I have chosen to investigate the subject of the transitions taking place in post-soviet Russian libraries. This transition involves both globalization and diversity. Russian librarians are aware that their libraries have lagged behind the west technologically, and are not set up to serve the needs of their emerging intellectually free society. Therefore, they are looking to the influence of the west for answers, and are taking steps to become part of "the global village." At the same time, Russian librarians, who until a few years ago were employed to censor, ban, and direct their readers down a single Marxist-Leninist path, are suddenly allowed to address the concept of diversity. They want to create balanced collections. They have pioneered efforts to open closed collections. They want to discover their readers' diverse needs and find out how to fill them.

Library literature about the transitions currently taking place in Russian libraries is relatively easy to find. Most of the articles I have read so far deal with the underlying philosophies of librarianship, collection development, classification, reference service, and the desperate issue of preservation. My literature review will have a Russian and an American slant. Two of the major sources that I found to be particularly useful in my quest to understand the current state of libraries in Russia are the products of joint Russian-American conferences on librarianship. (See Russian American Seminar on Critical Thinking and the Library. Occasional Papers 200/201. Ed. Cerise Oberman and Dennis Kimmage. Urbana-Champaign: Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1995. And Libraries and Culture 33.1 (1998), which is entitled "The History of Reading and Libraries in the United States and Russia.") The library literature that discusses the transition in today's Russian libraries covers a spectrum of pessimism to optimism, both on the part of the Russians themselves, and American observers.

From the inside, Russians describe the harsh realities they are dealing with, but also the positive impact of the changes that have gone on in their country over the last decade. They express both hope and fear for the future.

From the outside, American librarians lament the poor facilities and lack of technology in Russian libraries. However, some of them cannot help but wax lyrical about the wonderful impact of democracy on Russian libraries. I do not dispute the fact that sweeping reforms, the collapse of the totalitarian Soviet Empire, and the subsequent lifting of censorship have created a world of change and the possibility for intellectual freedom in Russia and its libraries. However, I do take issue with the fact that Americans have a tendency to equate the word "democracy" with the word "freedom," simply because democracy is the American brand of freedom. Under American influence, Russians have picked up this tendency in their emerging post-soviet discourse. They have incorporated this "synonymization" of democracy and freedom into their own expressions.

Despite American assumptions, it is abundantly clear from the literature that Russian libraries, along with the entire social, cultural, and economic system of the former USSR are still in a state of uncertain transition. Many Americans seem to be under the impression that once communism fell in the Soviet Union, democracy would naturally take over because in the American psyche, democracy is the "natural order of things." They forget that their ancestors fought for, and created, the federalist democratic system that has become entrenched as their version of reality. Living in Russia today is very difficult, because the basis of the formerly entrenched soviet reality has been destroyed. The people of that vast and diverse country are searching for values and constructs upon which to base their daily lives. Many of the Russian librarian writers that I will discuss here firmly believe that librarians must take a pro-active role in the search for, and discovery of, those new values.

Part of creating the present and the future involves understanding the past. I think that is why many of the articles that I read include a discussion or synopsis of the creation and running of the Soviet library system. Authors emphasize its abuses, its censorship, and its destructive influences. However, authors also look for Soviet contributions to librarianship that can be used as a starting point for libraries in the newly emerging, but as yet undefined post-soviet Russian system.

The following is an annotated selected bibliography of sources that describe the transitions that have occurred in post-soviet Russian libraries and in the minds of their librarians and their users.

Babicheva, Iulia V. "Literary Dissent as a Phenomenon of Twentieth-Century Russian Culture." Libraries and Culture. 33.1 (1998): 4-10.

Babicheva begins her article with and overview of censorship and literary dissent in Soviet Russia. She describes the vast unknown repositories of the Russian/Soviet cultural memory that exist in the vaults of the GULAG prison camps, where so many dissidents were sent to be silenced. One of the roles of the post-soviet librarian will be to collect and create access to these works. Linked to this is perhaps an even more difficult task. Another role of the post-soviet librarian is to help bring about "the Big Synthesis." This concept refers to the attempt to create an overall understanding of Russian cultural values, which have evolved, but have been obscured by terror, repression and censorship. She feels that they owe this attempt at understanding to the dissidents who opposed the soviet system: "The Big Synthesis of national culture must develop a solution for this conflict between the values of the readership of the present and those of the martyred authors of the Soviet past. Otherwise, the return of cultural values paid for by decades of national suffering will only result in a fleeting literary fashion" (9-10).

Dvorkina, Margarita. "The Library Environment and the Development of Critical Thinking." Russian-American Seminar on Critical Thinking and the Library. Occasional Papers 200/201. Ed. Cerise Oberman and Dennis Kimmage. Urbana-Champaign: Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1995. 29-34.

