Borisova ’17 Serves as Library of Congress Junior Fellow

Aug. 16, 2019

BLOOMINGTON, Ill — Boryana Borisova ’17 experienced the integrated analog and digital collections and services of the world's largest, all-inclusive library while serving as a junior fellow with the Library of Congress this summer.

As a junior fellow, Borisova worked to manage, preserve and share the library’s collections and resources. Her focus was on the Russian Cyrillic Priority 4 Collection which consists of 600 Russian books published between 1880 and 1940.

“I am very grateful to IWU for introducing me to the Russian sphere, as well as the humanities,” Borisova said. She specifically credited recently retired Isaac Funk Professor of Russian Studies Marina Balina and attributed her initial interest in librarianship to The Ames Library Reserves and Digital Services Coordinator Amy Sutter, and other members of the Ames staff.

Borisova said the focus of the Library of Congress program is designed to increase access to special, legal and copyright collections, and to promote awareness and appreciation of the Library’s services to researchers including Congressional members, scholars, students, teachers, and the general public.

Borisova previously participated in a Boren Fellowship in Kazakhstan. She will return to Indiana University this fall where she will begin her final semester of a master’s program in information science.

By Samira Kassem ’21