Russian Library Research Articles

The marketing policy in Russian libraries: The study findings within the context of the world experience

In the recent decades, libraries have been constantly pressurized to justify the value of their staff, services, and their very existence to their stakeholders and users who have changed their informational behavior. The key to the libraries’ success lies in the flexibility of their internal environments, as well as in the ability to predict, manage, and use changes in the external environment. To a great extent, it depends on whether the library has developed its marketing policy as well as on the understanding of its necessity and on implementation principles. In the early 2019, the specialists of SPSTL SB RAS conducted a large-scale survey “Modern trends in the development of library resources in the web space”, that comprises several types of libraries in 23 countries of the world. The author addresses the study in the part that considers organization of library marketing divisions in the world. She substantiates the need for them and identifies the common vectors in this area. The study findings demonstrate that despite theoretical understanding of marketing efforts significance and acceptance of the single concept (marketing policy) of audience capture, the few libraries are ready to allocate additional resources, in particular, labor, to practical implementation of such theoretical understanding. The need for the promotion coordinated concept makes significant difference in the responses of domestic and foreign respondents. For Russian libraries, the coordinated promotion concept being introduced by the administration, is more acceptable, while foreign libraries most of time permit their divisions to choose independently how to promote their services, resources, and events. Besides, among the libraries that follow a single coordinated concept, the percentage of those lacking a special promotion unit, is lower by 10–20%. From this perspective, the single concept has a positive impact on building administration awareness of the need for marketing efforts which, however, does not necessarily result in systematic marketing efforts of libraries.

The scientific conferences of universities of culture on library and information activities: The information support in digital environment

The authors analyze how the university scientific conferences in library and information studies are being reflected on the Internet. The findings of the study conducted by authors draw the attention of professional community to the problem of representation of academic proceedings of the Russia’s institutes of culture. These conferences are seen as a professional communication channel and a means to improve professional competences in the whole library and information industry. The authors analyze the problems of accessing the proceedings of scientific conferences held by the universities of culture, which are the essential component of the Russian library science advance. Through monitoring the www-sites of the universities of culture and studying the Internet resources in the area, the authors review the existing ways of distributing information and propose the options for presenting full-text science information to provide efficient information exchange in the library and information sphere. The resources being built with the open data technology, providing a multiaspect search and storage of information for repeated and free use, are proposed as a priority. The findings of the study evidence that for the moment, the complete representation of the research activities at the universities of culture is unavailable, and there is a need to apply the resources proposed by the authors.

RESTRICTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION: DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN EXPERIENCE

The results of the analysis of the restriction of access to information in libraries in Russia and abroad are presented, the characteristics of countries according to the degree of restriction of the Internet are given, the causes and methods of filtering the Internet in various countries are identified.

A.I. Ziloti’s Educational Activity in St. Petersburg (According to Unpublished Correspondence Materials)

Collections of Russian libraries contain unique letters of pianist, teacher and conductor A.I. Ziloti (1863—1945). They demonstrate one of the facets of his talent as a musical public figure and educator. The correspondence of A.I. Ziloti with town governors is a unique phenomenon not only in his creative heritage, but also in the history of musical culture. The letters help to understand the musician’s worldview, artistic views, creative principles, giving as well a description of the cultural and historical context of the early 20th century period. The article aims to convey the importance of A.I. Ziloti’s correspondence for educational activities organization in St. Petersburg. The article identifies the letters’ specificity and studies A.I. Ziloti’s handwriting. For the first time, there are published his petitions addressed to the Director of the Imperial Thea­ters V.A. Telyakovsky and St. Petersburg town governors. The scientific analysis’ objectivity, connec­ted with comprehension of the value significance of A.I. Ziloti’s cultural ideas, requires to recognize the results of his musical and educational activities as his main achievements. Being an outstanding musician and teacher, A.I. Ziloti remains in the history of Russian culture, primarily, as a representative of musical education.

