Polish librarianship in the stalinist period (1948-1956) had to face new challenges. In the changed political and social reality, both the role of a librarian and the functions performed by public and scientific libraries had to be redefined. The profile of vocational education also changed. From the various materials (papers, guidelines of the party and departmental authorities, reports, protocols of the Polish Librarians and Archivists Union) published in professional journals of the time, „Przegląd Biblioteczny”, „Bibliotekarz” and „Poradnik Bibliotekarza”, it appears that librarians had to focus on the ideological aspect of their work, educating the reader in the socialist spirit.
The object of library science - the library itself - is a complex entity. Therefore it is possible and even advisable to take a deeper insight into the library field from different points of view, including philosophical perspective. Interdisciplinary research makes use of general and abstract terms. However, it often happens that the term 'library philosophy' is used either ambiguously or carelessly. Attempts to introduce complex philosophical terminology into library science seem often pretentious. Nevertheless, examples of use of this term are often to be found in library science literature. This seems to be a positive phenomenon as each new metatheory may lead to new paradigms and new research areas.
An analysis of the act of reading included in philosophers’ writings makes it possible to look for answers to the question about whether we can get to know a book at all? This is an epistemological question, a question about the sources, boundaries and goal of cognition. A question all the more important given the fact that it is asked in an era of a shift from typographic to digital culture. Does getting to know a book consist in reading it? If so then what is this process of reading — getting to know a book? Delving into the author’s intentions or perhaps adding one’s own meanings? Passive acquisition of the content included in the work by its author or active interpretation, assuming that the reader is equally important? To what extent is the meaning of a text fixed, to what extent is its content objective and readable equally to all in every act of reading? Is a book an open work, a separate being with some autonomy or perhaps a text is in all circumstances dependent on its author? Does the author have a monopoly on the “correct” reading of a work? And does a correct/true interpretation exist at all?
In the Stalinist period (1948-1956) new challenges appeared in the work of Polish librarians. One of them was work competition, considered an ideal way of supporting the build¬ing of socialism. The next one service for new groups of readers, i.e. peasants and workers, who had to be provided with an ideological book to understand and accept the new system, and professional, to contribute to the economic development of the country. These tasks required rigorous control of lending and selection of book collections. In the journals, published by the Związek Bibliotekarzy i Archiwistów Polskich – “Przegląd Biblioteczny”, “Bibliotekarz” and “Poradnik Bibliotekarza” – you can find various materials to help librarians carry out new tasks.
According to historians of philosophy Second Republic of Poland, in spite of themodest time frame, was the “golden period of Polish philosophy”. It is therefore worthwhile to look at the philosophical periodicals of this period, as they provide an excellent reeflction of university life and one of the most important forms of scientific communication. In addition, “Przegląd Filozoficzny” from Warsaw, “Kwartalnik Filozoficzny” from Krakow, “Ruch Filozoficzny” and “Studia Philosophica” from Lviv, are indispensable tools for promoting Polish philosophical culture in a newly united nation.
In Polish librarianship the 1950s are usually connected with a change in the function of the catalogue – from informative to educational or even propagandist one. Professional journals („Poradnik Bibliotekarza”, „Bibliotekarz”, „Przegląd Biblioteczny”) advised their reader to saturate their catalogues with Marxist content. The treatment of items included in catalogues, aimed at removing from them „inappropriate” works and promoting the existence of those corresponding with current ideology, made it diffi cult or even impossible to use written resources gathered in libraries. From articles in the afore mentioned journals one can infer that the aim of such doctoring catalogues was transforming them into a tool of ideology – not information. As a result, catalogues were selective, or alternatively there should be two types of catalogue: the complete one for internal use only, to which access was strictly controlled and limited and the other one – selected – for the general public. Marxism was ment to take the most prominent place in the systems of classifi cation; further, there were recommended subsections which were to emphasise the role of the communist party and revolutionary thought. Models were taken from the USSR. Such actions stemmed from the belief that a book might be signifi cant tool of propaganda. Therefore a librarian was to become a censor and a propagandist. There is evidence which shows that manipulated catalogues actually made it diffi cult or even impossible for readers to use books.
