilation of current periodicals in the languages of Western Europe which deal with East and East Central Europe. This bibliography will revise and expand East and East Central Europe; Periodicals in English and Other West European Languages, which, published in 1958, proved to be a valuable research tool, and has been out of print for some time. Scholars in France, Great Britain, and Germany have agreed to review and supplement data compiled by the Assistant Chief and Mr. Carlton. Furthermore, a group of the Division's area specialists under the leadership of the Curator of the Slavic Room, are at work on a list of East and East Central European newspapers in the Library's collections along the lines of the bibliography of Soviet newspapers mentioned above. The difficult and time–consuming work of checking records to determine exact holdings and of ascertaining pertinent bibliographic data is going forward, and a preliminary card file will soon be ready for editing and review.

A study of the resurgence of East European studies in West Germany since World War II, which Professor Peter Scheibert of Marburg University has undertaken to prepare for the Library with the financial support of the Oberlaender Trust of Philadelphia, has been beset with delays because of the illness of the author and problems of methodology and coverage; however, the last sections of the manuscript were received in the late winter, and in spite of the difficult task of translation, the editing of the study is now in full swing.

In this as in previous years, a number of detailed reports on publishing developments in Eastern Europe and on the increase of the Library's collections in various areas were contributed by the Division to the Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions. These reports included coverage of recent acquisitions from the USSR, a survey of publications on the Baltic countries received during the last decade, an appraisal of recent receipts of German bibliographies and reference publications, and a resumé of Hungarian acquisitions during the past year. The utility of the QJCA in general was recently commented upon in Börsenblatt für den deutschen Buchhandel (January 29, 1963) which went on to observe that its informative articles were "of great significance for subjects where such information is not readily available, such as Hungarica or Slavica." In addition to this regular reporting, Dr. Krader prepared an article for the QJCA giving the background and a precise description of the Glagolitic Missal of 1483 [Misal po zakonu rimskoga dvora], the first printed Yugoslav book. The Library's copy of this incunabulum is believed to be the best–preserved copy known.

The Division also instigated and assisted the Rare Book Division in the preparation of a rich exhibit of early German books from the Library's collections, which was arranged to coincide with an exhibit of some 3,000 recent German books displayed in March at the Smithsonian Institution under the auspices of the German Bookdealers Association of Frankfurt am Main. Following this exhibit, the Library was offered as a gift contemporary German books dealing with typography and bookmaking which were included in the German exhibit.

IV. EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Contacts with individuals and institutions engaged in work in the same or related fields have always been carefully cultivated as a matter of Division policy. The pages of this report relate a number of instances of improved acquisitions coverage and answers to reference and bibliographic problems which directly resulted from cooperation between the staff and representatives of research institutions, the world of publishing, or individual scholars, both in the U.S. and abroad.

A good example is the Assistant Chief's acquisitions and publications survey trip discussed above. It was through his talks with travelling scholars and official visitors to the Library from Eastern Europe that he developed much of the insight into present–day publishing trends prevailing there; this helped him to prepare for his trip in detail. Another instance is the discovery of valuable sources of duplicates and other scarce materials made during the Chief's visit to England and France last year when he served as a participant in the first conference on Slavic documentation at the Sorbonne, as well as an emissary from the Processing Department. He again visited England on a similar mission and, except for an unfortunate mishap, would have extended his activities into Germany in conjunction with his attendance at a meeting of the Committee on Linguistic Information held in Paris in June 1963.

The Division was active in briefing U.S. officials on their way to posts abroad; among them was Dr. Arthur H. Moehlmann, who was beginning a two–year assignment as U.S. cultural attaché in Bonn, and who received extensive information the Library's German collection and activities. A group of local USIS employees from Europe who were visiting this country as part of an official program were briefed on Library facilities.