The Activity of Petr Ivanovich Makushin in the Field of Librarianship and Public Education

The author considers the activity of bookseller and educator P.I. Makushin on the organization of public libraries, open general education courses and the People’s University in Tomsk. The aim of the article is to assess the contribution of the Siberian philanthropist not only to the development of the specific educational institutions, but also to the cultural and educational level of the entire Tomsk region in the late 19th-early 20th century. In 1873, P.I. Makushin left the service in church educational institutions and organized the bookselling enterprise in Tomsk. He provided with books not only shops, but also many educational institutions in the Tomsk province. In 1884, P.I. Makushin was directly involved in the opening in Tomsk of the first free people’s library in Russia, special building for which was built in 1887. The establishment of free rural libraries by P.I. Makushin in Tomsk province was of utmost importance in spreading knowledge in Siberia. For a long time, the philanthropist nurtured the idea of opening the first People’s University in Siberia. In 1905, he appealed with this proposal to the Tomsk city Duma, which supported his initiative and decided to allocate a land plot for the construction of the University on the Salt Square in Tomsk. The University building was constructed in 1912; and the official approval of the Charter of the Institution took place in 1916. The long time from the idea to the implementation of the project was connected with the obstacles arisen from the negligence of local officials and the reluctance of the Minister of public education L.A. Kasso to open another University in Tomsk. The First World War had a devastating impact on the life of the People’s University: from the second half of 1916, its building was used for the barracks of war prisoners; the work of the academic Department was episodic. In 1919, the University was nationalized, then various organizations housed the building, and its founder was almost without means of livelihood. Referring to the historiographical coverage of P.I. Makushin’s charitable activities, the author confidentcy concludes that Soviet historiography deliberately suppressed Makushin's contribution, like the contribution of many Russian entrepreneurs, to the development of intellectual sphere of certain regions; therefore, interest to this problem has largely intensified in recent decades.

The Russian State Library at the 32nd Moscow International Book Fair: New Event-Image — New Format of Participation

The 32nd Moscow International Book Fair (MIBF) was held on 4—8 September 2019. The purpose of this article is to rethink the role of the Russian State Library (RSL) in the MIBF event and communication space: on the one hand, as one of the subjects of bookwork and preserver of cultural values, and on the other hand — as the largest library publisher. The concept of the RSL stand as the exhibitor at the exhibition-fair was developed and built on the basis of this binary mode of the Library, with emphasis on those elements that reflect the chain of transition from the early printed book to the modern printed book, and from it — to the new digital formats. The RSL stand contained the dedicated areas of the “Pashkov Dom” Publishing house and the Scientific research Department of rare books (Book Museum), the Module of preservation and restoration of collections, the Advisory-expository legal module providing communications with publishers and authors on the issues of the National Electronic Library (NEL) and legal deposit copy of the printed publications in electronic form. The content program of stand work was correspondingly diverse and rich. It presented new products of the “Pashkov Dom” Publishing house, new projects prepared for publication independently and in cooperation with partners. The article considers the main theses of the authors, compilers and publishers, who made presentations at the RSL stand, as well as the topics of public lectures in open areas. The author reveals the new perspectives of NEL as one of the leading projects of the RSL, which combines different models of relationship between publishers, authors and libraries. The article highlights the results of the library competition of the Russian Library Association (RLA) “Best Professional Book of the Year”. The new format of participation of the RSL in exhibitions, fairs and similar events has been set. This format, in turn, forms a new event-image of the RSL, which positions the Library not only as an Institute of memory, which preserves the greatest cultural heritage — books, as a centre of intellectual development and professional interaction, but also as an active participant in the book publishing process.

