Svetlana was born in Brest in the family of a military man. In 1970, she graduated from secondary school No 50 in Minsk and entered the part–time department of the Faculty of German of the Minsk State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages (today Minsk State Linguistic University). Svetlana began her professional career in the State Library of the BSSR named after V.I. Lenin (today the National Library of Belarus) since October of the same year, where the girl was accepted as a junior librarian. Svetlana was appointed as a librarian in the Department of Foreign Literature after two years.
When she graduated from the university in 1975, she had been qualified as a high school German teacher, remained working in the library and was promoted to the position of senior librarian of the foreign fund group later.
According to the materials of the personal file, Inna Stepchenkova, head of the book storage department, and Lyudmila Shatko, senior editor of the foreign literature storage group, described her colleague as follows: "She works with the foreign literature collection [...], provides the entire scope of work on organizing, using and storing a complex collection, and is very responsible and serious about work and all assignments. At the same time, Tetereva (Korenkova) has thoroughly studied the collection of pre-revolutionary and pre-war books".
Svetlana's accumulated professional experience and the necessary competencies made it possible in 1980 to become the head of the work of the sector for storing and using literature from the pre-revolutionary and pre-war years of the publication. She worked closely with the sector for the use and storage of foreign literature. Having a linguistic education, she freely researched the library's foreign collection and its demand, studied the organization of international book exchange, and the history of acquiring private collections.
In the certification characteristic of Svetlana in 1997, it was noted: «She is fluent in German, so she often performs assignments within the library [...], she is a consultant for activity related to the automated mode».
She took a responsible and creative approach to organizing the collections of the National Library of Belarus and made a significant personal contribution to their development.
Svetlana is in the center, 2017
S. Korenkova easily managed to combine professional duties with social activities in the library, perform the functions of the department's professional adviser, and be an excellent mentor for the younger generation of employees.
The photo of Svetlana was repeatedly shown on the library's Board of Honor. She was awarded the title "Best by Profession" in 1979. She was awarded the Certificate of Honor of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus in 1997 for her significant contribution to the development of domestic librarianship, and her professionalism was awarded by the Certificate of Honor of the National Library of Belarus in 2013 either.
After dedicating more than 50 years of her professional life to the republic's major library and making her mark on its history, Svetlana got a well-deserved vacation in February 2023.
We send Svetlana our heartfelt congratulations on her anniversary on behalf of the whole National Library team! We send our best wishes for your health, longevity, vitality, and strength as well as for the attention and care you give to those you love! Allow happiness into the home, and enchantment and wonder will always have a place in life!
The article was provided by Marina Lisovenko and Irina Kuketa, employees of the Library Science Department.
Read about veterans and employees of the National Library of Belarus in the section "Portraits: the history of the library in faces".
