International Associate, March 1 - May 28, 2006

Zhazira N. Alimkulova, Head of Electronic Resources at the National Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is the first visiting librarian to come to Yale under the auspices of the International Associates Program, a pilot project made possible by funds assigned by the University Librarian.

A graduate of Almaty State University, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Ms. Alimkulova has worked for over ten years at the National Library of Kazakhstan, holding a number of positions and participating in various projects, including electronic document delivery, book digitization, and research in the history of libraries and librarianship in Kazakhstan. She also attended a number of professional training programs and workshops organized by the Open Society Institute as part of its Central Eurasia initiative.

Zhazira with members of the Slavic and East European Collections staff (l. to r. Julia Muravnik, Judit Balassa, and Curator Tatjana Lorković)

While at Yale, Ms. Alimkulova will be based in the Slavic Reading Room and work closely with the staff of the Slavic and East European Collections, under the mentorship of Curator Tatjana Lorković. In addition to assisting with the processing of Central Asian materials, she will work with other Library units and departments, in particular Electronic Collections, Integrated Library Technology Services, and Research Services and Collections.

Zhazira's experiences at Yale and in the United States are documented in a detailed report she submitted on her return to Kazakhstan.