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Library of Contemporary Slovak Literature

FOS have created a Friends of Slovakia Library housed at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic. The Friends of Slovakia Library will be primarily dedicated to Slovak contemporary literature, with each year's collection devoted to the work of a different Slovak publishing house. Materials in the Library will be available both via a lending program as well as for review at the Embassy.

The inaugural collection of 100 books, including a wide range of monographs, literature, and biography, is from the publishing house L.C.A.Literárna a kultúrna agentúra. The books, listed below, will be lent from the Embassy for a discrete amount of time (for example, one month), and can also be viewed during business hours at the Embassy. The Embassy's cultural attaché, currently Stella Kukuckova, will be the primary contact for the Friends of Slovakia Library lending program. She can be reached at stella@slovakembassy-us.org, 202 237-1054, ext. 223.

The unveiling of the Library took place on Thursday, June 17, 2004 with two related events. First, the European Division of the Library of Congress, the Friends of Slovakia and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic hosted an academic discussion entitled "Publishing in Slovakia:

Challenges for Today" by Koloman Kertesz Bagala, publisher of this year's contribution to the Library. The seminar was held at the Library of Congress. That evening, the Friends of Slovakia and the Slovak Embassy hosted a reception with Mr. Bagala complete with an unveiling ceremony of this year's contributions at the Slovak Embassy.

FOS considers the Library to be an important development for Friends of Slovakia. The Library will be a repository of contemporary Slovak literature and ideas and thus help expand American understanding of current Slovak culture. The Library is an essential, tangible product in developing a lasting impact on U.S.-Slovak relations, and FOS considers it an appropriate outgrowth of the programs and seminars Friends of Slovakia has hosted over the past several years in the area of political development, economic ties, and cultural affairs.

The Friends of Slovakia and the Slovak Embassy intend to develop the Library through annual inductions and seminars on contemporary Slovak literature.

List of books in Friends of Slovakia Library