“I Fell into Librarianship”: Experiences of Post-Soviet Librarians at the National Academic Library in Astana,Kazakhstan |
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| Authors: | Celia Emmelhainz Darya Bukhtoyarova |
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| Institution: | 1. George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library, University of California, Berkeley, California, USAemmelhainz@berkeley.edu;3. Thomson Reuters, Astana, Kazakhstan |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACTThis paper explores the attitudes of librarians in post-Soviet Kazakhstan regarding their roles at the new National Academic Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NAL). Using ethnographic observation, interviews, and surveys of library staff (n = 24), we find that Kazakhstani librarians either sensed a “calling” to librarianship or “fell into” library careers given life circumstances, and value their library for its contribution to cultural preservation and digital access on a national scale. This pilot project presents NAL to an international community, sharing the voices of Russian- and Kazakh-speaking librarians to highlight the role of libraries in the development of the post-Soviet nation. |
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| Keywords: | Ethnography Kazakhstan librarianship as profession library surveys national library nation-building post-Soviet Central Asia post-Soviet librarians |
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