Authors

Ekaterina Rogatchevskaia¹;  ¹ British Library, UK

Discussion

The paper focuses on the analysis of Ukrainian and Belarusian materials held at the British Library in print and other formats. Based on researching corporate archives, oral history interviews, examining collection items and bibliographic records attached to them, the paper focuses on how Belarusian and Ukrainian collections were understood, described and dealt with among other British Library Slavonic and East European collections. This examination provides data for analysis of gaps in these collections, asking such questions as whether these gaps were considered important at the time of collecting and why they are considered important now. The paper will explore reasons for gaps in these collections, as they can be ideological, practical, research trends related or accidental. The study of the history and the organisational culture of collecting feeds into practical steps of looking at collection development practices now. It helps to identify priority areas for selection of second-hand materials and informs strategies of selection and acquisition of current materials: for example, how we monitor new and emerging trends in publishing in Ukraine and Belarus and their old and new diasporas, born digital items and how we link to online resources hosted elsewhere. Based on the British Library case study, the paper engages with the questions: why data on the history of collections is important for collection development strategies and practices; how this approach contributes to de-centralising and re-framing of Slavonic and East European collections.