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FIRST COLUMN
The Power of Books Katrin Kivimaa
The author reminds
us that together with the changes of social order often lists of banned
and disdained books are drawn. At the present we also confront a choice
what to take and what to leave from the publications of the occupational
times. But it may also be that the so-called ‘wrong’ books from which
we try to get rid of, for instance, by taking them to the dump, might
teach us something instead. Anyway, in English bookshops the works of
Marx and several Leninists are placed on special shelves.
COMMON TOPIC – SCHOOL LIBRARIES
School Libraries Want to Develop Themselves Ester Sõrmus
The
head of the School Libraries Section of the Estonian Librarians Association
in 1998–2001 summarises her three-year activities and stresses the present
sore points of Estonian school libraries. First and foremost, the school
libraries lack the development plan and coordinated management; and the
level of school libraries differs to a great extent – depending on the
school administration and acquisition opportunities. The author also touches
upon the problems arising from the joining of school and public libraries
and explains the risks it brings along. It is important to keep in mind
the fact that a school library has, first and foremost, educational functions
and goals.
The Library of Tallinna Reaalkool Kiira Petser
This
short article compares the former and the new library premises of a famous
Realgümnasium in Tallinn. Because the just finished premises are
not yet completely ready for library activities, the author recollects
the times of renovation work and moving the collection. The date of founding
the library is considered to be 16 September 1949.
The School’s Learning Centre Lembi Plukk
The library
of Tallinn Humanitarian Gümnasium is considered to be the best school
library in the town. It was opened together with the school in 1977. The
establisment of classes for extra learning of German in 1978 and including
the classical languages and culture history into the curriculum in 1988
has largely determined the acquisition areas. As a result of the rearrangement
of school space distribution in 1997, a learing centre was developed which
includes a library, a reading room, a computer classroom and a video classroom.
Computer lessons already begin in the first forms; in the video room pupils
watch video films and slide programmes. The school has the Internet connection;
one of the computers is located in the teachers room, another in the corridor
of the first forms’ classrooms. The library uses a library system, Kirjasto
3000.
RESEARCH LIBRARIES
Using the Library without the Help of Others Kaie Viigipuu
The article reviews the user training activities at the Estonian university
libraries. A questionnaire was performed in six of such libraries, the
five of which already provide systematic user training. The questionnaire
included the concept, forms, contents and feedback of user training, as
well as the library’s relations with the university. User training was
mostly understood as the library introduction, the provision of basic
training for information retrieval, compiling the lists of used sources,
an library consultation work. The widespread forms of user training are
a library using course or a training course in the computer class, a library
tour, a lecture, publications and the Web-based distant training courses.
The libraries would mostly like to expand their user training activities
as well as to make them obligatory for the readers (today solely at the
Tallinn Technical University). The feedback has predominantly been positive
or never asked. A user trainer’s potential to do and his/her professional
training for pedagogical work was emphasised.
This all depends how important does a library consider the user training
to be and does it succeed in finding capable and interested people for
this work. And last but not least, it also is part of the library marketing.
It is clear that today the user training cannot be a marginal area of
library work any more. The author sees the necessity for the cooperation
and further training of the specialist of the field.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
The Kõrveküla Library in the Refection of Time Merike
Karolin
Its predecessor, the Library of Tartu Region, was founded in
23 December 1951. The author provides an overview, illustated with many
facts, how the library has had to change its name and location over time.
SPECIAL LIBRARIES
The Best Estonian Parish Library Krista Talvi and Ruth
Hiie
During the Year of the Estonian Book a contest for the best parish
library was held with an aim to encourage the reestablishment of parish
libraries. About twenty congregations responded, though only 15 took part
in the the contest. Though the winner was not announced, the committee
got an adequate overview of the Estonian ecclesiastical libraries. The
earliest parish library in Estonia is considered to be founded by Aleksander
Ludvig Baumann at Karuse in 1842. In the mid 1930s the Consistory of the
Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church initiated the organisation of parish
libraries. For example, 79 congregations of the existing 166 maintained
a library in 1937. The measures to reestablish the meanwhile forgotten
parish libraries have been taken from the 1990s.