Dvorkina explains her view that reference librarians must take a proactive role in their jobs. They must figure out ways to stimulate the users' minds, so that users will learn to think critically about the material they read. Users should be aware of the connections between related literature and understand why the system of classification relates certain works. Dvorkina expresses her view of the library as an interactive system in which both staff and users contribute to its dynamic, intellectual atmosphere. She gives the positive example of a library that combines book exhibits with the exhibition of the work of young and controversial artists, or with cinematic presentations and recorded readings. This way, the library can fulfil its role as a centre of culture and personal development.

Genieva, Ekaterina J. "On the Reading of Religious Literature in Secular Libraries." Libraries and Culture. 33.1 (1998): 47-50.

This article paints a very encouraging picture of changes that are taking place in Russian libraries, from the standpoint of diversity and intellectual freedom. Genieva writes that religious books of all kinds began to flood into Russia in the late 1980's. She and her colleagues at the Library of Foreign Literature in Moscow have made theses resources available to their users. They received donations, and were also able to open previously restricted collections. She reports, "The first months of public use of this collection revealed the great spiritual thirst of 'atheist Russia'" (48). She emphasizes the fact that their collection includes open access to "the literature of the non-Christian world" (49). Diversity is important to her. She recognizes a need to carry out user-needs studies, and to push for automation in order to meet the demands of their patrons. She concludes by expressing the hope that collections such as theirs will have a profound impact by helping the people of her country find spiritual values.

Goltvinskaya, Tamara S. and Eduard S. Sukiasyan. "Library-Bibliographical Classification: On the Path of Renovation." Knowledge Organization 20.2 (1993): 77-79.

In this article, the authors give an overview of the Soviet classification system, LBC. They point out that its ideological orientation does not meet today's needs. However, despite its deficiencies in content, it is a very flexible system that is worth improving and updating. Continued use of the existing system is also important because the authors report that it is the main classification system for most of the libraries in Russia and its surrounding countries. It is used exclusively in public libraries, and is also used in many special and scholarly humanities libraries. Studies have shown that LBC transfers effectively to automated environments. The authors are optimistic about the sweeping changes that are being proposed and implemented to the system. Religion can now be properly represented, divisions by social systems are being eliminated, and a whole section covering economics is being developed. The use of computers is making the transition faster and easier than was expected. Though financial factors still hold back the implementation of the system, the authors are confident that these are merely temporary setbacks.

Kapterov, Andrei. "Social and Cultural Aspects of the Library's Role in Developing Critical Thinking." Russian-American Seminar on Critical Thinking and the Library. Occasional Papers 200/201. Ed. Cerise Oberman and Dennis Kimmage. Urbana-Champaign: Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1995. 49-55.

Kapterov discusses the processes of understanding and conceptualization from psychological and philosophical viewpoints. He takes the semantic theory of deSaussure and fits role of text and document into the process: "...we have identified a minimum of five fundamental objects of informational space... image, sign, concept, text, and document" (50). He creates a complex model in which logic, emotion, spirituality, and communication all contribute to the process of thinking and understanding. Kapterov explains that librarians must be aware of the complexity of this process, and the fact that it differs in the mind of every individual. They must learn to provide individualized service to meet the needs of each user. Librarians must also use their knowledge to create information policies that will advance the role of libraries in society.

Melent'eva, Iuliia. "The Role of the Library in the Socialization and Development of Individual Critical Thinking." Russian-American Seminar on Critical Thinking and the Library. Occasional Papers 200/201. Ed. Cerise Oberman and Dennis Kimmage. Urbana-Champaign: Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1995. 35-39.

This author points out that post-soviet librarians need to change their basic philosophy about what a library is. The crisis in libraries is a product of the crisis of post-soviet identity: "...today many universal values related to one's view of the world, morality and ethics have turned out in society to have been deformed" (35). She believes that librarians must strive to help users learn to think critically, so that they can evaluate those destroyed values as well as new values. In order to accomplish that, programs of self-evaluation need to be developed so that librarians can examine their own values and learn critical thinking themselves. Along with examining their own perceptions, librarians must undertake user studies in order to discover users' perceptions of the library as well as of librarians. Russian librarians must also learn to meet the "true" interests of individual patrons, rather than telling them what they should want to read.

Neubert, Michael and Irina L. Klim. "Post-Soviet Russian Librarianship in Transition." Libraries: Global Reach -- Local Touch. Ed. Kathleen dela Peña McCook, Barbara J. Ford and Kate Lippincott. Chicago: ALA, 1998.

