The systematic collection of Slavic materials began at both UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University at the end of the 1950s. Almost from the beginning the two Universities have been building their collections cooperatively, creating a strong pool of resources for research and the instructional needs of both UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University as well as for other educational institutions in North Carolina and the southeastern United States. Early cooperation enabled the institutions to build substantial collections with strengths in particular areas without overextending institutional resources.

A large portion of the collections in Soviet and Russian studies is duplicated at both universities. However, UNC-Chapel Hill's strengths are in Russian history and literature particularly of the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Duke University collects comprehensively in Soviet and contemporary Russian history and economics, and is also responsible for collecting Polish imprints. UNC-Chapel Hill develops a comprehensive collection in Czech and Slovak. Nevertheless, UNC-Chapel Hill has a very good collection of Polish materials. Similar arrangements were made with the University of Virginia library regarding South Slavic materials. UNC-Chapel Hill collects South Slavic literature and linguistics, and UVA was responsible for South Slavic history and social sciences. The cooperation with UVA ended when the UVA library administration terminated the Collection Development Department.

Duke University also develops a collection of Russian and East European motion pictures. If you would like to order a videocassette from Duke, first read about the Request Procedures for Film/Video From an Outside Source for UNC-Chapel Hill affiliates. Visit Nonprint Collections at the Triangle Research Libraries and Media Resources Center for more information.

Faculty and students have full access to the collections at both UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke. Current agreements between the two universities include direct borrowing privileges (which cover undergraduates as well as faculty and graduate students), special inter-library borrowing (with no or subsidized photocopying charges and extended borrowing periods for materials in certain non-Western languages), and expedited document delivery services (including free faxing when appropriate).

General and specialized instructions is provided to all levels of students and faculty at both universities. The Slavic Bibliographer at Duke and Curator at UNC- Chapel Hill also provide customized instruction to UNC and Duke patrons and to visitors from Russia and Eastern Europe.