Books bring continents together: USA delegation and KazNU representatives visited library in Almaty

On July 23, 2025,  the participants of the Summer Russian Language Teacher (SRLT) professional development program at “Trivium” center of Al Farabi Kazakh National University visited I.A. Krylov City Children’s Library  in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The American delegation included:

Wendy Martelle, Associate Professor at the University of Alaska (Fairbanks, AK)

Olga Piekarski, Elementary Teacher of Russian at the Turnagain Elementary School (Anchorage, AK)

Annalise Rivas, Director of Russian and Eastern European Studies at the Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN)

Willis Harte, SRLT resident director (Washington, DC)

The local party was represented by:

Qarakoz Isahanqyzy, head of the City Children’s Library named after I.A. Krylov

Gulnara Kenzhe, librarian of the Department for Reader Services

Maya Maytanova, associate of the Book Repository

Tatyana Pshenina, candidate of philological science, senior lecturer of the chair of Foreign Philology and Translation Studies of the Philological Faculty of KazNU

The SRLT program is administered by American Councils for International Education (ACCELS) in cooperation with the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) (Washington, DC). For three years, it has conducted by “Trivium” Scientific-Educational and Translation Center of KazNU. All SRLT participants teach Russian language and literature at American schools and universities.  For its part, “Trivium” representatives organized their visit to the City Children’s Library named after I.A. Krylov (in compliance with UN Sustainable Development Goals SDG 4 “Quality Education” and SDG 17 “Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development”).

During the meeting, American participants were impressed with the library fund (totaling more than 116 000 items), the quality of publications for children in Kazakhstan, and the extent of modernization and digitalization of library services in general in Almaty. Various issues were discussed:

• classical children’s literature attracting young readers from different continents;
• inclusion and personal development efforts currently supported by libraries in Kazakhstan;
• the ongoing transformation of connections between educational institutions and libraries.

American participants were moved by the rare volumes gifted to them by library staff. These will be used in the coming academic year, facilitating American school and university students acquiring new knowledge about Kazakhstan and CIS countries, thereby ensuring that our cultures continue to be brought together.