Change course: How I quit physics and began to manage the library
IN RUBRIC "BUSINESS" we introduce readers to women of different professions and hobbies that we like or are simply interested in. This time, Tatyana Novoselova became our heroine, having passed the path from hereditary physicist to library manager No. 3 named after. N. A. Dobrolyubova.
The science
I am a hereditary physicist: my parents are physicists, university professors. So when I was growing up, no other options for my future were discussed. My father always said that if you manage to do physics, then you have to do it - every other fool can do the rest. Although from my youth I had a tendency towards literature — who did not indulge in verses like that! Literature and languages were more interesting to me than physics and mathematics, but in my family it was considered self-indulgence, so there was no choice. I had to enter the Physics Department in Yekaterinburg, the same one where my parents studied. Such is the toxic familial.
At twenty-five, I was already a Ph.D. at the Institute of Metal Physics, the largest academic institute in the Urals. By the standards of the industry, this is a very fast growth; few people at that age make so much of a successful career. But at the same time I understood: well, I am already a young candidate, maybe by the age of thirty, I will become a young doctor. So, what is next? The feeling that I was cooking in an unpromising, aging industry did not leave.
The breakthrough came when I first appeared abroad at a scientific conference. I suddenly saw this gulf between science here and science there - not to mention the financial situation of scientists and their status in society. I remember well how I returned to my own scientific research institute and understood that I had to do something. She began to systematically look for work in the West. By that time, it was already in trend - I was not a pioneer.
From physics to lyrics
I traveled to several interviews in different countries, but stopped at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland. As I was later told, the competition was a hundred people in place. It was a shocking experience. For the first six months, I lived with the thought that if I could cope with this, then everything else in my life would die. Although Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, for me it was rather a province. There were practically no immigrants from Russia - it was a shock to my social skills. I remember when I heard Bulgarian speech on the street, which remotely resembled Russian, I just approached these people and almost threw themselves at their necks - it touched me to such an extent.
When I hear that a person knows everything about himself, I answer: "No, you do not know anything about yourself until you try to live in emigration." In actual fact it is a synonym for isolation. The most important thing that happened to me in the UK is a reappraisal, not of values, but of myself, my abilities and capabilities. It was one of the most powerful emotions in my life when I suddenly found my place in the world.
I lived in Belfast for two years, and when my contract ended, I moved to Liverpool. There was my second transition - in Liverpool, I ceased to be a scientist. However, at first I went down the simplest path - I began to manage educational and innovative programs at the same university where I was engaged in science. But soon I began to feel that this was also a waste of time. I wanted to do something in the culture, and only Russian.
I failed to study Russian culture in England. For the last couple of years I tried to do some projects in Manchester and London, but nothing came of it. I think, apart from my incompetence, it was also a lack of interest. Actually, in the end they told me so: they are happy to do the Arabic or Chinese festival, but they are not interested in Russian culture.
Independent Designer
All the time that I lived abroad, I regularly went to Moscow. And on one of my trips in 2012, it suddenly seemed to me that Moscow had changed a lot, had become an incredibly interesting city. I went to some kind of event, there was a woman there who said she was an “independent designer”. I then looked at her with all my eyes and thought: "Does it happen?" It seemed to me that only officials are engaged in culture in Russia. But I saw completely different people, and for me it was very important. I began to realize that something could be done here, and it is worth it to give up a prosperous life abroad, with a good salary, social status and a serene existence. Six months later, in 2013, I moved to Moscow.
At first there was the euphoria of the city and the situation around, but I did not see my place here. I attended interesting events, met people, went to study at the "School of Creative Entrepreneurs". There I formulated my first project and received a very high rating for it. It inspired me greatly, but, nevertheless, it was completely incomprehensible what to do with it.
By that time, I knew some of the employees of the Marina Tsvetaeva House Museum and its then director. It so happened that she proposed to make a project for the City Day. I had to do everything from scratch: look for a team, select performers, build a structure. We shot a short film, made a projection and an accompanying program. It was wonderful - I liked not only the result, but also the type of work itself. As a result, I stayed in the museum for about two years, having made, in addition to current events, a large-scale multimedia project "Housewarming". He received a museum grant from the V. Potanin Foundation and a great response among viewers and journalists.
From Tsvetaeva to Furtseva and Dobrolyubov
Thanks to designing at the Tsvetaeva Museum, I realized that culture management is exactly what I am interested in, from which I get the most out of it. The library seemed to be a logical continuation of my studies - besides, the passion for literature still required an exit.
Many complain that libraries cease to be automata issuing books and turn into cultural centers. It seems to me that this, on the contrary, is wonderful; books alone do not attract people. I myself often read in electronic format, because the modern lifestyle does not allow carrying paper editions with me. A very small percentage of people go to the library for books. Why then go? For the atmosphere, for the events, for the possibilities to reflect and self-realize. I have experience in two libraries: the name Furtseva and the name Dobrolyubov. In each of them I tried to find something unique - after all, a person should come to us purposefully, and not just because this is the closest place to him.
When I was the head of the Furtseva library, one of the topics we began to develop was feminism. Of course, Furtseva was not a feminist, I think she never even thought about it in her life. But it seemed to us that it was the “non-traditional” role for a woman that could become a symbol of our center. As we then joked, three "f": Furtseva, Frunzenskaya (the library was located near the metro station "Frunzenskaya"), feminism. We brought there the Russian feminist association "ONA", which still holds events there twice a month.
Now I am in charge of the Dobrolyubov Library, and I want to make an intellectual center of it. “Interpretation of texts” is a kind of slogan for our mission, and Dobrolyubov, as a figure in the general literary and cultural plan, resonates perfectly with this. All our projects are aimed at ensuring that libraries began to play an active role in the literary process. One of the standard formats of events that are held in libraries is a meeting with the authors. How are we fundamentally different from a bookstore? We stand at the end of the literary process - everything has already happened, everything has already made its choice, there is a result: "These are cool books."
Recently, we launched the successful, in my opinion, “Envy” cycle - it’s about the fact that you need to acquaint the reader not only with already known, but also with young authors. In no case do I want to diminish the virtues of the masters, but all the time we see and hear the same names, as if we don’t have others. But this is not true. It turned out that the library may well become a place of attraction for new names. The library is neutral: it does not represent neither publishing houses, nor writers, nor a literary magazine - the focus is on readers. We want the reader to be interested.
About modern man
Despite all the successful projects, I occasionally had thoughts of returning to the West; we are the people to doubt ourselves. It is always easier to return than to go further - I learned this lesson while still in emigration. However, it seems to me that we must look not only at ourselves, but also outside. A truly modern person thinks not only about personal gain, but also about what he can change for the sake of others.
Cover:Anastasia Zamyatina
