SLOVAKIAN ART LIBRARY NEEDS OUR HELP
Now that we're all in the new year, and perhaps re-committed to weeding,
here is an opportunity to really bless some people in the Eastern Slovak
town of Velky Saris. Pittsburgher Susan Finkelpearl, a Peace Corps
volunteer in Central Europe, has contacted us to ask for help on behalf
of the Velky Saris Community Foundation as they establish a historical
museum, art gallery and art library in their town.
Susan is asking for gifts of art books for the library.
I've reversed the order of this request, putting some Q & As next and
then Susan's initial request at the end. Had planned to make it as an
attachment but ARLIS-L can't take attachments. (This reverse order is
only to save people time. If this is not something you can participate
in, no need to read it all, although it might be of interest.) If any
other questions occur to you, you may contact me at
[log in to unmask]
or Susan directly at
[log in to unmask]
Here's a summary of some Q & As:
1. What is the preferred language of the books?
ANS: Slovak; English next; then German and French. Russian, Czech and
Polish are also understood.
2. How old?
ANS: 1980 or more recent publishing date is probably best, but older
books if in good shape, content not outdated and scholarship good.
3. Who pays the postage?
ANS: The donors. Surface mail is OK; there is no rush. [HB note: If a
library (or an individual!) can only send one or two books, that would
be appreciated! If your institution cannot pay the postage perhaps
donations from colleagues would make it happen. I asked our local
P.O.for an idea of postage rates. In a nutshell to give you an idea:
they have a system called an M-Bag; you can estimate about $1.00 per
pound surface mail from the U.S. It could be cheaper to send more than
two books using the M-Bag. Ask your P.O. for details.]
4. Who will the main users of the library be?
ANS: The general public. (See end of document for more details.)
5. What categories of books are needed?
ANS: General art history; books about the masters; and instructional.
Folk art is very important in the lives of Slovaks, so books about folk
art would be of great interest.
6. Where do we mail the books?
ANS: Here is the foundation's address (without accent marks):
Komunitna Nadacia Velky Saris
Namestie Sv. Jakuba c. 1
082 21 Velky Saris
Slovakia
Phone: 011 421 91 77 623 00
* * * * * * * * *
ORIGINAL MESSAGE FROM SUSAN FINKELPEARL REGARDING
ART LIBRARY AT VELKY SARIS
Greetings from Slovakia! My name is Susan Finkelpearl and I am a Peace
Corps Volunteer in Central Europe.
I understand my uncle, Paul Recht, contacted [Kathryn Logan, Head of the
Music & Art Department at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh] about my
work with a small community foundation. Currently this foundation is
establishing a library of art in the Eastern-Slovak town of Velky Saris.
I would like to tell you more about the Velky Saris Community
Foundation, their library project and to ask if there might be a way for
the Carnegie or other libraries to support our work by donating old art
books. In addition, I want to give you and your colleagues enough
background information that you might gain a sense of how this project
came about and the significance it has for the people of this region.
Because it is difficult to do all of this in only one or two pages and
because I imagine you are all busy individuals, I have divided the
information below into sections with headlines to be as clear,
"digestible" and brief as possible. I hope you find this letter
interesting and informative and that there may be a way for us to work
together.
* * *
SLOVAKIA? WHERE IS SLOVAKIA?!? (a question I am asked often!)
Perhaps you know that Slovakia was formerly the Communist bloc nation of
Czechoslovakia and is nestled along the great Carpathian Mountain range
of Central Europe. It is a landlocked nation surrounded by the Czech
Republic, Poland, Hungary and Austria.
With only five-and-a-half million citizens, Slovakia is a small country.
It is still largely undiscovered as a well-beaten tourist route despite
beautiful forested mountain ranges that lie in five national parks and
numerous nature preserves and protected areas. Across Slovakia, quaint
towns pepper the landscape with charming pedestrian centers. They are
surrounded by remote villages with log homes, where the cows are milked
by hand, jam is homemade, and Slovak becomes a second language to the
local dialect. All of this flanked on either side by the country's two
largest cities. In the west, this is Bratislava, the nation's capital,
which is only 55 kilometers from Vienna. In the east, this is Kosice,
which some argue has the country's most beautiful pedestrian center.
* * *
SLOVAKIA AS A FORMERLY COMMUNIST NATION.
As you can imagine, beneath the many varied beauties of Slovakia's
landscape lie significant issues of a state still in transition from its
days as a Communist nation to a relatively young Democratic state.
Slovaks remember this Communist government with a mixture of nostalgia
and relief that it is past. Only a little more than 10 years ago, bread
and milk cost only a fraction of their price today. Healthcare,
education, work and a space to live were all guaranteed. But today,
unemployment in certain parts of the country reaches the 20th
percentile. Those who have work find that their wages have not kept
pace with inflation. Institutions like hospitals and schools are in
desperate need of funding and a national housing shortage continues to
trouble young families across the country. All of this means that the
average Slovak citizens are often bewildered, overwhelmed and feeling
helpless to better their lives.
Yet the old regime's guarantees of economic well being came with the
requirement of allegiance to the Communist state. Slovaks have
different stories to relay regarding the state's disregard for their
interests as everyday citizens or their lack of freedoms under the
former government. But, it is clear that the Communist regime
solidified an overall divide between public and private life.
Privately, Slovaks actively helped their family members and closest
friends. But regarding the upkeep of public spaces or the running of
community programs, these activities were viewed as the state's
responsibility or became activities citizens were forced to be part of.
In short, concepts of philanthropy, volunteerism (that wasn't forced)
and community involvement that are integral to a civil society were
discouraged and in fact entirely absent from the lives of Slovaks living
under the regime.
* * *
THE ROLE OF THE THIRD SECTOR IN SLOVAKIA
Today, as Slovaks struggle through tough times economically, these
above-mentioned concepts are needed most. Fortunately, many Slovaks are
working hard to grow civil society in their nation. The third sector is
vibrant and ever-expanding. Some organizations are teaching the public
how to lobby the government, others are giving entrepreneurs the tools
for starting their own businesses, and still others are getting everyday
citizens to help ensure that Slovakia's environment is preserved.
A handful of community foundations like the one in Velky Saris are
empowering citizens by putting financial resources, in the form of small
grants, in their hands for realizing community initiatives.
* * *
THE VELKY SARIS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Kommunitna Nadacia Velky Saris, as it is called here in Slovakia, was
established by the town of Velky Saris in 1998. Its mission is
supporting the activities of its citizens, other foundations and
different non-profit activities in Velky Saris which have goals in the
area of cultural development, sports activities, health services,
bettering the environment, the rescue and renovation of cultural
monuments and the support of democracy and a religious and ethnically
tolerant environment. Its work is to help people resolve their common
problems, shape healthy togetherness and cultivate an interest in public
things.
The Foundation works to meet these goals by distributing small grants to
citizens throughout Velky Saris who wish to improve life in the
community. In addition to this small grants program, the community
foundation itself takes an active role in organizing various actions and
projects.
* * *
Building a library of art in Velky Saris
One current project the foundation has both funded and taken an active
role in organizing is establishing a historical museum, art gallery and
library of art in Velky Saris. This grassroots project was born out of
the community's desire to preserve and pass down its history as well as
to make art and the study of art more accessible to residents of the
greater Velky Saris area.
As you are well aware, in any community, a public library is a vital
center of learning and information exchange. Communities with libraries
open doors to its citizens for expanding their minds, for traveling to
new places and for growing through the many books housed within its
doors.
For the individual interested in art, books are critical for learning
about art history, famous artists and the discipline's various genres.
Such books are often prohibitively expensive, and it is impossible for
the average Slovak to buy books of art with any regularity.
Presently a library of art does not exist in Velky Saris or in any
nearby towns or villages. _In fact, to the foundation's best knowledge,
a library of art is non-existent in all of northeastern Slovakia.
Clearly, if a library facility existed, it would widen the horizons of
innumerable visitors seeking to better understand art.
The proposed location of the library in Velky Saris will be especially
attractive and convenient for students and educators from Presov, a city
of nearly 100,000 located only six kilometers from Velky Saris.
The foundation became involved in this project last year when it was
approached by a local society of professional and non-professional
artists called "The independent society of artists and friends of
creating art" and a club interested in history called "Klub Varos".
Together, the two groups requested and received grant money for
refurbishing an old building to house the museum-gallery-library
building. A local resident has already been identified to serve as the
facility's guide and receptionist once it is opened.
* * *
HOW OTHER LIBRARIES MIGHT SUPPORT THE VELKY SARIS PROJECT
Now that the restoration of the building that will house the library is
successfully underway, the community foundation is turning its attention
to securing all the materials that will make this library a working
facility. By far the most important of these items are the books that
the library will shelve.
Already, the community foundation has requested grant funding for the
purchase of books. Once funding is secured, the local artists
association will take responsibility for selecting the titles to be
purchased.
In brainstorming creative ways the foundation could secure in-kind
donations of books, the idea of contacting libraries of art in the
United States was first raised. The thought was to contact various
libraries with the request that they donate a title or two and if
possible, send them to Velky Saris.
Thus, you are receiving this request now. We are interested to know
what you thoughts are regarding this idea or to hear of any other ways
you might imagine our libraries working together.
*******************************************************************
I hope the new art library is deluged with wonderful art books!
Heather Brodhead, Librarian
Music & Art Department
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Tel 412\622-3105 Fax 412\622-3412
email [log in to unmask]
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