BOOK HISTORY
Patkuliana in the National Library of Estonia Sirje Lusmägi
The
article treats the opposition of Johann Reinhold von Patkul (1660–1707),
born to the Livonian German gentry, and the Swedish authorities and the
reflection of their conflict in the printed word. This includes the books
published during Patkul’s lifetime and shortly after his execution. The
opposition began when the Swedish government initiated a plan to take
back some of the land formerly given to the Baltic gentry as a gift. Patkul
was a representative of the Livonian Landtag in Stockholm. He was too
much aggressive in his quest for justice and was sentenced to death behind
his back by the authorities as a rebel. Later, Patkul devoted his life
to strenghtening the anti-Swedish coalition using his high positions at
Augustus II the Strong, king of Poland and elector of Saxony, and Tsar
Peter I; he is considered to be one of the initiators of the Great Northern
War (1700–1721). Following the Treaty of Altranstädt, the Saxons
extradited him to the Swedes who executed him. The Swedish authorities
and Patkul both actively used printed word to spread their views and decry
the opponent. Patkul published document collections which were to prove
the right of the Livonian gentry to their land and privileges as well
as an anti-Swedish political pamphlet. Stockholm answered with burning
Patkul’s publications and publishing material which discredited him. When
Patkul was put to death in an extremely cruel way, he became a political
martyr and the amount of written pieces which treated him grew. Several
historical research papers, novels, plays, even a collection of anecdotes
was published for which a concept of Patkuliana already emerged in the
19th century. The article takes a close look at the Patkuliana documents
in the Rare Book Collection of the National Library of Estonia, also describing
the ownership marks and handwritten comments in the copies. It includes
a longer descrption of a continuation on history, Gespräche in dem
Reiche derer Todten..., which presents Johann Reinhold von Patkul’s meeting
a well-known contempory, Georg Heinrich von Görtz, a baron (Freiherr)
who was a key financial and diplomatic adviser to King Charles XII of
Sweden, among the shades.
STATISTICS
Basic Statistical Indicators of Estonian Public Libraries in 2000
Heli Priimets and Margit Jõgi
The user services have increased every year. In 2000 Estonian public
libraries served 104,605 registered users more than in 1994. The growth
rate of library visits is constantly high – compared with the year 1999,
it was 9.6% higher in 2000. The number of library loans increased from
1992 to 1999; its decrease in 2000 was related to the shift to the new
basis for statistical accounting – from 1 January 2000 the in-library
use of documents is no longer considered a library loan.
In 2000 Estonian public libraries averagely had 1.5 computers; the average
in central libraries was the highest – 15.6 computers – and the lowest
– 0.7 computers – in children’s libraries. Library software was used by
195 public libraries (34% of Estonian libraries of general use). 213 libraries,
e.g. 37% of Estonian public libraries had the Internet connection.
RECENT LITERATURE ON LIBRARIANSHIP
THE ANSWER PLACE
Mati Sirkel, Anne Valmas and Kersti Tiik about the Literature which
Was Selected for the 100 Books which Have Influenced the Estonian Life
Most
Mati Sirkel, the Chairman of theUnion of Estonian Writers, Anne
Valmas, the Director of the Estonian Academic Library, and Kersti Tiik,
the Head of the Exhibitions Services Department of the National Library
of Estonia, answer to the editor’s question ‘Does the literature which
was selected for the exhibition 100 Books which Have Influenced the Estonian
Life Most deserve to be called the Golden Library of Estonians. To sum
up, they consider the selection miscellaneous.
ESTONIAN HISTORY OF IDEAS
Aspel – Was He a Classic or Was He Not Maie Kalda
The
author introduces a collection, Kirjad Pariisist (Letters from Paris),
by Aleksander Aspel (1908–1975), an Estonian literary researcher, which
was published in the series, Eesti mõttelugu (Estonian History
of Ideas). The 1930s should be considered the golden age for Aspel, and
for the Estonian literary criticism as a whole. Aspel who had close connections
with the French literature and cultural space (he taught the Estonian
language in Paris and was later, from 1946, a lecturer of the French language
and culture in the United States) was, besides being an elitist, a wonderful
popular educator. His aim was to mediate the French culture in the Estonian
languge that he, indeed, practiced in many ways as the reviewed collection
shows.
