The Library's Slavic & Baltic Division was established as a Slavic and Baltic vernacular-language collection in 1898, and a number of its exchange partnerships with libraries, universities and research institutes in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union date back to this period. The Division currently maintains exchange relationships with approximately 195 institutions.

Languages represented include 13 Slavic languages (Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Belarusan, Slovenian, Macedonian, Sorbian or Lusatian, Church Slavonic, Romanian imprints in Cyrillic script), and two Baltic languages (Latvian, Lithuanian). Unlike most other Slavic and East European collections in the United States, the Division's holdings do not include Estonian, Hungarian, Albanian, Romanian, Caucasian or Central Asian vernacular-language materials. Titles in these languages are held in other library divisions. The collection grows through purchase, exchange and gift by some 10,000 items per year.

Existing Partners in the Region: 195 libraries, universities and research institutes in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.