The library in a multiethnic urban environment: The experience of the department of national literatures of the Russian national library (Saint Petersburg)

Abstract

The Department of Nationality Literatures of the Russian National Library (RNB) in Saint Petersburg is a unique repository of publications in diverse languages of the peoples of the former USSR. In the collections are works in the Latvian language not to be found in Riga, works in the Tatar language not to be found in Kazan, and so on. Over the course of many decades academic researchers from all over the world have worked with these collections. Following the breakup of the USSR, the relevance of new functions for the department become apparent. First, as the nationality communities in Saint Petersburg came to life, many people were drawn back to their own ethnic roots. The Department of Nationality Literatures serves, in its own way, as a national center for representatives of nationality communities. Second, the need to promote tolerance is important in Russia today. The Department brings into the public eye the cultural riches of diverse peoples and, in that way, promotes mutual understanding and tolerance. The results of a sociological study have been employed to determine the role of the Department in current changing sociocultural conditions.

Citation

Asvaturov, A.S. and Ravinskiy, D.K. (2009), "The library in a multiethnic urban environment: The experience of the department of national literatures of the Russian national library (Saint Petersburg)", Graves, W., Nyce, J.M., Golden, J. and Williams, D.E. (Ed.) Advances in Library Administration and Organization (Advances in Library Administration and Organization, Vol. 27), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 25-47. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0732-0671(2009)0000027007