Submitted by
David H. Kraus, Acting Chief
October 16, 1985

PREFACE

This fiscal year showed progress toward reaching the long-range goal of achieving a balance between the East and West European elements of the Division. This was manifested in a marked increase in the West European collections in the European Reading Room, in the publication program, and in a considerable increase in West European reference requests. The fiscal year was also characterized by greatly increased automation activity, particularly by use of the JANUS Retriever, which has expanded and speeded the Division's reference and acquisitions work.

The report that follows aims at presenting trends and directions with illustrative details. Constructive criticism is welcome.

I. THE EUROPEAN DIVISION AND THE COLLECTIONS

A. Acquisitions

This fiscal year was dominated by recommendations for acquisition of large collections on microfilm or microfiche – the Berlin Directory [Berliner Addressbuch] for 1919-1932, Polish Solidarity materials available in the West, British Parliamentary Papers concerning Russia, a complete run of Baedeker's Italy – or in inkprint – the book catalog of the Italian National Library (1969-1982) and of the French National Library (190 volumes of replacement copies or missing volumes).

Recommendations from national bibliographies, dealer offers, and offers of duplicates decreased somewhat over last year due principally to a significant decrease in the number of offers received (see Appendix A). However, two large offers provided an unusual opportunity to improve the collections. A list of nearly 2,000 titles was received from the Estonian State Library and an offer of Romansch publications was received from Switzerland. Specialist Bako selected 470 titles from the former list and Specialist Krewson 200 from the latter. Opportunities also came for acquisition of rare or bibliophile editions: Specialist Hoskins recommended nine rare works related to Polish, while Specialist Kovtun recommended fifteen Czech bibliophile editions from the 1920s.

A significant acquisitions-related event for the Division this year was the retirement of the Russian/Soviet specialist. The Soviet Union is one of the world's largest book producers (80,000 titles per year) and one of the Library's most active exchange partners. The recommending duties for that position are being shared temporarily by three Division specialists.

Steps were taken to solve several vexing and persistent acquisitions problems. Specialist Armbruster analyzed receipts of Italian official publications and engaged in discussions with Library officials and the Italian blanket-order dealer to develop a strategy for improving the Library's acquisition of this material. The Acting Chief proposed a new blanket-order arrangement for acquisitions from Cyprus, and a mini-blanket order for publications from the Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. Other recommendations were the outgrowth of research for publications by division specialists. Specialist Allen recommended a large number of works in Russian and German on U.S.-European trade and economic relations before World War I in connection with his book Russians Look at America. Specialist Kovtun recommended acquisition of film of Slavie, a Czech-American periodical that carried the text of many of Thomas Masaryk's American speeches and lectures for his Masaryk and America (see Appendix B).

Several noteworthy gifts were obtained or explored by Division staff. From the glass slide collection of the Jan Hus Presbyterian Church in New York, Specialist Kovtun selected for the Library 600 pieces depicting the Czechoslovak Legion in Siberia (1918). The National Library of Romania sent long runs of several 19th and early 20th century periodicals (on film) that the Acting Chief had requested on his trip to Romania in 1983 and, through the efforts of Specialist Bako, a private party donated 83 bound volumes of Hungarian-American newspapers. A gift tape of Jaroslav Seifert reading rom his poetry was obtained by Specialist Kovtun, and the Library's Archive of World Literature on Tape was enriched by readings of authors Lauri Honko, Kai Laitinen, Elizabeth Alexander, Kazys Bradūnas, and Klaus Jarmatz.

B. Organization and Maintenance of Collections

The Division stressed two points with respect to the organization and maintenance of the collections in its custody, viz., expansion and improvement of the European Reading Room collections, and bringing the uncataloged materials on Deck 13 under bibliographic control. About 1,000 titles were added to the reference collections in the European Reading Room, with emphasis on West European sources. More than 150 titles were added to the Dutch collection alone. Only the Scandinavian collections remain weak, reflecting the absence of a Division specialist in that field. It must be added that nearly half of the new titles pertained to East and Central European countries, with corresponding removal of older materials to make room in these established collections.

A survey of early Soviet serials was conducted by contractor Anne Minor to bring a portion of the custodial material on Deck 13 under bibliographic control. Ms. Minor prepared holdings entries for more than 1,000 titles, about one-third of the unrecorded Soviet serial arrearage on the Deck. Her analysis showed that nearly one-half of the titles did not appear in the Library's catalogs or elsewhere in the west. Thus this collection, like the previous ones on Deck 13 that have been surveyed, offer a new source of information for researchers. In a cooperative project with the European Division, the Shared Cataloging Division engaged Ms. Minor to survey the early Russian monograph arrearage on Deck 13 and to determine the nature of this collection from the cataloging standpoint.

