This is me (on the right) with my school friend Fanya Gurfinkel, (Chaban is her married name). The picture was taken in 1951 in Kishinev after we finished school. Fanya currently lives in Israel.
I finished seven grades of school. I was a good student. I was keen on literature and was an avid reader. I went to the library every other day. I was glued to books and ‘gulped them up.’ I read while walking, in a tram. They knew me and loved me in the library. My parents advised me to find a job after I had finished seven grades, as it was hard for them to keep me and my little sister. I talked about it in the library. The head of the library offered me a job there. First I was taught how to distribute books on shelves, hand out books, work with catalogues and soon I became a competent librarian. I finished evening school while I was working. The head of the library recommended me to enter a librarians’ school, located in the town of Soroki, not far from Kishinev. I passed the entrance exams successfully and I was enrolled for the second year of the extra-mural department. I worked in my library, and still read books in bouts. I took exams twice a year. After obtaining a diploma, I was appointed the senior librarian.
