Abstract
Collecting and acquiring Slavic and Eastern European (EE) print materials for North American libraries is a complicated task. Many university and public libraries rely on vendor approval plans to build their Slavic collections. But non-approval-plan-based (NAPB) collecting methods are also an important way to enrich library collections with non-mainstream materials such as books from remote regions, books by alternative and small publishers, or grey literature. Based on a questionnaire, this article provides an overview of contemporary collecting practices for Slavic materials in North American libraries, emphasizing the value of book fairs, buying trips, exchanges, gifts, independent book agents, North American foreign-language bookstores, and online bookstores for the creation of strong comprehensive and specialized Slavic collections.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Richard Hydal and Marc Lalonde, Information Technology Services (ITS), Robarts Library, University of Toronto, for their outstanding efforts and ongoing support in creating and maintaining a Web version of this survey. Special thanks goes to Mary Stevens, Slavic book selector (1967–2005) for Robarts Library, University of Toronto, and Murlin Croucher, Slavic Studies Area Specialist at the Indiana University Libraries in Bloomington, for providing essential feedback and written materials used in this article. Finally, we would like to thank all the Slavic librarians who responded to this survey in the midst of their busy schedules.