This article gives a concise introduction to the subject. It begins with the diversity issues and economic problems that are facing Russian Librarians today. The authors provide a historical background covering the establishment of the soviet library system by leaders who understood the importance and power of information. The authors are cautiously optimistic about the current state of public libraries, book publishing, and library research. They are pessimistic about the state of university libraries, library education. Library automation and cataloguing standards are priorities, but progress is very slow. The authors conclude by explaining the fact that Russian librarians themselves were often very pessimistic and discouraged in the early nineties, but more recently they have realized that, through there own efforts, the situation of their libraries is gradually improving.

Richardson, John V. "Education for Library and Information Science in Russia: A Case Study of the St. Petersburg State Academy of Culture." Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 39.1 (1998): 14-27.

Richardson was a visiting scholar at the St. Petersburg State Academy of Culture during the spring term of 1996. He reports his impressions the library school, which is one of the most respected faculties of library and information studies in Russia. He highlights problems, such as inflation, lack of technology, and conditions that are very poor in American eyes. However, while he was there, the Academy building was being renovated, and there were older computers available, despite lack of funds. He reports that library students are mostly young women who are very well educated. The course of study sounds rigorous. It is a five-year program which students enter out of high school. They attend classes six days a week. Half of the courses are devoted to humanities subjects, while the other half comprise library and bibliographical studies. Students are pessimistic about opportunities in government libraries due to the ailing economy. They study foreign languages and do practicums in business firms in an effort to secure jobs in the developing private sector. This is worrisome because if the economic situation of state-affiliated libraries does not improve, they are not going to be able to attract young professionals.

Russian Libraries in Transition: An Anthology of Glasnost Literature. Ed. Dennis Klimmage. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1992.

As the title suggests, this book provides an anthology of Russian library literature from 1989 and 1990. The book is divided into three sections. This book gives a very good overview of the situation of libraries in Moscow and Leningrad in the last years of the USSR. The first section, "Glasnost Exposes the Problem: A System in Decline," deals is a compilation of articles about the terrible state of library collections and administration. The authors reveal with indignation that shortsightedness has led to collections being destroyed by fire, or slowly deteriorating due to lack of attention to preservation. One author explains that the Lenin Library in Moscow is supposed to be a national library, but very few librarians understand what "national library" is supposed to mean. The upshot is that Russia does not really have one.

The second section, "Information Politics, Partiinost, and Spetskhran," contains articles that discuss the transition from a totalitarian state to an open society. Partiinost, or strict adherence to the will of the Communist Party led to the creation of closed collections ("spetskhrany"), that could only be accessed by the party elite, or by nobody at all. Librarians advocated the transfer of spetskhran documents into accessible collections. The vaults began to open slowly, but with reluctance. Librarians are faced with the enormous jobs of updating their catalogues -- if they are willing to embrace the idea of open access. (Open access means people can request any book they want. Libraries in Russia still have closed stacks.) As a result, librarians began to meet to discuss the issue of access.

The third section, "Soviet Libraries and Democracy: Directions for the Future," includes articles that discuss why librarians need to work together, and projects that they are working on. Several authors emphasize the need for library associations. The authors also discuss the possible role of these associations, and they suggest role of librarians in the cultural life of society.

Sokolov, Arkadii. "Totalitarianism, The Soviet Librarian, and Critical Thinking." Russian-American Seminar on Critical Thinking and the Library. Occasional Papers 200/201. Ed. Cerise Oberman and Dennis Kimmage. Urbana-Champaign: Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1995. 151-153.

Sokolov points out that totalitarianism still effects Russians' minds, and this fact is reflected in library collections and practices. In order to move away from totalitarianism, people have to understand the effect it has had on society. He explains that the enormity of the Soviet library system was always used to inspire awe in Russians as well as foreigners. The amazing development of this system is countered by its role in society. Librarians were either Communist Party officials who enforced control and censorship, library personnel who carried out their orders, and a few "freedom-loving intellectuals" to whom critical thinking came naturally. Now, all library personal have the freedom to think critically. They are no longer repressed by fear, and are in a position to consider the problems that face Russian libraries, and to think about the future.

Stel'makh, Valeria D. "Reading in Post-Soviet Russia." Libraries and Culture. 33.1 (1998): 105-112.

In this article, Stel'makh reports the results of public opinion surveys, which indicate that the reading habits of the general Russian public have changed over the last decade. Readers have turned their backs on the mass ideological literature of the didactic "soviet realism" style that prevailed during the soviet period. There are great demands for business literature and books on studying foreign languages, reflecting the economic and social changes in the country. Readers are also turning to pop culture, a phenomenon that did not really exist in the Soviet Union. She reports that library users are increasingly demanding Russian translations of foreign titles. There is a controversy among Russian librarians about the inclusion of such works in libraries. While some librarians support openness and balanced collections, others are having a hard time leaving their soviet values behind. Stel'makh concludes, "...true cultural synthesis is impossible as long as we have this shattered society with the antagonistic interests and priorities of different groups which still adhere to Soviet stereotypes and prejudices" (110).

