Remembering †Jānis Krēsliņš, Sr. (1924–2021)

Abstract

Jānis Krēsliņš, Sr., was born and received his early education in Mālpils (German: Lemburg), Latvia. With the end of World War II, he fled to Austria, and hence to West Germany where he studied history, art, and library science at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He completed his graduate studies in library science at Columbia University, New York. Krēsliņš served as Bibliographer and Reference Librarian for the Council on Foreign Relations, New York (1955–92), and as an erudite Consultant for Baltic (Latvian and Lithuanian) History and Publications, The New York Public Library, Slavic and Baltic Division (1985–2008). In 1994, Krēsliņš facilitated The NYPL’s acquisition of the house collection of Helmārs Rudzītis (1903–2001), the well-known and successful publisher of Grāmatu Draugs [Friend of Books]. He was also instrumental in the creation of the first Latvian Book Fund at NYPL. Beginning in 1970, Krēsliņš reviewed books and articles on the history of the Baltic states for the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies Newsletter. He was elected a Foreign Member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Division of Social Sciences and Humanities, in recognition of his many publications on the history and literatures of the Baltic region and collections of poetry. In additional to all his attainments, Krēsliņš was a passionate collector of Lettica books, archives, and art. His son, Dr. Jānis Krēsliņš, Jr., is Senior Academic Librarian for Research Affairs at the National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket).