The Library Syndrome de Valerii Leonov

The Library Syndrome

Valerii Leonov

This book was written by Valerii Leonov, Director of the Academy of Sciences in St.Petersburg. In February 1988 the Academy of Sciences was hit by the worst library fire of the century. Using memoirs, documents, newspaper reports and the personal testimony of those involved, Leonov has meticulously reconstructed events surrounding the fire, the huge clean-up operation and the climate of mistrust and back-stabbing which developed amongst library staff in the wake of the disaster. These events culminated in an accusation of illegalities levelled at Leonov himself, a charge of which he has since been full exonerated.

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I-V -- FOREWORD -- PREFACE. VERSIONS OF THE CHARGE -- PART ONE. BAN IN THE LATE EIGHTIES -- CHAPTER ONE. THE HOUSE IN BIRZHEVAYA LINIA -- CHAPTER TWO. PEOPLE, CHARACTERS, SITUATIONS -- CHAPTER THREE. THE FEBRUARY FIRE -- PART TWO. THE YEARS OF UPHEAVAL -- 1988 -- 1. Yu. Trefilov. After the Fire -- 2. D.S.Likhachev. Speech Made at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR -- 3. Phillip Taubman. Library Lost 400,000 Books in Soviet Fire -- 4. Leningrad Library Fire -- 5. RESOLUTION on the suspension of investigation of the criminal case concerning the fire of February 14-15, 1988 -- 6. V.A.Filov. On the Origins of the Library Syndrome -- 7. Dr. Sakharov's Remarks at Library of Congress Reception -- 1989 -- 8. V.P.Leonov. Speech of Welcome on the Occasion of Signing the Agreement on Establishment of the International Foundation of BAN Friends -- 9. REFERENCE on Information Check on the Erroneous Actions by the Administration of the Library of the Academy of Sciences (BAN of the USSR) -- 10. Rushworth M. Kidder. After Leningrad Library Fire. Russians Rally to Save Burned Books -- 11. Constance Walker. P.H. Glatfelter's Paper on Soviet Wish List. Leningrad Library Representatives Eye Product for Book Preservation -- 12. Library of Congress Receives $135,000 from Reader's Digest to Help Restore Fire-damaged Leningrad Library -- 13. Ye.Schekatikhin. How BAN Was Being Saved -- 14. V.P.Leonov. Speech made at the 55th General Session of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) -- 15. A.Baranov. A Gift for the Library of the USSR Academy of Sciences -- 16. How BAN Was Being Saved. Echoes of Recent Happenings -- 1990 -- 17. V.P.Leonov. Speech Made at the Annual General Meeting of the USSR Academy of Sciences on March 22,1990 -- 18. V.P.Leonov. Letter to the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences Academician G.I.Marchuk -- 19. A.Gaev. Forty Five Years in Captivity. The fate of millions of books that were brought back from the defeated Gemany is decided -- 20. Our Apologies -- 21. Ye.P.Chelyshev. Letter to the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences Academician G.I.Marchuk -- 22. M.F.Shaitanov. Where One Fire Was Extinguished, There Were Actually Two Fires in BAN: New Details -- 1991-1993 -- 23. V.P.Leonov. Letter to the Baltika Radio Station Director O.K.Rudnov -- 24. O.K.Rudnov. Letter to the BAN Director V.P.Leonov -- 25. The Cultural Situation is Extremely Difficult... A Dialogue between Academician D.S.Likhachev and the Chief Editor A. V.Filatov (Extracts concerned with the BAN fire) -- 26. V.P.Leonov. Letter to the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Academician Yu.S.Osipov -- 27. V.P.Leonov. On the True and False Things Said about the BAN Fire -- 28. A.Lisitsina. "The Successful Future Development of a Country Largely Depends on the Attitude to its Past". Interview with P.Waters -- 1994 -- 29. D.Grigoriev. BAN Was Set on Fire! " W Investigates the Case -- 30. V.P.Leonov. The Library of the Academy of Sciences Is Turning 280 -- 31. Order N67 on Urgent Measures to Provide for the Safety of the Historical and Cultural Collections in BAN -- 32. Letter from the Members of the Department of Old Russian Literature at the Institute of Russian Literature -- 33. Appeal -- 34. V.P.Leonov. Letter to Academician Ye.P.Chelyshev and Zh.I.Alferov -- 1995 -- 35. D.Grigoriev. I Sleep More Soundly Than I Did in December. An Interview with the BAN Director -- 36. V.P.Leonov. BAN's Realities and Prospects. Report made on the election day of the BAN Director on May 11,1995 -- 37. Is Everything So Bad at the Academy of Sciences? Comments by the readers -- 38. Appeal by Ye.V.Anisimov -- PART THREE. THE REPRISAL -- CHAPTER ONE. CRIMINAL CASE ? 367 916 -- CHAPTER TWO. INVESTIGATION -- CHAPTER THREE. THE VERDICT -- EPILOGUE. THE LAST WORD -- EPILOGUE OF THE EPILOGUE -- APPENDIX -- Index -- Contents