For the European Reading Room, Specialist Kovtun prepared a display in honor of the 1984 Nobel Prize Winner in Literature Jaroslav Seifert; Specialist Armbruster displayed French cookbooks through the centuries as a reflection of changes in French society; and Specialist Hoskins prepared a display on the nineteenth-century Polish poet, Cyprian Norwid.

On the Division's current serials deck (Deck 13, TJB), Processing Assistant Becker cleared away a backlog of "difficult" Czech and Slovak titles. This effort has virtually rid the deck of older materials that require considerable research to process. Processing Assistant Stephenson worked with the retrospective Russian serials on the deck, placing fragile or unbound titles in acid-free envelopes (950) and acid-free boxes (65). Although this did not complete the conservation task, it did protect a large number of unbound or brittle works. The Collections Management Division solved the problem of unauthorized removal of unbound and uncataloged early Russian works from the open shelves on Deck 13 by securing the bays containing this material with wire-mesh screens and lockable cage doors. Our thanks go that division.

II. REFERENCE SERVICES

A. Reference

Nearly 40,000 reference inquiries were handled by the Senior Staff this fiscal year. Some current events that drew a large number of inquiries were the President's trip to Germany and Soviet reaction to the "star wars" program. The two-hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution (1989) brought many questions about the Library's resources on that era. Other anniversaries that brought many inquiries were the Polish Constitution of the Third of May, and the Kalevala (see Section III). Some queries were from the media: ABC Television consulted Specialist Armbruster concerning its mini-series on Mussolini and Robin Lockhart researched his sequel to "Reilly, Ace of Spies" for Public Television. Jack Anderson's Office, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and CBS News also made inquiries. Other clients in the public eye were the Vice President of the United States, Secretary Weinberger, the Assistant Secretary of State, and the Librarian of Congress.

However, the largest number of requests for information and assistance came from the academic community, domestic and foreign. Scholars from the Kennan Institute made frequent use of the European Reading Room. Many scholars came to Washington in advance of the Third World Congress for Slavic and East European Studies (October/November, 1985). Congress also made requests of the Division. For example, a U.S. Senator requested a survey of the Hungarian and Polish press coverage of the Pope's visits to Latin America. Many of the Division's clientele were the interested public whose inquiries ranged from simple information requests that required the services of a librarian who knew foreign languages to a search for "roots."

Division specialists are sometimes called upon to appear on radio or television. This year the Voice of America interviewed the Acting Chief concerning the European Division's activities and interviewed Specialist Bako twice on Hungarian themes.

Translations and Special Studies

During this fiscal year the Division made a large number of major translations, principally in support of the IFLA conference held in Chicago in August. Specialist Armbruster and Krewson translated the Deputy Librarian's address into French and German, as well as a paper from German into English for the Chief of the Preservation Office and from French into English for the Chief of the Science and Technology Division. Specialist Krewson translated the Library's pamphlet, Services to the Nation, into German and Specialist Armbruster reviewed and revised the text of the African Section's French-language pamphlet. These large translation assignments were new to our staff, which normally translates letters and other short communications for divisions without foreign-language facility. Major translations intended as official documents are very time-consuming and draw busy specialists from their regular assignments. This expenditure of time can be afforded by the Division only under special circumstances.

Sixty-three translations were made for Congress from or into various languages, principally Polish but also Czech, Finnish, German, Greek, Hungarian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian. Specialist Kovtun translated part of a speech and made a cassette recording of the translation for a congressman who addressed a Czech-American audience. Processing Assistant Fessenko made a long translation into Russian of a paper to be presented to Mikhail Gorbachev.

This year special studies were made almost exclusively through the computer terminal, in many instances in cooperation with Automation Liaison Posey (see Appendix C). The subject matter of the special studies ranged from Russian works translated into English and published in the United States to literature on the Czechoslovak reform movement of 1968. In all cases, Division copies were also used for acquisition and reference purposes.

Automation

The possibilities offered by JANUS bibliographic retrieval have given a whole new look to the Division's reference activities. Substantial subject bibliographies can be printed quickly from Automation Liaison Posey's library of private tapes documenting monographic holdings for East and West Europe. Bibliographies so produced can be arranged by any element in the machine readable record. This year JANUS bibliographies were arranged by author, subject, publisher, place of publication, language, or a combination of these. A list of books translated from German into English and published in the United States in the past five years was arranged by publisher to determine a likely publisher of a manuscript important for American researchers. A bibliography of 18th century works published in Russia and available at the Library of Congress was used to determine whether an out-of-print Division publication on the subject should be reprinted or revised. Other bibliographies made to assist researchers were also used as acquisitions tools to check dealer offers against the Library's holdings.