Two conferences held during the year exemplify the type of service the Division furnishes to cultural organizations. Dr. D. Lee Hamilton and Dr. Bruce Gaarder of the Office of Education met with the Chief and the Assistant Chief to discuss a project for the study of the role of foreign languages in educational, cultural, and political programs and activities of the USSR. During their stay in Washington, two officials of Syracuse University discussed with the Chief and the Assistant Chief the establishment of a specialized program for the study of Soviet libraries and bibliographic affairs. In addition, the staff of the University of Kansas Libraries was advised on the organization and content of the Kansas Slavic Index, which they plan to publish. Another rewarding association was established with two officials of the German Embassy. Dr. Hanns–Erich Haack and Dr. Martin Schött, who were briefed on the Library's German programs and resources.

A device for strengthening ties with cultural institutions, which has been used in the past with great success, is the display of materials related to specific fields of interest during professional meetings held in Washington. This year, during the December 1963 convention of the Modern Languages Association, an informal exhibit was arranged in the Slavic Room particularly addressing itself to the delegates who were members of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages. A large group of AATSEEL members visited the Library to inspect the display, and were later conducted on a tour which included the exhibit of 18th century Russian books in the Rare Book Division.

In addition, day–to–day exchanges of information with visitors who come to the Library as officially sponsored guests, or with visiting scholars were most productive in terms of good public relations and mutual understanding. A listing of a few representative guests will illustrate the scope of these contacts. Dr. Vidya Prakash Dutt, of the Indian School of International Studies in New Delhi, who participated with the Chief in the Fourth International Conference of World Politics held in Athens, was briefed on the intake of Soviet bloc materials. Another acquaintance of the Chief's, Mr. Roderick MacFarquhar of London, the editor of the China Quarterly, visited the Division, as did Dr. Hans–Adolf Jacobsen, director of the Research Insitute of the West German Foreign Policy Association. Dr. Jacobsen later presented the Library with several important reference works on recent developments in Germany. The President of the Yugoslav Council for Culture and a member of the Yugoslav parliament, Mrs. Stanka Veselinov, was briefed by Dr. Horecky and Dr. Krader; another Yugoslav visitor was Dragomir Vučinić, Undersecretary of State. Other visitors from the world of learning were: Professor Alexander Bennigsen and Mr. Clemens Heller of the Sorbonne's École Pratique des Hautes Études; Roger Pierrot of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris; Professor T.H. Rigby of the Australian National University; and two Soviet exchange scholars: Mr. Lev I. Miroshnikov and Dr. G. N. Sevostianov, both attached to the USSR Academy of Sciences.

V. ADMINISTRATION AND PERSONNEL

In some areas of operation "no news is good news." That this section of the Division's annual report is short is chargeable to two factors. For the fourth year in succession, in spite of steadily expanding responsibilities, it has not been necessary to ask for additional positions and, as in the previous year, turnover has been at a minimum. This stability is felt to be an important factor in maintaining smooth and efficient operations.

Only one employee left the group last year. When it became necessary for Mr. Bohdan Kudryk to leave the Library service, he was quickly replaced by Mr. Basil Nadraga, who was recruited from a position in Philadelphia. As noted above, Dr. Marin A. Pundeff joined the staff for six weeks, beginning in June, as a Bulgarian expert. Staff members from the Chief on down to the administrative staff have participated with great benefit in the Library's varied training programs. Dr. Yakobson continues to attend executive seminars, and five members of the specialist staff were enrolled in courses dealing with the development and control of the collections. Two reference librarians learned new facets of the Library's services in a training program devoted to service to readers. Members of the Division Office staff were briefed on travel regulations, the handling of time and attendance reports, filing, and the preparation of PARs.

The high standards of diligence and efficiency of the staff were evidenced by the award of outstanding performance ratings to the Assistant Chief and to the Administrative Secretary and Editor for three consecutive years, and by the granting of a meritorious service award to Dr. Hoskins for her sustained superior service. Special note was taken of her editing of the manuscript of the Rumanian guide and her direction of the Deck 8 cleanup project.

VI. PROFESSIONAL BUT UNOFFICIAL ACTIVITIES

In addition to their assigned duties for the Library, the professional staff continued to set an impressive record of achievement by its unofficial contributions to the progress of Slavic and Central European scholarship. All of the Division's specialists were active in professional associations and as officers or members of these groups they were able to keep in step with new trends in their fields of specialization, as well as to serve as a sort of human bridge for the passage of ideas and information between the Library and the world of scholarship. Also, as authors, editors, and compilers of specialized bibliographies, the staff took an active role in advancing research and learning.

