INTERVIEW WITH ...
Kornelia Tancheva

In September, RCL spoke with Drama and Theater Editor Kornelia Tancheva about her experiences with the project and how non-western theater has made important contributions in her field.

Currently, Kornelia is the Director of Collections, Reference, Instruction, and Outreach at Cornell University.

 

Q:  As a drama and theater subject contributor to the new Resources for College Libraries, what aspect of drama and theater publishing do you feel has changed the most since 1988?

A:  I think the changes that strike me as the most significant are those connected to the subject matter. The whole academic study of theatre and drama in the country has opened up tremendously towards non-western forms and towards cultural studies and theories.

Q:  There have been so many technology advances since 1988, how has this impacted the material published on drama and theater?

A:  It seems to me that theatre and drama are not necessarily unique in this respect -- the overall tendency of full-text availability of scholarly materials that characterizes all areas of publishing and research, has certainly impacted theatre and drama, as well. Perhaps, what is most to be celebrated is the availability of visual resources online.

Q:  Would you consider any one major advancement in the field of drama and theater as standing out above the rest?

A:  I would have to go back to the explosion in the interest and study of non-Western theatre.

Q:  How many new subject categories, would you guess, have evolved under the heading of drama and theater since 1988?

A:  Funny, you should ask. In my work for this project, I have attempted to reflect the way that drama and theatre are studied in the academe, rather than the way the subject has been described by subject headings. If you compare the 1988 sections on drama and theatre and the ones that I am using here, you will notice very little overlap.

Q:  What are the challenges that you face tackling such a high-growth segment of academic literature?

A:  You know, I believe that the greatest challenge we all face is related to the tension between any list of "recommended resources," or list of "top ten", or list of "the best resources" and the inherent subjectivity and bias in individual selection even if we are the best subject experts.

Q:  Where did you go to library school?

A:  Syracuse School of Information Studies.

Q:  How many titles have been selected thus far for your subject area?

A:  Over 900.

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