External Relations

Visitors to the Division are a valuable source of information on research in progress, publication matters, and the latest developments in a particular field. This year the visitors included many large groups of specialists, namely, members of the Jewish Genealogical Society, thirty National Security Agency students, five members of the West German Parliament, fifteen graduate students in Slavic studies from the University of Virginia, forty teachers of English from the Soviet Union, separate groups of a dozen Polish and Soviet economists, teachers and students from the State Department's Foreign Language Institute, and several groups of army intelligence officers.

Among the distinguished visitors to the Division were His Excellency Richard Fein, Ambassador of the Netherlands, Professor Richard Pipes, Harvard University, Dr. Viktor Laptev, Foreign Ministry of the USSR, Mr. László Gyurkó, Member of the Hungarian Parliament, Colonel Juhani Niska, Finnish General Staff, Professor Peter Hruby, Western Australian Institute of Technology, Professor Niels Erik Rosenfeldt, Copenhagen University, Professor Eugenio Guccione, University of Palermo (Italy), Professor Dan Grigorescu, University of Bucharest, Dr. Longin Pastusiak, Director of the Polish Institute of Foreign Affairs (Warsaw), Michèle Gendreau-Massaloux, Technical Advisor to the President of France, Dr. Raimana Todorova, Institute of History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Ljubica Janislieva, Cyril and Methodius Library, Skopje, Yugoslavia, and Dr. Hans-Dieter Schäfer, Zentralinstitut für Hochschulbildung, Berlin, German Democratic Republic.

B. Bibliography and Publications

The most significant development in the Division's publication program was the use of COMPUCORP word processor to produce photo-composed foreign-language texts on diskette ready for printing in Central Services. This system has the advantage of allowing the specialist to monitor his/her manuscript through its various stages, and has resulted in speedy and accurate publication of texts with full diacritics.

Division specialists prepared two narrative publications based on the Library's holdings. The draft of Robert V. Allen's Russians Look at America: The View to 1917 was submitted to the Publishing Office in June. This 400-page manuscript concentrates on four aspects of Russia's view of America: literature, diplomacy, agriculture, and technology, and brings to light many aspects of the U.S.-Russian relationship that have not been treated before in the literature. George Kovtun's treatise The Czechoslovak Declaration of Independence: A History of the Document appeared in print in May. Specialist Bako engaged in considerable research into American colonial records and publications for his forthcoming bibliography Hungarians in the American Revolution. This research has also revealed aspects of history not treated before in the literature.

Specialist Armbruster initiated a series of annotated bibliographies on narrow subjects to serve as reference guides for librarians and researchers dealing with French matters (see Appendix B). These will eventually form part of a larger guide intended for publication.

Three bibliographies of current reference works were prepared by Division specialists to meet the needs of researchers and librarians: Contemporary Italy (Lovett), The German Speaking Countries of Europe: A Selective Bibliography and The Netherlands: A Selective Bibliography (Krewson). Specialist Bako revised and updated his 1978 publication Elias Lonnrot and His Kalevala in connection with a Library symposium and display on the Kalevala (see Section III). Russian Imperial Government Serials on Microfilm in the Library of Congress: A Guide to the Uncataloged Collections, a joint effort of the European Division and the Preservation Office, was released in June, 1985. Division staff contributed 12 items to the Library of Congress Information Bulletin.

The American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies for 1982 appeared in May. Editing of the combined 1983/1984 volume was begun at the close of this fiscal year. The American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, the bibliography's sponsor, has received a grant that will help support the continued compilation and publication of this work for two years.

III. SPECIAL EVENTS

On November 20, 1984 the European Division hosted a symposium commemorating the Twentieth Anniversary of U.S.- Yugoslav Cultural and Academic Relations, popularly known as the Fulbright Program. The Division had the cooperation of the Yugoslav Embassy and the United States Information Agency in this enterprise. Senator William Fulbright, the designer of the program and a signer of the original agreement, was a guest speaker.

The Division participated in a symposium celebrating the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Finnish National Epic, the Kalevala. For this symposium, which was sponsored by the American Folklife Center, the Finno-Ugrian specialist prepared a major display shown in the Coolidge Auditorium foyer. In another Library event, Specialist Krewson aided the Poetry Office, which sponsored an evening of Dutch/Flemish poetry, by preparing a display of works of the participating authors. The Deputy Librarian asked Specialist Armbruster to serve as interpreter in communicating with French-speaking national librarians at the Conference of National Librarians held at the Library on August 15-16, 1985. The Division also contributed to the text of signs in French, German, and Russian to guide these visitors about the Library.