PL
W polskim bibliotekarstwie lata pięćdziesiąte XX w. oznaczały zmianę funkcji katalogu – z informacyjnej na wychowawczo-oświatową, wręcz propagandową. Na łamach czasopism fachowych („Poradnika Bibliotekarza”, „Bibliotekarza”, „Przeglądu Bibliotecznego”) zalecano wypełnianie katalogów treściami marksistowskimi. Selekcja rejestrów, mająca na celu usunięcie z nich pozycji „nieprawomyślnych”, a podkreślenie istnienia prac zgodnych z aktualnie panującą ideologią, utrudniała – a niekiedy nawet uniemożliwiała – użytkowanie piśmiennictwa zgromadzonego w bibliotekach. Z artykułów zamieszczonych na łamach badanych czasopism wynika, że celem preparowania katalogów było uczynienie z nich narzędzia ideologii, a nie – jak dotychczas – informacji. W związku z tym katalogi powinny być selekcyjne, ewentualnie dopuszczano istnienie dwóch typów: pełnego do użytku wewnętrznego, z dostępem ściśle kontrolowanym i reglamentowanym, oraz selekcyjnego dla czytelników. Na pierwszym miejscu w systemach klasyfikacyjnych znaleźć miał się marksizm, poza tym zalecano używanie poddziałów wspólnych akcentujących rolę partii i myśli rewolucyjnej. Wzorce czerpano z ZSRR. Działania te wynikały z przekonania o wartości książki jako narzędzia propagandy. W związku z tym bibliotekarz miał stać się cenzorem i propagandystą. Istnieją przykłady świadczące o tym, że dzięki zmanipulowanym katalogom faktycznie utrudniano lub uniemożliwiano czytelnikom dostęp do książek.
Various materials published in professional journals show us a picture of the professional life of a given group. Therefore, an attempt was made to reconstruct the image of ibrarianship in Czechoslovakia in 1945-1955 on the basis of the content published in two major periodicals: „Knihovna” and „Lidová Knihovna”. During this period, the functions of libraries and librarian were redefined. Convincing decision-makers about the role of books in building the socialist system resulted in attempts to involve librarians in propaganda activities.
In what way does a book exist? What is its ontic status? Does the function constitute its essence, as some people believe? In that case, is the forgotten and unread book still a book? Maybe it lives a life that resembles its author’s life, as the supporters of anthropomorphisation of books claim? To what extend the text of a book is self-sufficient as far as the meaning is concerned and how far is it determined by the reader? Has the changes in the form affected the changes of the essence of a book? And on what grounds is the still prevalent opinion about the books’ value based? The article is devoted to the abovementioned issues and addresses the question of the essence of a book
Professional and scholarly periodicals aimed at library professionals undoubtedly make a significant contribution to the development of librarianship and the evolution of book science. Therefore, the purpose of the article was to outline a panorama of the journalism of the library community in the Czech lands in the 1st half of the 20th century. The reasons for the creation of individual titles, their creators, structure and other formal elements were presented. The subject matter of four professional periodicals was also addressed: "Českeho knihovnictví", "Kniha", "Knih a knihoven" and "Časopis Československých Knihovniků" and one scientific journal - "Slovanská Knihověda".
An analysis of the 19 volumes of Studia o Książce [Book Studies] (1970–1993) as well as the surviving archive editorial materials has enabled the author to present the changing editorial team and profile of the journal, its authors, and to examine this bibliological journal in terms of the topics it tackled (various sections with their content) and formal-editorial features (layout, illustrations, sources of financing, size, number of copies, price). The author has analysed the concepts of the journal’s main authors as well as the editorial team’s plans, and has compared them to what the editorial team managed to accomplish.
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