Sukiasyan, Eduard. "Knowledge Organization in Russia: Problem-related and Historical Aspects." Knowledge Organization 20.4 (1993): 189-191.

Sukiasyan begins with a short history of classification systems that were developed by librarians and book collectors in pre-Revolutionary Russia. These classification systems were overshadowed by the introduction of the Universal Decimal Classification System after it was presented internationally at the 1895 International Congress in Brussels. UDC was supported by N.K Krupskaya, a leader in early Soviet librarianship (and Lenin's wife). Soviet librarians adapted UDC classification to their needs. It was (and is) used mostly in scholarly and technical libraries. Comparisons with the Soviet versions with the international version of UDC in the mid 1960's revealed many shortcomings of the Soviet variant. Librarians had been working in isolation in their local libraries and had created many different versions of the subject tables. (This duplication of work in libraries continues to be a failing of a supposedly centralized system.) Efforts were made to create a single standard translation of UDC subject tables. These need to be updated again because, under the Soviets, some "non-Marxist" classes were excluded from the standard editions. Sukiasyan goes on to discuss the Soviet "domestic" classification system, LBC. Until the 1950's, it was not a cohesive system, and was the subject of ideological battles. Some librarians were vicitimized for their views. In the 1950's, Olga Pankratyevna Teslenko took over as chief editor of the system, and headed the creation of tables for different types of libraries. Sukiasyan concludes, "Today the LBC is going through a state of truly historical transformation, connected with the overcoming of ideological distortions in its structure and content" (191).

Tax Choldin, Marianna. "Russian Libraries and Readers after the Ice Age." Libraries and Culture. 33.1 (1998): 26-33.

Choldin begins by outlining the role of libraries and librarians under the soviet system. Libraries were dedicated to the spread of Marxist-Leninist ideology, as was dictated by the Communist Party. As a result, librarians had to act as censors, and were instructed to purposefully create biased, restricted collections. She explains:

She goes on to report on an optimistic note that since the official collapse of communism in 1991, librarians of the former USSR have held and attended many conferences on Soviet censorship and its impact on Russian libraries. These conferences were held both in Russia and in the United States. Her optimism continues when she discusses establishment of intellectual freedom in her country, through the creation of anti-censorship laws, and the participation of Russian librarians in IFLA. She draws a parallel between the issue of intellectual freedom in Russia and the United States: "...both our societies are multicultural; both have a broad spectrum of religious and political beliefs..." (31). Tax Choldin comes to the conclusion that the role of the Russian librarians must be to instigate discussion about the new issues facing information providers in their country. They must create an awareness of diversity and advocate for change.

Volodin, Boris. "The Scholarly Library at the End of the Twentieth Century." Libraries and Culture. 33.1 (1998): 120-125.

Volodin begins by explaining the fact that the change in attitude towards information in post-soviet society has blurred the differences between different types of libraries. The librarians of scholarly libraries are now unclear about what their goals and priorities should be. They look to the west for guidance, but this solution also presents difficulties. The complex system of soviet libraries grew in a relative vacuum, cut off from library practices in the rest of the world. Volodin writes that basic incompatibility makes it difficult to redesign Russian libraries on a western model. He advises that an understanding of soviet library history, and the current needs of Russian society are required to effectively rebuild Russian libraries and make them capable of taking part in international co-operation.

Volodin, Boris. "Totalitarian Reality and the Intellectual and Spiritual Potential of Society: Certain Contradictions of Russian Literary History." Russian-American Seminar on Critical Thinking and the Library. Occasional Papers 200/201. Ed. Cerise Oberman and Dennis Kimmage. Urbana-Champaign: Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1995. 155-160.

Volodin wrote this article in response to Arkadii Sokolov's commentary, "Totalitarianism, The Soviet Librarian and Critical Thinking" (above).Volodin writes that Sokolov's theme is one that needs to be examined in much greater depth. He points out that, though what Sokolov said is true, there are positive aspects of soviet librarianship. There were certain library researchers who, despite the odds, wrote on topics that had nothing to do with Marxism-Leninism. He also points out that there were branches of library studies that were "free of the influence of communist ideology" (157), the history of the book and the study of bibliography. (In the absence of automation, soviet librarians became masters at creating bibliographies of their collections for their users. Of course, these could be used to steer users towards the Marxist-Leninist elements of the collection, but this was not always the goal.) Also, libraries outside the former USSR have benefited from the examples of soviet libraries. Volodin concludes: "...the totalitarian reality and society's intellectual and spiritual potential are two different phenomena. An examination of the problem of how these phenomena interact calls for an approach that consider the problem in all its diverse aspects" (159).

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