Barbara Krupa, Newspaper Digitization Project Manager, recently edited the latest issue of “The Studies into History of the Book and Book Collections”, Vol. 17, No. 4 (2023), published at the University of Warsaw. This is a Polish scholarly journal devoted to the history of the book and archival collections. Barbara served as a thematic editor for this issue and wrote an article “The cultural themed broadcasts by Zygmunt Haupt at Voice of America, 1951–1960”, based on the "Zygmunt Haupt Papers, 1939-1976", a collection housed within the Libraries' Special Collections. (The photo above is Zygmunt Haupt reading a book on loan from the French Library, South Kensington, London, October 1946, Department of Special Collections and University Archives, catalog number M0356, Zygmunt Haupt Papers.)
Additionally, Katharina Friedla, the Curator of European Collections and Hoover Institution Research Fellow, wrote an article “Primary sources on the trajectories of Polish-Jewish refugees during World War II at the Hoover Institution Library and Archives,” featured in the same issue from the journal above, also based on collections housed at Stanford, namely at Hoover Institution Library and Archives. The article highlights the invaluable sources and collections documenting the journeys of Polish Jewish refugees during World War II.
This journal issue features a collection of six insightful articles. Five of them are penned by librarians and archivists—true experts in Slavic and East European collections—who have dedicated themselves to working closely with special collection materials. These collections owe their richness to the post-WWII boom in Slavic Studies. A notable exception is the Hoover Institution, which began its impressive collection of pamphlets, newspapers, posters, and government documents on Europe and Russia as early as 1919. Each author takes you on a unique journey, delving into the specific resources housed in their institutions. Some offer a broader overview, while others provide a more detailed exploration. The final article offers a captivating perspective from a user's point of view. It recounts their serendipitous research journey, leading to groundbreaking book publications and international events. Dive in to discover the wealth of knowledge waiting to be explored.