The Slavic Reference Service is happy to help workshop attendees, either during the course of the workshop, or remotely afterwards.

Services

The Slavic Reference Service responds to queries in the areas of Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies. Our queries originate from the University of Illinois, other U.S. institutions, and scholars and researchers around the world. We provide a range of services including:

• Assistance with identifying, locating and using print, digital and other Slavic, East European, and Eurasian resources.
• Course related instruction in locating and using library resources
• Assistance with finding specific books, articles, dissertations and other materials held by U of I and other libraries.
• Provision of factual information such as biographical information and statistical data
• Assistance with the use of microform resources including the use of microfilm and fiche readers and scanners.
• Consultation in formulating research strategies

Physical Setting

Slavic, East European and Eurasian Collections and Services are located in the International Area Studies Library on the third floor, on the south side of the main library building, Room 321. This area houses reference materials, current periodicals and newspapers, photocopiers, microform readers and scanners, library catalog terminals, an extensive collection of microform materials in addition to the Slavic Reference Service.

What We Do

Answer bibliographic and reference queries. If you are in need of a specific piece of information, we will be glad to try to answer your query. We will use print and online resources in our searches. We also assist patrons with their questions on the use of fonts and keyboards for languages in the service areas.

Identify materials in our collection. Identify libraries that hold materials you need. We will search to find libraries in the U.S., European Union, and libraries from the service areas that can lend or copy the title you need if it is not in our collection.

Verify and correct citations. Oftentimes, titles are not fully or correctly cited in the existing bibliographic literature. Our staff are trained to search for the correct form of the citation, ensuring that you get the material you need.

Suggest reference materials you might find relevant for your research. We cannot be held responsible for the completeness or accuracy of online information.

What We Don’t Do

Charge a fee.  The Slavic Reference Service is a federally funded agency, there is no charge for our reference services.   However, we are not a document delivery service.  Should you need a copy of some material from our collection you will be directed to our InterLibrary Loan Department [See: http://www.library.illinois.edu/interlibrary-loan/]

Obtain certain kinds of materials, specifically archival materials and the full text of dissertations.

Recommend particular books on a topic. We are all reference librarians with subject expertise in a variety of areas.  None of us are experts in all areas.  Our expertise lies in our familiarity with bibliographic materials. Therefore, we are not qualified to suggest a specific book in a subject area over some other work.

Supply genealogical information. Our service is not equipped to handle genealogical requests.

Advise on copyright related issues