Use of e-resources by unmotivated students: a success story from a library in Russia

Purpose This paper aims to examine how new educational approaches to the presentation of electronic information resources can influence interest in their use among first-year undergraduates. Despite the variety of technological facilities available in universities, the learning process sometimes fails to keep pace with their advantages. Universities are investing in high-technology classrooms and an extensive multidisciplinary subscription to e-resources in the belief that students will make use of these opportunities. However, students often ignore the availability of relevant and verified content and prefer to retrieve information from Google’s search results. The absence of students’ initial motivation to work with a complex product is perhaps the greatest challenge faced by the teacher-librarian. Limited time available for training (a lecture and a seminar) and lack of preparedness among information specialists aggravates the situation. Design/methodology/approach The efficacy of new educational approaches to the presentation of e-resources was examined in a pilot study involving 940 first-year undergraduates at the North-West Institute of Management of the Presidential Academy (RANEPA). The authors replaced academic lectures with flexible and interesting techniques based on student’s interests, used attention triggers for each e-resource in lecture materials and focused the seminar on multiple specific searches to attract and keep students engaged. New educational approaches were implemented in four-hour sessions for first-year students in all disciplines. Findings The results suggest that the new educational approaches and teaching techniques can raise the level of students’ involvement and interest in the use of subscribed e-resources. To assess the developed approach, the authors analyzed the dynamics of the students’ visits to subscribed resources and observed a significant increase in the number of visits. The authors found such a trend for all the types of requests and resources. Overall, the number of visits and full-text requests increased from 88 to 284 per cent for the 2017-2018 academic year compared to the 2016-2017 one. Practical implications The findings of the study demonstrate the necessity of applying new educational approaches to teaching students who lack the motivation to use high-quality electronic resources. The teacher-librarian can be an important link between scientific information and consumers. The newly developed techniques have great potential for a wide range of educational applications including the development of teaching materials and training programs. Social implications The approach combines teaching methodology with rich informational environment, enhancing students’ motivation to information literacy through mastering their digital skills. Students’ interest in subscribed resources initiates their professional work with scientific information. Students need to constantly use subscribed resources. Otherwise, the skills of using information e-resources will disappear and motivation for their use will decrease. The development of techniques that can help to maintain students’ interest in information e-resources is continuing, and new findings will be presented in future papers. Originality/value In the scientific literature, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no information is available on the use of similar techniques at Russian universities. It is hoped that developed techniques helps students with low digital literacy from other universities or colleges overcome their bias against high technology.

Activities of the Сuratorship of Empress Maria Alexandrovna about the blind in the Belarusian provinces of the Russian Empire (late 19th – early 20th centuries)

The Curatorship of Empress Maria Alexandrovna about the blind made a great contribution to the development of charity in the Russian Empire which at that time included the Belarusian lands. In the Belarusian provinces, the Office became the first institution to focus on giving aid to blind people. The purpose of the article is to review the activities of the Belarusian branches of the Curatorship of Empress Maria Alexandrovna about the blind and to show their contribution to the development of social assistance and the struggle with blindness in our country. This topic hasn’t been thoroughly studied in native historiography yet and thus it remains relevant for a research. Besides this, in modern Republic of Belarus the traditions of private charity which had been interrupted in the Soviet period began to revive, this obviously increasing the interest to the experience of charity institutions of the past. The article regards the formation and development of the branches of the Curatorship in the Belarusian provinces of the Russian Empire. The main forms and methods of their activity as well as the sources of financing are identified. The main achievements and results of their work are analyzed. The assembled material gives an idea of the condition of the charity system of the blind in the Belarusian lands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The research is based on the materials obtained in national and Russian libraries, a number of sources being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.

The university library collections in the 21st century: Main trends and factors of efficient collection development

The necessity for studies and sharing the experience of Russian academic university libraries in collection development is substantiated. The main trends for the collection development in the 21-st century are revealed and examined as the case study of Novosibirsk State University Library.NovosibirskUniversityis among the nation’s leading research universities. The authors specify the trends of modernization, globalization, collection development with digital publications, and the increasing share of the latter in the Library’s acquisitions and, correspondingly, in the collection, on the whole. They also emphasize the relations and mutual dependence of these and other trends within the collection development process. The factors of successful collection development at the Library are recommended to be implemented by other libraries. High professional competences of collection development specialists and other librarians, the wide range of the collection development sources and their stability, and university administration’s special care of the library collections are specified among these factors. The authors conclude that Novosibirsk State University Library has accumulated great experience in collection development in the circumstances of information society, advance of information technologies, expanding globalization, university integration into the global education, science and research environment. This experience can be shared with many other university libraries.

