About ninety unusual English-language publications were found in the collections of the Vitebsk Regional Library named after V.I. Lenin.
It might seem that what secrets could be hidden within the walls of a book repository? All the content has long been studied, systematized, and cataloged – both traditional and electronic. Nevertheless, the year 2012 presented the staff of the regional library with a surprise. It all began when the Deputy Director for Library Work, Tatyana Adamyan, became interested in information about literature that arrived in the USSR from the USA after the end of World War II. Russian institutions, discovering English-language publications with an unusual emblem in their collections, began to use the Internet to find out what it meant and where else such rarities could be found. The label, affixed to the endpaper, depicts an open book, and behind it – two flags (USA and USSR). The inscription in English reads: "To the heroic people of the Soviet Union from the people of America." And in the center is inscribed a name or the name of an organization.
Tatyana Nikolaevna became curious: are there such rarities in Vitebsk? It turned out, yes. In the main book repository of Pridvinye, 89 of them were found, as reported by Irina Shantseva, head of the foreign literature sector of the regional library. The authors of some works are well-known to readers – for example, William Shakespeare, Walter Scott, William Thackeray. Other names are less popular. Among them are Vera Brittain, Charles Kingsley, Anthony Rhodes, and others. The literature was published in different years. The "oldest" copies date back to the late 19th century. These include illustrated collections by Charles Dickens, James Fenimore Cooper, and Daniel Defoe's novel "The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe."
These publications were collected during the campaign "Books for Russia", announced in 1946. A large-scale charity event took place throughout the United States. It involved both individual citizens (from schoolchildren to the president) and entire organizations. Only serious literature (non-fiction, classical, historical) in hardcover was accepted. The plan was to collect one million volumes to then send them to the country, which was undergoing post-war recovery. "Russia, like all great powers, must rebuild not only cities, factories, and railways if it wants to maintain its place in the sun. It must also carefully rebuild its school system and restore libraries throughout its vast territory," wrote one of the American newspapers in 1946. "The 'Books for Russia' Committee believes that understanding between the two peoples is a reliable guarantee of peace, and that there is no better way to achieve this understanding than to give Russians the opportunity to learn more about American life," asserted another. "Books with works about the American way of life, both fiction and non-fiction, can become the most successful diplomats that our culture can send to the Soviet people."
Everyone who brought literature affixed an emblem to the flyleaf, where they entered their details: their own name or the name of an organization. Among those whose gifts reached Vitebsk were the women's club "Perry" from Iowa, "Aloha Camp," the international women's organization "Soroptimist," the University of Toledo... Four volumes donated by a certain Mr. Rochester were found immediately.
Despite the fact that the campaign organized in the USA was successful and very large-scale, it was later almost forgotten. During the "Cold War," it was not customary to recall friendly gestures from a potential enemy. And only now, decades later, the book donations are returning to readers again.