Slavic Studies and the World: Embracing the Revolution of Open Access Publishing

This study discusses patterns of open access publishing in Slavic studies. The purpose of this study is to gauge the level of open access publishing among Slavic studies scholars; to identify what types of documents are being made available; to observe which disciplines are most active in making their documents freely available; and to determine which venues are most active for documents related to Slavic studies

Where Library Meets Vendor: A Comparison of Six Vendors of Russian Books

This work compares the online catalogs, monographic holdings, and book prices of six major vendors of academic Russian books. The purpose is twofold: (1) to determine which catalogs are the most robust and, thus, most useful to bibliographers in the book selection process; and (2) to discover which of the six vendors can provide the widest range of coverage at the lowest prices. The work also alludes to the challenges Slavic librar¬ians face in the acquisition of Russian books. The study begins with a discussion of the challenges encountered during the process of searching vendors’ online catalogs, followed by a description of the methodology used to compile the checklist of titles. Vendors’ holdings are then compared across several categories. Data include raw scores and percentages. The final component compares the duplication and cost of monographs among the six vendors. The six vendors used for comparison include: ATC Books International (ATC), East View Informa¬tion Services (EV), Esterum Russian Books Worldwide (Est), MIPP International (MIPP), Natasha Kozmenko Booksellers (NK), and Russian Press Service (RPS). They were selected because of their large inventories of academic Russian books and because their inventories are readily available online. The criteria for comparison consist of monographic works, including a few monographic series, on the life and works of Leo Tolstoy

Aspects of Diversity in ASEEES National Conferences as a Reflection of the Field of Slavic and Eurasian Studies in North America: Case Studies of Gender, Location, Discipline, and Institution

This article is a series of four case studies that investigate diversity in Slavic and Eurasian (S&E) studies viewed through the lens of participation in national conferences of the Association of Slavic, East European, & Eurasina Studies (ASEEES). The case studies are based on data extracted from ASEEES convention programs 1964-2014. Four categories are considered: gender diversity of conference participants, diversity of ASEEES conference locations, diversity of conference sessions by discipline, and diversity of institutions represented at ASEEES conventions. Over the past five decades gender diversity of ASEEES conference session participants gradually advanced toward parity. Whereas in 1964 nearly 95 percent of the participants were men; in 2014 women comprised a slight majority (50.2%) of conference session participants. In contrast, diversity in the location of ASEEES national conventions has declined in recent years as the Association has evolved. Whereas the disciplines of history, political science, and language, literature, and linguistics continue to represent a combined majority (70%) of ASEEES sessions; anthropology and sociology have experienced the most growth; and library and information science remained constant in recent years. ASEEES conference session participants come from a wider range of institutions than in the past, and institutions with Title VI National Resource Centers (NRCs) continue to have a strong presence at the ASEEES national conventions

Reference Question Answered: Discussion of Russian funeral rites as depicted in V posikakh schast’ia (In Search of Happiness), Film, 2006

The author answers a reference question on the depiction of a funeral in the 2006 Russian documentary film V poiskakh schast’ia (In Search of Happiness), which takes place in the Jewish Autonomous Region in Siberia. Consultations and reference sources show that what was depicted was not Jewish but a typical Russian civil funeral procession. Helpful publications included historical and historical-ethnographic monographs and an ethnographic encyclopedia

Pre-publication review. Virtual Slavica: Digital Libraries, Digital Archives

Reviews the book "Virtual Slavica: Digital Libraries, Digital Archives," the first major work to address the issue of technology and Cyrillic language resources, thus providing an important “snapshot of Slavic digital librarianship” for the profession. The volume consists of eleven individual articles by leading American and Russian Slavic librarians. These articles are united by the common theme of “information delivery to the 21st century user” of Slavic materials

Online Research Guides: Audience, Assessment, and Advice

Outline of talk and presentation slidesThis document contains the outline of my talk at the 2012 ASEEES National Convention and is accompanied by presentation slides. This talk presents some of the author's experiences in designing, creating, using, and evaluating online research guides (LibGuides). The talk considers audience, modularity or repurposeability, use assessment, and the effectiveness of Libguides as a research tool. The talk presents survey data about undergraduate students' use of LibGuides related to Slavic and Eurasian Studies at the University of Kansas. Best practices are also discussed

WWII Cossack Newspapers and Periodicals at CRL

This article summarizes the contents of the World War 2 Cossack Newspapers and Periodicals, a small collection of Cossack newspapers published mostly during World War II and microfilmed at the request of the Slavic and East European Microform Project (SEEMP) of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL)

"Goodbye Doesn’t Mean Forever:" Selection Strategies for the Transfer of Slavic to Off-Site Remote Storage

The 21st century American research library faces a serious housing crisis. Today more than ever libraries must balance patrons’ needs for access with the responsibility of preserving and storing the deluge of published material. In response to the storage crisis, several of the nation’s top research libraries have constructed off-site, high-density shelving facilities. This paper first summarizes the discussion about the nature and function of these facilities. The paper goes on to document a case-study of how the Slavic collections at the University of Kansas Libraries addressed this issue. The case-study consists of four sections: 1) a brief description of the KU Annex, KO Libraries’ particular space issues, and the “Dewey” and “LC” reclassification project; 2) criteria for selection of Russian literary text for storage and implementation of those criteria; 3) problems and challenges encountered during the process; and 4) the importance of engaging faculty directly in the selection process. A summary of “lessons learned” concludes the case study

Reference Question Answered: Bibliographic Sources for the Ukrainian Periodical Press in the 1840’s: Encyclopedias, Bibliographies, Guides, and Library Catalogs

The author answers a reference question on the bibliographic sources for the Ukrainian periodical press from 1840-1850. Helpful publications include bibliographies, guides, and library catalogs that can be used to identify Ukrainian newspapers or journals of the period. These potentially make mention of revolutionary developments in Hungary (such as the “12 Points” paragraph of the “Demands of the Hungarian Nation” in March 1848, the subsequent “April Laws,” and Hungary’s declaration of independence in April 1949) and elsewhere in the Hapsburg Empire

Book Review. Pushkinskaia Entsiklopediia “Mikhailovskoe” (Pushkin Encyclopedia “Mikhailovskoe”)

This article reviews volume one of the encyclopedia, which sets out to be a systematic guide to information about the realities of A. S. Pushkin’s life in the Pskov region. The work is intended to help both reader and visitor recreate the connection between Pushkin’s creative work and the realities of his life and surroundings, which have been lost over time. It also serves as a detailed guidebook of the region associated with A.S. Pushkin