MARKET PENETRATION OF LIBRARIES
Critical Success Factors in Libraries Aira Lepik
The
article reviews the critical success factors approach for an organisation’s
performance measurement and analysis. The critical success factors is
an area where an organisation should definitely gain success to be efficient.
The article analyses the use of critical success factors in the information
science studies, relating the need to determine the success factors above
all with the management by results and strategic development plans of
a library.
ESTONIAN LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION
The Conference Valuable Literature in a School Library Vaike Kurel
An
overview of the conference Valuable Literature in a School Library – the
Educator of a Civilized Nation at the National Library of Estonia, 27
April 2001, primarly attended by school librarians and the teachers of
the Estonian language.
NEWS
About the Council of Estonian Public Libraries
Proceeding from
the Public Libraries Act, a consultative organ, the Council of Public
Libraries, which advises the library councellor of the Ministry of Culture
was established on 15 January 1998. The Council gathered the librarians’
opinions of the developments in Estonian public libraries in the near
future, the most frequent of which are presented in this overview.
An Estonian Research Libraries Meeting at Kääriku
The
regular winter seminar of Estonian research libraries at Kääriku
took place on 12–13 March. This year it focused on the development activities
of research libraries, and the functional problems of the ILS INNOPAC
and the electronic catalogue ESTER.
The Meeting of the Research Board of the National Library of Estonia
The
goal of the NLE Research Board is to coordinate the research and development
work in the areas of librarianship, book research, informatics and related
fields. Here a brief overview is given of the Board’s meeting on 16 April
2001. At the meeting the basic principles of MIPROM (Mercuri International
Project Management System) as well as the M.A. thesis of the National
Library of Estonia employees who had obtained their degree at the Tallinn
Pedagogical University were introduced and the core and supportive processes
of the National Library of Estonia were discussed.
The Upgrading of the Estonian Libraries Database ESTER
The author
introduces the changes in the Tallinn server of ILS INNOPAC.
The Closure of the Year of the Estonian Book
The Central Committee
of the Estonian Book Year held the closing conference of the Year of Estonian
Book , From a Cloister to the Internet, in Pärnu on 5–6 April. The
conference drew the conclusions of the vast scope of the fields lying
between the ecclasiastical literature and the Internet. Philosophers,
historians, book history researchers, politicians, literary researchers,
and others presented their different kind of papers. The optimism towards
the future of the book was general.
Richard Antik Day
The events to celebrate the 100th anniversary
of Richard Antik, a distinguished Estonian book researcher and bibliographer,
at the Estonian Literary Museum are introduced.
The Estonian Children’s Literature Information Centre, an Estonian
children’s magazine, Hea Laps, the Estonian Librarians Association and
Estonian Student Council Union launched a project, Lugemine lubatud (Reading
Permitted), which began on 1 February 2001 and will end on 1 February
2003. The project aims to investigate the situation of the libraries of
Estonian basic schools and find ways to solve the problems related to
the children’s reading possiblities.
The children’s literature round table of the year 2001 met at
the Estonian Children’s Literature Information Centre. The round table
addressed the public with a standing point that the Republic of Estonia
lacks official policy for children’s culture and the chidren’s literature
is not valued on the national level.
The Estonian Children’s Literature Information Centre’s project and
the Muhv prize
On 5 May the Estonian Children’s Literature Information
Centre awarded the Muhv Prize (Muhv (Muff) is a character from a children’s
book, Naksitrallid (Three Jolly Fellows), by an Estonian writer, Eno Raud)
to Krista Kumberg, a bibliographer at the Children’s Department of the
Central Library of Lääne County. The prize is given for the
best children’s publications and treaties of reading habits of Estonian
children of the two recent years.
Congratulations: Virve Ennosaar – 75
A merited librarianship
developer, Virve Ennosaar, who has been at the services of the National
Library of Estonia for a long time celebrated her 75th birthday on 19
May 2001.
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