May 14 marks the 100th anniversary of birth of Elizaveta Opatskaya, a veteran of the National Library of Belarus, a highly qualified specialist in the field of Belarusian book studies, local studies and bibliography, an experienced leader, a capable organizer and active public figure.
Ms Opatskaya was born in 1920 in the village of Chernitsa in the Smolevichi District of Minsk Region in the family of a teacher. She received her primary and secondary education at Smolevichi School. In 1938 she entered the Faculty of History at the Belarusian State University (BSU), where she studied only 3 years before the Great Patriotic War broke out.
During the German occupation, Ms Opatskaya lived with her parents and was engaged in farming, and then became a messenger in the Minsk region partisan unit "Razgrom". She provided the unit with writing and copy paper, distributed leaflets and reports of the Sovinformburo in Minsk and Smolevichi, and passed information to the partisans about the movement of German military units by rail and in auto-mechanized parts. In 1947 she was awarded the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War of the II Degree."
When the war ended, Ms Opatskaya continued her studies at BSU. In 1946, after graduation, she was hired by the BSSR State Library named after V.I. Lenin where she moved up from the position of Assistant Librarian to Head of the Department of the Belarusian Literature and Bibliography. Ms Opatskaya dedicated her whole professional life to the Library. In her workbook in the column "Information about hiring..." there is only one entry: "BSSR State Library named after V.I. Lenin".
Ms Opatskaya actively participated in the public work of the library; she was repeatedly chairperson of the local trade union committee.
She enjoyed well-deserved respect among readers and colleagues who spoke warmly of her.
Thus, Ms Inna Bikashova recalled: “Once a lady comes up to me and introduces herself: “I am Elizaveta Opatskaya, chairperson of the library local trade union. I learned that you have been working temporarily for more than three months. Do you know that after this period, if there is no break in work, the Library is obliged to hire you on a permanent basis? If you want to remain our employee, I’ll talk to the administration and point out their mistake... If you have problems, you can find me in the Department of the Belarusian Literature. If you need medical treatment, rest, make sure to contact me. Trade unions must protect you.” A day after this conversation, I was invited to the personnel department and was offered a permanent job in the Delivery Desk and Interlibrary Loan departments, where I worked all my life.”
“She was an amazingly delicate person, it was impossible for her to offend anyone, to say a harsh word,” notes Ms Tatyana Roshchina.
The merits and diligence of Ms Opatskaya were highly appreciated by the library management. She was awarded the medal “For Valorous Labour. In commemoration of the centenary of birth of Vladimir Lenin”, “ For Zealous Labour”, Certificate of Merit of the Supreme Council of the BSSR and twice the Certificate of Honour of the Ministry of Culture of the BSSR and the Belarusian Republican Committee of Trade Unions of Cultural Workers, the badge“ For Excellent Work.”
By order of the Library dated February 2, 1976, Ms Opatskaya was listed in the Book of People's Glory of the Library for high performance in fulfilling production plans and socialist obligations in the 9th Five-Year Plan, a high culture of serving readers, hard work in developing library science, continuous participation in the library life.
After reaching retirement age, Ms Opatskaya took a well-deserved rest.
In 2001, Ms Opatskaya passed away.
Bibliology Research Department