The library axiology within the framework of bibliosophy

Library axiology is interpreted as a section of the philosophy of the bibliosphere. The subject of library axiology is the value relationship and values of library activities. The monograph by G. M. Vikhreva Value foundations of Russian [in Russian] is reviewed. Vikhreva examines the following problems: the axiological model of the library, libraries in the context of postmodernist society and globalization, the levels of the value foundations of library activities. The traditions of enlightenment are pursued in the value-orientated activities of Russian libraries. The reviewer argues that in the axiological hierarchy, the vertex value is the national idea expressing elements that must be unconditionally protected and preserved. Awareness of the national idea is just as important for society as it is important for an individual to understand the meaning of his/her life. False national ideas are dangerous because they disorient the state, society and individuals. To comprehend interrelationships between library axiology and axiology of culture, one has to go beyond the library when comprehending the value foundations of library activities and refer to the theoretical baggage of bibliosophy. The monograph by G. M. Vikhreva deserves the attention of library community, since it offers scientific novelty and relevance as a new vector of the library science.

Design and Usability of Library Websites

This paper considers the results of the analysis of 125 websites of Russian libraries on web design and usability, which was conducted at the State Public Scientific and Technical Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Using the site rating checklist, the data from this study and similar foreign works were compared. A profile of the typical website of the academic, university and public library in terms of design, content, service and general usability was obtained.

The state of russian library and information sciences from the perspective of academic journals

Scientific challenge: A study of the current state of library and information sciences via bibliometric analysis of scientific journals and their editorial board members, i. e. geographic distribution and bibliometric analysis of their scholarly output resulting in additional approaches to evaluate serials and scientific area.Purpose: Bibliometric analyses of journals and scholarly output and geographic distribution of their editorial board members being the most authoritative experts over the last 5 years; detection of large scientific centers of library and information science; detection of a core of academic journals.Originality: For the first time in Russian literature results of the analysis of editorial boards are described for additional evaluation of library and information science journals and relevant scientific areas in general. Due to a limited number of papers on analysis of editorial boards this paper can be used as methodological one as well.Findings: Analysis of geographic distribution enabled us to detect a share of foreign members of almost 25 percent. The largest groups of Russian experts are located in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, but also in two regional centers of the European part of Russia – Voronezh and Samara, while only Novosibirsk is the center of the Siberian expert group in library and information science. Experts mainly work at universities, followed by research organizations of The Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Wide range of bibliometric indices of editorial board members correlates with that of relevant journals. Some approaches of editors to enhance journal indices are detected including publication of their own high-level papers in journals which they are working for since these papers are attracting a larger amount of citations as compared with papers of other authors. Another strategy assumes that editorial board members cite their own journal in other serials. Co-citation data of analyzed journals predominantly demonstrate the absence of strong connections between journals.Conclusions: Editorial boards play a significant role in enhancing bibliometric indices of journals, and stronger integration of Russian library and information science society is necessary which may result in increasing currently low ranks of the studied journals among international serials.

Construction and Planning of Library Service Facilities System Based on Public Digital Culture Education in International Cultural Metropolis

To study the construction and planning of the library service facility system based on public digital culture teaching in international cultural metropolises, the main body of resources construction, channels, selection criteria, construction standards, user service policies, service methods and service objects of the National Digital Library of Russia were analyzed. The construction foundation, policy support and digital resource construction of the Chinese and Russian national digital libraries were compared. The results showed that the problem of digital copyright was solved while the library community was constructing digital resources according to the existing rules. Therefore, this method has certain implications for the construction of digital libraries in metropolitan areas in China.

