Foreign Literature Department was established in 1971 and has about 30 thousand books in 130 languages of the world and Russia, including the languages of the peoples living on the territory of the Chuvash Republic.
On December 6, 2012 in the National Library of the Chuvash Republic the Hall of National Cultures was opened. Its collection comprises about 600 printed documents in Bashkir, Erzya, Mari, Moksha, Tatar, Yakut and other languages.
In the Hall of National Cultures the continuously operating exhibition “Colours of national cultures” runs. It is dedicated to the history and culture of the peoples living in the multinational Republic of Chuvashia.
On September 20, 2016 the Chinese Culture Center was opened on the basis of Foreign Literature Department.
The foreign collection of the National Library of the Chuvash Republic comprises more than 35 thousand copies in 50 languages of the world in history, regional geography, medicine, philosophy, literature and other fields of knowledge, and also illustrated books on art.
A wide selection of works of classic and contemporary fiction is offered, including works by Russian authors in foreign languages.
Widely presented is educational and methodical literature: textbooks and manuals of foreign languages, self-study books, phrasebooks, as well as textbooks on history, grammar, lexicology, translation and stylistics of languages. The collection includes encyclopedias, such as Britannica, the German encyclopedia Meyers Kleines Lexikon, the French dictionary Le Petit Robert and dictionaries in different fields.
Foreign Literature Department provides information on various media types (books, periodicals, video cassettes, audiobooks, textbooks CDs for learning foreign languages).
The department has periodicals in foreign languages, published in our country, including: “Английский язык. Всё для учителя!” (“English Language for Teachers”), “Иностранные языки в школе” (“Foreign Languages at School”), “Мосты” (“Bridges”), “Немецкий язык. Всё для учителя!” (“Deutsch fur Lehrer”), “Deutsch”, “Deutsch kreativ”, “English”, “La langue française”, “Schrumdirum”, “Vitamin de”.
The special services of our department include:
• Compiling reference lists in foreign languages.
• Bibliographic editing of reference lists in foreign languages to courseworks, diploma papers.
• Translating texts from English, German into Russian and from Russian into English.
Our events
The project “Art of Living Together” is aimed at development and harmonization of interethnic and interreligious relationship, creation of conditions for preservation of cultures of the peoples living in the Chuvash Republic, popularization of unique cultural and creativity traditions, literary heritage of foreign countries. The staff organizes Voyages in Countries and Continents, informative geographical contests and quizzes, literary and musical evenings, gatherings devoted to national holidays, customs with representatives from different countries.
On the basis of Foreign Literature Department meetings of the cinema club “In the Original Language” are held, the purpose of which is to help students studying foreign languages to improve their level of English through participation in discussions and viewing films in the original language.
The department organizes English courses for those who wish to learn a foreign language and improve their conversational skills.
Every Saturday at 12 pm the English Conversational Club meets in the department. It was organized several years ago by a British citizen Lawrence Paradine. The members of the Club choose a topic for discussion, prepare it and discuss at the meetings.