1. Relations with Scholarly Groups

The Chief's activities as a committee member and as a participant in the meetings of several advisory groups have taken him to many gatherings of scholars both in this country and abroad. As a member of the Joint Committee on Slavic Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council and chairman of its subcommittee for bibliographic and research aids, of the Coordinating Committee for Slavic and East European Library Resources (COCOSEERS), and of the planning board for the first national conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, he continued to play an active role in shaping the trend of Slavic research in the U.S. His paper, presented at the Fourth International Conference on World Politics which met in Athens last fall, on "Russian and Ethiopia, A Case of Traditional Behavior" was accepted for publication in a volume of selected studies discussed at the conference, and prior to its publication appeared in the April issue of Osteuropa in German; an English version will be published in the July issue of the Review of Politics. He also contributed a chapter on "Russia and Africa" to Russian Foreign Policy; Essays in Historical Perspective, published by Yale University Press, which was praised in the March 1963 Slavic Review as follows: "Sergius Yakobson gives a delightful and revealing account of Russia's century–long relations with Africa, a subject seldom considered prior to the Soviet period." In the spring of 1963 he went to Paris for a second conference of Slavic documentation at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme of the Sorbonne; the first conference was held the previous spring. He was also a member of an ad hoc advisory group to the President of Indiana University and of another advisory group set up for a special project at MIT.

The Assistant Chief is gaining an international reputation as a specialist on Slavic bibliography. His Basic Russian Publications. An Annotated Bibliography on Russia and the Soviet Union, has been hailed as a standard word in the field and has been welcomed by researchers, students, and reviewers. The December 1962 Library Journal called it "An excellent bibliographic guide for research in Russian and Soviet affairs, a convenient checklist for developing library holdings, and an invaluable tool for the reference librarian." He recently began work on a companion volume which will cover works in English on pre– and post–Revolutionary Russia. Both of these bibliographies were sponsored jointly COCOSEERS and the American Council of Learned Societies. He has also continued to study the possibilities of applying new methods of information storage and retrieval to publications on East Europe and the USSR.

Five of the Division staff were members of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies and took part in the work of a very active local chapter of this national organization. Four were members of the American Historical Association and Dr. Allen and Dr. Price served as editors of sections of the American Historical Review which contain lists of bibliographic entries on the Soviet Union and Germany.

2. Other Activities

A sampling of individual activities will serve to indicate the staff's professional versatility. Dr. Allen taught a course in Russian history at American University, and contributed an article on world communism to the New International Yearbook published by Funk and Wagnalls. Dr. Balys' article, "The Baltic States: A Ten Year Survey," which appeared in the December 1962 issue of the QJCA was reprinted in expanded form in Lituanus, and he lectured on problems of folksong research at the Second Lithuanian Cultural Congress held in Chicago. Under a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies, Dr. Bako wrote a textbook, Hungarian Secondary School Reader; he also presented a paper on Uralic linguistics at the Ninth International Congress of Linguists held at Harvard and MIT. A bibliography compiled by Dr. Horecky on "Recent English Language Material on USSR Libraries and Librarianship" was part of the recently published report of the delegation of U.S. librarians who visited the Soviet Union and he also contributed a survey of the Library's Slavic and East European collections to Cahiers du Monde Russe et Soviétique published under the auspices of the Sorbonne. Dr. Hoskins assisted Notre Dame University Press in the reviewing and evaluating a manuscript on Polish affairs between the two World Wars and contributed two book reviews to the American Historical Review. Dr. Krader served on the International Fellowship Committee of the American Association of University Women. Dr. Price taught a course on European Economic History at American University and has contributed articles to Current History and the Encyclopedia Britannica. Dr. Yakobson reviewed books for both the Slavic Review and the Papers of the Bibliographic Society of America and a paper prepared by him in cooperation with a former staff member, Mr. Boris I. Gorokhoff, appeared in translation in a Japanese symposium.

[Signature: Sergius Yakobson]