Counts done in 1971 and 1987 show that the number of volumes on Russia and Eastern Europe more than doubled during that time. Specifically, volumes on Russian language and literature increased from 6200 to 11,500. The Polish and Romanian collections grew considerably as well. The development of the Romanian collection can be attributed to the Romanian exchange which began in the early 1970s. Current Collection Development Current collecting centres more on literature and less on language and linguistics than it did in the past, reflecting a change in departmental priorities.
Russian literature is collected at the advanced study to research level.
Special emphasis is placed on the acquisition of works by and about nineteenth century authors with a lesser stress on the early period of the twentieth century to 1930. The period from the 1930s until the thaw in the 1950s receives little attention except for the very major authors such as Sholokhov. The period of the 1960s and 1970s is considered more important than the preceding period. The period since 1985 presents a special challenge and a major effort is being made to identify and acquire the best contemporary authors as well as works from earlier periods which were unpublished until now. The other literatures of Eastern Europe are collected at an introductory instructional support level.