%i *' tvf ;% ^ *'Жа; EESTI RAHVUSRAAMATUKOGU NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ESTONIA HISTORY The history of the National Library of Estonia (NLE) begins õn December 21, 1918, when the Government of the Estonian Republic passed a law creating the State Library with the aim of collecting printed matter essential for governing the new state. The core collection of the State Library was about 2 OOG books that had belonged to various departments of the local Russian provincial government and the readers were primarily members of the new parliament and the staff of government institutions. The library was housed in two small rooms in the building of the Riigikogu (Parliament), in a wing of Toompea Castle in Tallinn. Ln the time of the independent Republic of Estonia the library developed and grew quickly. Ln the summer of 1919, the library began to receive a legal deposit copy of all printed matter published in Estonia. The first foreign exchange agreements were made in 1921. Ln 1935 Estonia celebrated the 400th anniversary of the first book in Estonian known at that time - a catechism by Wanradt-Koell. The same year saw the founding of the Mandatory Deposit Collection of Estonian Printed Matter and the systematic acquisition of literature concerning Estonia and the Baltics began. By the end of the 1930’s, judging by the size and composition of its collections as well as readership, the State Library had become much more than a government library. The number of items in the collection reached about 50 000 and the readership comprised several outstanding intellectuals, cultural, and public figures. The construction of a new library building was under consideration but due to the beginning of World War LL it was not carried out. Ln the Soviet period the library was known under the näme of the State Library of the Estonian SSR. