26 Essays for Library
Historians, Students of Russian Culture and Bibliophiles
Compiled by Elena I. Kogan
"'Bridge Across the Ocean' illustrates aspects of the
development of the Russian collections of New York Public Library over the course
of a century. The book provides a foundation not only for the study of the history
of book culture, but also for different historical aspects of scholarly contact
between America and Russia." —K.M. Sukhorukov, Editor,
Bibliografiia (Moscow)
Elena I. Kogan, a notable educator and historian of Russian
and Soviet book culture, has lived in New York since 1997. Her compilation,
Most cherez okean, consists of both previously published and original
essays on the NYPL's Russian collections by various authors. Articles range
from Marc Raeff's "The Slavic and Baltic Division and Russian Studies in America:
Memoirs of a Half-century," to Galina Mikheeva's "Sodruzhestvo dvukh bibliotek
Rossiiskoi natsional'noi i N'iu-Iorkskoi publichnoi." Eleven of the articles
are in English, fifteen in Russian. Published in Russia, this work is distributed
by Ross Publishing LLC and is available for immediate delivery.
Most cherez okean: sbornik state o Slaviano-Balti skom otdele Niu-orksko publichno biblioteki. Elena I. Kogan. Moskva: Gos. publichnaia nauchno-tekhnicheskaia biblioteka Rossii, bibliography, 288 p., paperback, 2005...............................................................................................................................$25
"The New York Public Library is a singular institution
in being both a public library in the Anglo-American sense and a publichnaia
biblioteka in the Russian one. This collection of articles (many of which
are reprints) reveals something of the depth and richness of the collections
and the diversity of the activities of its Slavic and Baltic Division which
is the reference and research centre for Slavic and Baltic studies at the Library."
—John Bowles National Library of Scotland,
Edinburgh on the Slavic Collection of the New York Public Library and Most
cherez. Complete text below:
"The New York Public Library is a singular
institution in being both a public library in the Anglo-American sense and a
publichnaia biblioteka in the Russian one. This collection of articles
(many of which are reprints) reveals something of the depth and richness of
the collections and the diversity of the activities of its Slavic and Baltic
Division which is the reference and research centre for Slavic and Baltic studies
at the Library. Many of the articles are the work of staff members, most notably
Edward Kasinec, its present head, whose sixtieth birthday is the inspiration
for some of them. There is a certain amount of overlap and repetition of content
in some of the contributions that are in English or Russian. Although the Division’s
holdings contain materials in all the Slavic and Baltic languages this collection
deals almost exclusively with Russian topics. The articles themselves are something
of a mixed bag ranging from fairly brief notes and interviews to fuller scholarly
pieces. They deal with the history of the Division, the character and types
of collections, its co-operative activities and projects and some of the personalities
who have helped to carry its work forward.
"From its earliest days it attracted
newly-arrived immigrants from Eastern Europe who streamed into New York and
required materials in their own languages. An active lending service was in
operation from the very beginning. Many famous immigrants and exiles were amongst
its early readers - a somewhat reluctant Trotsky being dragged to the Library
by Bukharin on his first day in New York. While the branch libraries of the
Library are publicly funded, research divisions like the Slavic and Baltic are
much more dependent on attracting donors and sponsors. It seems, however, to
have had considerable success in so doing and this permitted it to benefit enormously
in the inter-war years from Soviet willingness to sell off book collections
and other cultural treasures. On just one visit to the Soviet Union in 1923/4
the Division’s third head, Avrahm Yarmolinsky, was able to purchase some 9,000
volumes.
"Articles covering the collections include
contributions on the Division’s rich harvest of books from the Russian imperial
libraries, while the Batkin, Pantuhoff and Teteriatnikov collections are among
those discussed separately. The Division’s wealth of visual material, including
the Solntsev water-colour collection, are also highlighted. Other articles feature
uncommon personalities, such as the mining engineer Wilhelm de Gennin and his
pioneering work in the Urals, and the painter Pavel Svinin, who arrived in the
United States as a diplomat in 1811 and later travelled through the country
painting the American landscape.
"The compiler notes in her introduction
that the book’s being published in Russia is a symbol of the Division’s various
links with the Russian book world, and this co-operative theme is emphasised
in a number of articles. In particular the Division has always been alert to
the value of foreign exchanges, the first exchange (with the Imperial Public
Library) beginning as early as 1897, and they have been interrupted only by
wars and revolution. Latterly, co-operative activity has broadened to include
specific inter-library agreements such as that of 1997 with the Russian National
Library, which has led to regular exchanges of experience and joint participation
in exhibitions. A more personal approach is provided in a memoir by Marc Raeff
and interviews with Edward Kasinec and his deputy Robert H. Davis, Jr.
"This sbornik is intended for
‘knigovedam, prepodavateliam distsiplin knigovedcheskogo tsikla, istorikam’
and, provided they can get hold of one of the 200 copies printed, they should
find that it provides a useful introduction to the Division’s activities, collections
and history. Being hitherto rather (shamefully) ignorant of the Slavic and Baltic
Division, I am now aware that it is one of the great centres for Slavic studies
and I will certainly be keeping an eye on its website and the wealth of images
in its digital gallery."