Past, Present and Future of Libraries in the Mirror of Rumyantsev Readings — 2019

International scientific and practical conference “Rumyantsev readings — 2019” was held on April 23—24 in the Russian State Library. The conference covered a wide range of issues: “Libraries and museums in the context of history”; “History of the Russian State Library”; “Disclosure of universal and specialized collections of libraries: forms and methods”; “Future of libraries: evaluations, studies, forecasts”; “Libraries as centres of information-bibliographic activities”; “Library collections and library-information services in the age of electronic communications”; “Professional development of library staff: demands of time. Library as educational centre”; “International cooperation of libraries. Library as a platform for intercultural dialogue”. The conference was attended by specialists from libraries, museums, archives, universities and research institutes, representatives of professional associations and organizations from various regions of Russia and from Australia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, the United States of America, Tajikistan and Ukraine. Among the sections and round tables of “Rumyantsev readings” were both traditional, held within the framework of the conference on annual basis, and timed to the memorable dates and visits of foreign colleagues of the year. In 2019, the following sections were held: “Art editions in the collections of libraries: issues of study, preservation and promotion”, “Library classification systems”, “Rare and valuable books, book monuments and collections”, “Manuscript sources in the collections of libraries”, “Specialized collections in libraries”, “Collectors, researchers, keepers. Libraries in the context of history”, “Continuing education as a competence resource of library staff”, “Theory and practice of librarianship development at the present stage”, “Library digitalization: trends, problems, prospects”, “Effective library management: problems and solutions. (Pre-session meeting of the 32nd Section of the Russian Library Association on library management and marketing)”. Seminar from the series “Role of science in the development of libraries (theoretical and practical aspects)” “N.M. Sikorsky: scientist, organizer of book science and librarianship. To the 100th birth anniversary” took place. There were organized Round tables: “The new National standard for bibliographic description GOST R 7.0.100—2018 in the modern information environment”, “Library terminology in the context of digital space”, “Cooperation of libraries of the CIS countries: strategic directions”, “Flagship projects that shape the future of libraries”. The growing number of participants, the breadth of topics, the steady interest of specialists in traditional sections and the annual organization of new events in the form and content of the “Rumyantsev readings” allow the conference to stay among the largest scientific and practical events of library research in the country. The search for new topics and the introduction of topical issues on the agenda contribute to both activation of historical research and the search for ways of innovative development and intercultural interaction.

The university e-libraries: The foreign experience

The experience of foreign digital libraries of the universities of Marburg (Germany), Chalmers (Sweden) and Graz (Austria) is discussed. The structure of the libraries being reviewed comprises six key elements of DELOS conceptual model, i. e. content, users, functionality, quality, policy, and architecture. The Marburg University Library cooperates with many German libraries and possesses vast collections and resources of various types, both it owns and shares with other libraries. The e-library of Chalmers University of Technology is based on the service-oriented Central Knowledge Database comprising paper and digital collections of full texts and metadata being administered with data import-export applications on the Discovery platform. The Graz Library is the bibliographic and information center; it supports scientific research and learning with literature in printed and digital formats, and preserves the cultural heritage in natural sciences and technology. Based on the review of the mentioned digital libraries, the author concludes that Russian libraries must study the foreign experience to develop the model of an inter-university digital library.

Will the laser cutting machines save Russian libraries?

The author analyzes the new concept of “truly modern libraries” being developed by Vadim Stepanov who suggests to review the library functions and to re-orient the libraries toward providing socio-cultural and leisure services. The author analyzes these methodological and practical recommendations within the concept while demonstrating the practical “misery” of the concept itself and the recommendations which, to one degree or another, have been being developed in the national library studies. Thus, the open access to library collections is a common place since 1930s; every large library has got special room for public events, etc. The author discusses the experience of Helsinki city library (“Oodi”) that has switched to sociocultural and leisure services. Today, “Oodi” – is a cultural and entertaining center, comprising the library oriented toward leisure activities; in fact, it franchises the title of a library. The author demonstrates that accommodating libraries within cultural, leisure and entertaining complexes has been the common practice since the Soviet period. He emphasizes that changes in the national librarianship are of the multifactor character, while automation and computerization of library processes and online access lead to decreasing the library staff number and the volume of library collections. Thus, these changes may not be regarded as the manifestation of a crisis. The author suggests the projects must be being developed more responsibly.

