Alexander Rolich and the History of the Slavic Collection at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, 1964-2001

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the role of Alexander J. Rolich (1923–2014), the first Slavic Bibliographer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) Libraries. He was appointed as UW-Madison’s first Slavic Bibliographer in October 1964 and remained for 37 years until his retirement in 2001. He was instrumental in guiding the development of the libraries’ Slavic, East European and Central Asian collections in a period of rapid growth. It was estimated that the University’s Slavic and East European collection had increased by ten-fold during his time as Slavic Bibliographer.