This Union List of Slavonic and East European Newspapers is a record of newspapers from East European countries currently obtained by UK libraries. Its main purpose is to provide information about the availability of any particular newspaper.

The need for such a list has arisen because of significant changes in the publishing industry, reflecting dramatic political and economic changes in Eastern Europe. The diversity of different publishing patterns has particularly influenced the newspaper output, giving rise to many new titles or title changes.

The term "newspaper" has been interpreted according to the Harrod's Librarian's Glossary definition, i.e. "a newspaper is a publication issued periodically, usually daily or weekly, containing the most recent news".

This list is arranged by country of publication and then within each country in alphabetical order of title. In a number of cases cross-references have been included where entries may be sought under alternative titles. This applies to titles which have changed their names. If this is the case the main entry is made under the new name. It should be noted that the holdings statement refers only to the new title. However, in most cases the library holding the new title is also in possession of the former title. As there is no separate entry for the former title the list does not include the holdings statement for the previous years. This approach has been adopted throughout the whole list as it aims to provide details only about current titles. However, some allowance has been made for new titles from the period 1989/1990 onwards, i.e. if the library holds a significant number of copies of the new title for only a certain period (e.g. one or two years) but currently does not subscribe to it, the list provides a holdings statement for this title.

The list also provides information about the form in which the newspapers are held in the libraries. In general, newspapers can be found either in hard copy or on microfilm. The holdings statement for the title available in hard copy contains only dates without further details, e.g. 1976-1986; other years of this particular title can be available on microfilm. This is clearly indicated by an appropriate note in brackets, e.g. 1947-1953 (microfilm). However, in a few cases there are overlaps in the holdings statement which have arisen because some libraries have a particular title available in both forms for the same time span, e.g. 1917-1946 (microfilm), 1939-1979, 1980- (microfilm).

Titles in the Cyrillic alphabet have been transliterated in accordance with the Library of Congress transliteration scheme, and the names of the countries follow the Library of Congress geographic area headings.

The following pattern has been used for each entry:

title of a newspaper (in capital letters)
place of publication
starting date
frequency note
holdings in UK libraries
form

It should be noted that the list does not intend to be a complete catalogue of the newspapers in any particular library. However, every effort has been made to give the details of holdings accurately and clearly.

A work such as this, depending on two fluctuating factors, i.e. the nature of newspapers and availability of library resources, cannot be regarded as final. This list can therefore be amended and expanded further.

Thanks must be given to the librarians who have contributed information about the newspaper holdings of their libraries. Without their valuable assistance this list not only would have failed to record holdings but would also have lacked many new titles.

Thanks are also due to my colleagues in the Slavonic and East European Collections of the British Library for their generous help in the compilation of this list, particularly Chris Thomas, Devana Pavlik and Peter Hellyer.

Key to Library Codes

The following libraries in the UK dealing with Slavonic and East European material have contributed to the list:

BL - British Library (mainly at the Newspaper Library in Colindale, North London)
BLPES - British Library of Political and Economic Science, London School of Economics and Political Science
Bod - Bodleian Library, Oxford
BRC - The Britain-Russia Centre
BUL - Bradford University Library
CREES - Birmingham University Library, Centre for Russian and East European Studies
CSR - Conflict Studies Research Centre, The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
CUL - Cambridge University Library
DSC - British Library, Document Supply Centre at Boston Spa
EETC - East European Trade Council, London
Essex - University of Essex Library, Colchester
GUL - Glasgow University Library, Russian and East European Studies
KR - Keston Research
LUL - Leeds University Library
MMLL - Modern and Medieval Languages Libraries, University of Cambridge
NLS - National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh
NUL - Nottingham University Library, Hallward Library
PL - Polish Library, London
RSL - Robert Scott Library, Wolverhampton Polytechnic
SCR - Society for Co-operation in Russian and Soviet Studies, London
SSEES - School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London
St.Ant. - Russian and East European Centre Library, St. Antony's College, Oxford
TIL - Taylor Institution Library, University of Oxford

Further Information

Queries should be addressed to:

Magda Szkuta
The British Library
Slavonic and East European Collections
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG

Tel: + 44 171 412 7582
Fax: + 44 171 412 7554
Email: magda.szkuta@bl.uk

Last Updated 1/5/97