Discussion on the Ways of Librarianship Development in Russia at the All-Russian Library Congress — 2019

The article presents an overview of the activities of the All-Russian Library Congress — the 24th Annual Conference of the Russian Library Association (RLA), which was held on May 11—17, 2019 in Tula, the Library Capital of Russia in 2019. The theme of the Congress is “Concept of Development and Strategic Objectives of Librarianship in Russia”. The authors note the expansion of international participation in the Congress’ 2019, the increase of the number of special and training events, the increasing integration and interaction of various sections of the RBA.The Congress approved the main provisions of the draft Concept of librarianship development in Russia, adopted the RLA Manifesto “Library is the Humanistic Stronghold of the Nation” and approved the draft revision of supplemented “Manual of Library Services for Children in Russia”.The authors consider the events of the Congress — two plenary sessions, section meetings, School of Acquisitions Librarian, School of Library Blogger, which became the place for discussions on a wide range of questions, the 20th Exhibition of publishing products, new information technologies, goods and services, as well as about 530 reports. The article emphasizes the importance of participation of libraries in the “Culture” National project and the role of the Program on modernization of municipal libraries. The Congress discussed the legal framework of library work; project activities; digital environment of libraries; social partnership with institutions of culture, education and tourism; issues of standardization, etc. The article highlights the election of Vice-presidents and Board members of the RLA, as well as presents the procedural decisions taken: on the establishment of the RBA Foundation, on the need to develop draft professional standards for the leading directions of library activities, etc.

Historian, Archivist, Bibliographer: P.A. Zaionchkovskij and the Russian State Library

At present, when the majority of users in search for information excessively turn to the Internet as a primary data source, the problem of reliability of the obtained data is particularly acute. Libraries, whose main function is to store and provide access to information existing both in print and electronic forms, traditionally tend to maintain the exceptional level of completeness and validity of the data and sources provided. One of the ways to achieve such reliability is interaction of libraries with scientists in the field of data systematization, verification, storage and access providing. The article analyses the scientific work of the outstanding Russian historian P.A. Zaionchkovskij in the V.I. Lenin State Library of the USSR (now — the Russian State Library, RSL) and considers his scientific cooperaction with the Library for several decades as a successful example of library-scientists’ partnership. In 1944—1952, he served as the Head of the Department of manuscripts of the V.I. Lenin State Library. Under his supervision, the accounting of the Department’s stock was reorganized, preservation of the existing and newly acquired collections was ensured; the user access of researches to the information on the collections’ content and composition was significantly improved; the unique team of scientific personnel was formed. The article gives thorough overview of the scientific and publication activity of the Department during that period. The authors also review the contribution of P.A. Zaionchkovskij to the development of the problem of bibliographic providing for historical science. In the 1960s — 1980s, under his scientific supervision, the bibliographic staff of the V.I. Lenin State Library of the USSR and other major Russian libraries prepared the unique publications — “Reference Books on the History of Pre-revolutionary Russia” and multivolume annotated Index “The History of Pre-revolutionary Russia in Diaries and Memoirs”. P.A. Zaionchkovskij laid the foundation for the lasting many years and still developing project on creation of retrospective scientific auxiliary indices of memoir literature. The partnership of P.A. Zaionchkovskij and the V.I. Lenin State Library is an excellent example of the successful and fruitful interaction of scientists and library staff.

