Title: Marianna Tax Choldin Papers, 1879-2017

Series Number: 35/1/27

Acquired: 9/26/91; 9/13/93; 11/18/93; 3/2008; 2019

Volume: 15.3 cubic feet

Series 1: Personal Files, Publications, and Photographs, 1977-2017

Series 1 contains personal files arranged alphabetically, including materials relating to Professor Choldin's awards (e.g., 2005 John Ames Humphrey Award, ALA, and 2001 Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement, UIUC) and her 2016 memoir, Garden of Broken Statues. Personal files are followed by publications (arranged chronologically) and photographs (arranged alphabetically), which document Professor Choldin's extensive global travels and committee work in e.g. Eastern Europe, the U.S., South Africa, and China.

Series 2: Correspondence, 1997-2017

Series 2 contains Professor Choldin's research and professional correspondence on issues of censorship and intellectual freedom. Included are letters and emails with publishers and contacts in Russia and Eastern Europe as well as scholars Patricia Grimsted and Martin Dewhirst. This series is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

Series 3: Professional Files and Presentations, 1986-2017

Series 3 contains materials related to Professor Choldin's international professional committee and association work, such as with the Rudomino All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature, Rudomino Library Council USA, International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), and American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS). Also included are some of her presentations in Russian and English languages, including "Intellectual Freedom Issues in Today's World?" (2003), "Intellectual Freedom and the Past" (2002), and "Censorship of Foreign Books" (2002). This series is arranged alphabetically.

Series 4: Research Files, 1976-2008

Series 4 contains Professor Choldin's research files relating to librarianship, censorship, and the (former) Soviet Union. Folders include notes on Leonid Ivanovich Rylov, antisemitism in the U.S.S.R. and Russia, and Regional Libraries of Ukraine survey research results (2002-03). This series is arranged in alphabetical order.

Series 5: Primary Research Materials, 1879-2017

Series 5 consists of Professor Choldin's primary research materials in Russian, German, and English languages that may not be readily available elsewhere and relate to censorship, the former USSR, and intellectual freedom. Materials include lists of restricted titles in the USSR (1956-78), publications on post-Holocaust Jewish property restitution in Germany (1990-2002), and RFE/RL Reports on the USSR (1991-93). The first group of files contains newspaper clippings and publications primarily from the (former) USSR and Germany, including from the Center for Democracy in the USSR (CFD), Express Chronicle, and Die Zeit, which are arranged chronologically, maintaining Prof. Choldin's original order. The second group of files contains newspaper clippings, books, and ephemera from Germany and the former USSR, and is arranged alphabetically.

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Subjects (links to similar materials)

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Locations for this record series:

146 Library, 1408 W. Gregory Drive
Offsite: 24 hours notice required
Archives Research Center, 1707 S. Orchard Street

Click "Submit request (Aeon)" to view locations for each box.

Submit request (Aeon)

Service Location	Boxes	Request
146 Library, 1408 W. Gregory Drive	1 (OS)	Request 1 (OS)
Offsite: 24 hours notice required	12	Request 12
Offsite: 24 hours notice required	13	Request 13
Offsite: 24 hours notice required	14	Request 14
Offsite: 24 hours notice required	15	Request 15
Offsite: 24 hours notice required	16	Request 16
Archives Research Center, 1707 S. Orchard Street	2-11	Request 2-11

Description:

Marianna Tax Choldin (b. 1942), Mortenson Distinguished Professor Emerita (2002-), was professor of Library Administration (1969-2002), Mortenson Distinguished Professor (1991-2002), and Founding Director of the Mortenson Center (1991-2002) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests at UIUC included Slavic studies as well as censorship and intellectual freedom issues in the Soviet Union, Russia, and post-Communist states.

The Marianna Tax Choldin Papers contain personal files (ca. 2000-2017); correspondence (1983-2017); and professional files and presentations (1983-2017), including files relating to the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS) (1995-2005), the Rudomino All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature (2004-17), and the Rudomino Library Council USA (2004-08). Also included are records related to the American Bibliography of Slavic and East-European Studies (1988-99); BIRD (Bibliography, Information Retrieval, and Documentation Subcommittee of the Social Science Research Council, 1985-92); the International Research and Exchanges Board (1990-2001); and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) (1993-2004). In addition, the papers contain her articles (1974-2014), research files (1976-2008), course materials (1980-98), annual reports (1981-87), curriculum vitae, audio tapes of interviews and talks with Professor Choldin (1991-2001), photographs (1980-2003), posters (1991-93), Soviet greeting cards (1987-91), and primary research materials (1879-2017).

The collection was acquired in several accessions. The finding aid first lists the eleven boxes from accessions in 1991, 1993, and 2008, which were processed around 2010. The finding aid then lists the 2019 accession containing five series, which was processed in 2020.

Series Arrangement of the 2019 Accession: Series 1, Personal Files, Publications, and Photographs, 1977-2017, contains personal files arranged alphabetically, followed by publications arranged in chronological order, and photographs arranged alphabetically. Series 2: Correspondence, 1997-2017, is arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Series 3: Professional Files and Presentations, 1986-2017, is arranged alphabetically. Series 4: Research Files, 1976-2008, is arranged alphabetically. Series 5: Primary Research Materials, 1879-2017, is arranged, first, chronologically, followed by folders arranged alphabetically.

View finding aid and PDF box/folder list