Two high-ranking members of government in the Division's area of responsibility came to the Library as part of their official visits. On January 27, 1985 Ferenc Havasi, Second Secretary of the Hungarian Workers' Party, was greeted and escorted by Specialist Bako and the Assistant Chief, among others. On June 3, Madame Milka Planinc, Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, was given a tour of the Jefferson Building by the Acting Chief. Letters of appreciation were received from the State Department for the Division's participation in these weekend events.

IV. ACTIVITIES IN OFFICIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The Acting Chief continued as member ex-officio of the Bibliography and Documentation Committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS). This year he also became a member of the Subcommittee on Bibliography, Information Retrieval, and Documentation of the Joint Committee on Soviet Studies of the Social Sciences Research Council and the American Council of Learned Societies. Specialist Hoskins and Reference Librarian Harris attended the annual meeting of the AAASS in New York in November, 1984. Specialists Krewson and Armbruster attended sessions of the Modern Language Association (MLA) convention held in Washington in December, 1984 and sessions of the West European Studies Section of the American Library Association meeting held in Washington in January, 1985.

Division specialists were invited to give papers at professional meetings. Specialist Bako prepared a lecture entitled "Rákóczi and America," which he presented at the Rákóczi Commemorative Program of the American Hungarian Federation in Washington, at the Canadian Association of Hungarian Studies in Montreal, and at the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe for broadcast to Hungary. In March, 1985, Specialist Allen addressed librarians at the University of Toronto on Slavic and East European activities at the Library of Congress. The Acting Chief's paper on the history of the Russian collection at the Library was presented at the American Library Association convention in Chicago in August, 1985.

In service to the Library, the Acting Chief completed his term on the Acquisitions Committee in February, 1985. Automation Liaison Posey served on the Authorities Subcommittee of the Research Advisory Group, assisted ASO Task 277 by creating a test file of Premarc records, and represented Research Services in the review of the new JANUS Users' Guide and the test plan for JANUS (version 2.0).

V. ADMINISTRATION, STAFF, AND FISCAL MATTERS

The most important administrative problem that the Division faced was the absence of a chief. The resignation of the Russian/Soviet specialist and the lengthy delay in replacing him added to this problem. Further, the budgetary constraints that delayed the replacement of Dr. Allen also prevented the replacement of Kiran Sastry, a work-study student who resigned in August. John N. Mitchell, temporary Bibliographic Assistant, accepted a permanent position in another division. The European Division's ranks have been depleted without immediate hope of replenishment.

On the positive side, Reference Librarian Harris was promoted from GS-9 to GS-11 and Processing Assistant Stephenon was promoted from GS-6 to GS-7. Further, the special contributions of several staff members were officially recognized. Specialists Allen and Armbruster received Meritorious Service Awards for their part in reducing the French arrearage and Secretary Saunders received a Certificate of Appreciation for her services to the Library in the Combined Federal Campaign. Reference Librarian Harris and Bibliographic Assistant Mitchell enrolled in the graduate library science program at the Catholic University of America to make librarianship their career.

Three unpaid interns worked under Division supervision this year. Ms. Danielle Weldon, University of California at Santa Clara, prepared a bibliography of French economics and business literature under the direction of Specialist Armbruster. Mr. Elizabeth Seale, Smith College, began her internship in September under the supervision of the Acting Chief. She is studying the relationship between Soviet domestic and foreign policy, using uncataloged materials in the Division's custody as well as more conventional sources. Mrs. Leila Ben Homouda, University of Maryland, divided her internship between the European and Exchange and Gift Division, making a study of the Library's receipts of French government periodicals.

Division staff both gave and took courses offered by the Staff Training and Development Office (STDO). The Acting Chief spoke on the European Division's resources at two sessions of the course "Reference Collections in the Library of Congress" and on the reference activities of the Area Studies Directorate at orientations for new employees of the Library. He took the STDO courses "Health Assistance" and "Legal Aspects of the Equal Opportunity Process," as well as two courses sponsored by the STDO, "Dealing with Difficult People" and "Managing Organizational Stress." The Head, European Reading Room, attended the mandatory supervisory course "Overview of the Supervisor's Manual," Health Assistance," and "Position Classification." Reference Librarian Harris completed the course "Reference Collections in the Library of Congress," and Clerk-Typist Williams took the STDO courses "English Refresher" and "Effective Writing."

In a program directly related to her work, Specialist Krewson attended a seminar at the National Archives on genealogical research pertaining to Germans in America.