Dedicated to the librarians of the war period
The structure and contents of the textbook published by Orel State Institute of Culture in the year of the 75-th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War is reviewed. The learning aid is intended for education bachelors in the discipline 071900 «Library and information activities». The reviewer emphasizes the relevancy of the publication within the context of the attempts being made to revise the results and causes of the World War II. The textbook comprises vast factual material on robbing and annihilation of cultural values by the Third Reich; on saving the Soviet library book collections during the Nazi aggression; on the heroic deeds of librarians who were saving the collections. The book provides insight into the country’s book losses during the Great Patriotic War (WWII) and the restitution issues. The reviewer identifies several limitations of the book: no discussion of front line support by the libraries, of establishing library branches at hospitals and mobile libraries in bomb shelters and Moscow metro. The reviewer also emphasizes the need for publishing an expanded and updated edition of the textbook at large publishers’.