Literature, Libraries, Society: Memories of the 1970s

Abstract

In the 1970s the link “book-library-reader” was deliberately strengthened in the Soviet Union, because of the opinion that the ideal Soviet person must have a broad view and diverse interests. The library was an active agent in these processes. Both methodological materials and library statistics show active, targeted work with literature and readers. The collections of public libraries at that time were diverse in terms of content. The collections contained many translations of classical and popular literature from Russian and other languages, original Latvian literature, professional and sectoral literature, books of popular series, periodicals. Social political literature competed for readers’ attention with fiction, as well as literature on arts and sports, natural sciences, history and geography. The research of reading practises and interviews with former librarians confirm that readers were interested in topics such as love, ancient times, history and world travel. Formally, libraries were one of the institutions supporting Soviet ideology, but interviews with former librarians show that the atmosphere in each particular library depended on the local government and the librarian’s own personality.