Writings from the Golden Age of Russian Poetry by Batyushkov Konstantin (review)

SEER, 97, 3, JULY 2019 536 encyclopedia treatment, means that a sustained narrative sometimes struggles to emerge, but readers with attention-span problems will be delighted. Exceptionally good of its kind is the box on the picturesque. But Smoliarova can be as rewarding when performing close reading as she is when the focus is pulled back, as witness in particular the analysis of the ‘steam engine’ stanzas of ‘To Evgenii’. There are lapses, though, when falsifiable statements are ventured: an abyss yawns when the free iambs (vol´nyi iamb) of Derzhavin’s ‘Girl at the Harp’ are categorized as ‘bumpy vers libre’; in Derzhavin’s last poem and Morris Halle’s translation of it ‘iambic pentameter seems crucial’ — but both happen to be in iambic tetrameter; and the iambic pentameter of Pope’s Essay on Man doesn’t have a fixed caesura. The author’s mind was on higher things, let us surmise. Smoliarova is throughout standing on the shoulders of giants, some of the Russian ones relatively neglected, like Lev Pumpianskii and I. Z. Serman, but her manner and her approach are much more unconstrained, even breezy. The author’s most risky positions assert or imply bold claims about what ‘we’ perceive and understand when reading and contemplating poetry and art. Nothing is ever written or even thought without a conscious subtext, it would seem. The book’s last chapter spirals away into the twentieth century and even the future, still concerned mainly with poetry and the visual, but taking in radio, cinematography, aviation, architecture, and other technological innovations. Reconstructing the thoughts and emotions of the people of the past is notoriously problematic, and this is even more so with regard to their visual perceptions, but this caveat hardly detracts from the admirable audacity that suffuses Smoliarova’s treament. All in all, this book will be useful reading for anyone interested in how best to read Russian poetry before Pushkin; rather than driving home hard conclusions, though, it will stimulate and suggest. New College, University of Oxford G. S. Smith Batyushkov, Konstantin. Writings from the Golden Age of Russian Poetry. Translated and presented by Peter France. Russian Library. Columbia University Press, New York and Chichester, 2018. xi + 239 pp. Notes. Index. $19.95: £17.00 (paperback). There is a modesty about the title page of this book. ‘Presented by Peter France’ does not do justice to the multiple rewards on offer here. This book contains a comprehensive essay on the life of the poet Konstantin Batiushkov into which has been folded a creative biography, bountifully illustrated by new translations of many complete poems. While these lyrics could conceivably REVIEWS 537 have been published as a separate anthology, the portrait of man and works strikes this reviewer as a great success because text and context are beautifully interwoven in the eight chapters that follow Batiushkov from his youth in Vologda to his premature and tragic decline into mental illness. The method works well not least because the connection between experience and literary expression was so much a feature of an age in which Russian writers with increasing confidence explored subjectivity in diaries, autobiography, letters, and perhaps, above all, in lyric poetry. The writing has a lightness of touch and is full of suggestion: ‘The author is a disengaged spectator on the Addisonian model, but equally a predecessor of the Baudelairean flâneur in the city’ (p. 64). Especially fine are the observations on friendship and friends, among whom Gnedich and his routine (Batiushkov seems to allow him up to twenty-six hours in a day) stand out. A poet of refined sensibility and elegant technical accomplishment, Batiushkov pioneered a style of affecting expression. Numerous earlier poets had struck emotional poses but Batiushkov had a greater talent for injecting credible emotion rather than seeming merely performative in the way of earlier speakers. Historically his contribution to the lyric of introspection was seminal in Russia but he is much more than a transitional figure. A master of imitation and translation, in his original poems Batiushkov wove dense intertextual echoes into seemingly candid and spontaneous lyric confessions. Something of a Horace, Parny, Tibullus and Tasso all rolled into one, Batiushkov earned his laurels...

National Electronic Libraries of Russia and the United States

Comparison of the National Electronic Library of Russia and the Digital Public Library of America (in terms of the history of creation, main goals, types and subjects of documents, terms of copying documents, digital infrastructure, sources of funding, and accessibility) showed that while the main goals of their creation are similar, they differ in all of the parameters.