New York Public Library

Representative: Bogdan Horbal

Slavic and East European materials held at the New York Public Library, in some cases, trace their acquisition origins to the NYPL’s parent institutions Astor (est. 1848) and Lenox (est. 1870) libraries. The systematic development of these collections has taken place virtually from the beginning of the existence of the New York Public Library. These holdings extend from early 14th century illuminated manuscripts to the latest imprints. Belles-lettres and literary criticism as well as art books are very well represented. Holdings of scholarly works beginning with those published in the nineteenth century, collections of printed historical sources, genealogical materials, and even early twentieth-century telephone directories from various parts of Europe are unusually strong. A feature of special importance here is the Library’s holdings of East European governmental publications, particularly for the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. Another area of unique strength is the Library’s holdings of emigrant and immigrant publications. Approximately half of materials in vernacular Slavic and East European languages is in Russian, followed by those in Polish, Ukrainian, and Czech. The library's collection of materials in Latvian is the largest in the nation while the holdings in Estonian and Lithuanian are also significant. The NYPL also collects works about Slavic and East European lands and peoples in other world languages and formats. Relevant materials in Hebrew and Yiddish, as well as the Turkic and other languages of the former Soviet Union, and in other formats (e.g., maps, prints, manuscripts), are also held by the Library. In addition, the branch libraries hold circulating volumes of general and popular fiction and non-fiction books, periodicals, and videos in various Slavic and East European languages.