"I Fell into Librarianship": Experiences of Post-Soviet Librarians at the National Academic Library in Astana, Kazakhstan. (2nd April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Emmelhainz, Celia; Bukhtoyarova, Darya
• Is Part Of: Slavic & East European information resources. Volume 17:Number 1/2(2016)
• Page Start: 16
• Page End: 35
• Publication Date: 2016-04-02
• Subjects: Ethnography -- Kazakhstan -- librarianship as profession -- library surveys -- national library -- nation-building -- post-Soviet Central Asia -- post-Soviet librarians; Publishers and publishing -- Europe, Eastern -- Periodicals; Publishers and publishing -- Slavic countries -- Periodicals; Information resources -- Europe, Eastern -- Periodicals; Information resources -- Slavic countries -- Periodicals; Library science -- Periodicals; 026.947
• DOI: 10.1080/15228886.2016.1166541
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1522-8886

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the attitudes of librarians in post-Soviet Kazakhstan regarding their roles at the new National Academic Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NAL). Using ethnographic observation, interviews, and surveys of library staff (n = 24), we find that Kazakhstani librarians either sensed a "calling" to librarianship or "fell into" library careers given life circumstances, and value their library for its contribution to cultural preservation and digital access on a national scale. This pilot project presents NAL to an international community, sharing the voices of Russian- and Kazakh-speaking librarians to highlight the role of libraries in the development of the post-Soviet nation.