Naum Reznik, 84, came up with the idea to begin the Russian library in West Hollywood. A professor of mechanical engineering, Naum had founded the Assn. of Engineers and Scientists in West Hollywood, an organization of former professionals who perform volunteer work. Some of the first books donated were science texts.
Naum sat around a metal table with five colleagues in a small storeroom in the Chabad Russian Synagogue, cataloging the first donations. Community members came forward, some with just a few books, others with several hundred. Two private collectors have donated 2,000 books each.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday December 25, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 0 inches; 26 words Type of Material: Correction
Park's name -- The caption on a photo accompanying an article about the Russian Language Public Library in Wednesday's California section misspelled Plummer Park as Plumber.
The musty smell of bound volumes lingers in the library's large room in the park's Long Hall. There are no computers or electronic security systems, just two long metal bookshelves, a few folding tables and chairs, a manual typewriter and a handwritten card catalog. An old rotary telephone sits on a desk next to small boxes stuffed with the names of 750 families who have registered as library patrons.
Open from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on weekdays, the library is staffed by 15 volunteers, many of whom worked as librarians before they immigrated to the United States.
Finding a permanent home in West Hollywood remains an ongoing process. Because the city intends to renovate the Plumber Park building, the library will have to move again. City officials say they plan a new space for it. "We have moved to five different places, and each time we did everything by ourselves," Vera Richkina, head librarian, said in Russian. "We know it will be hard."
Wherever the library moves, patrons will probably follow.
Boris Ostrovsky, 74, visits the library weekly, riding the bus from his home near Los Feliz. Another library patron, Tatiana Sivokonenko, 76, says reading the books from her homeland "reminds me of my youth when I liked books and was reading a lot. I'm very happy to have this possibility again."
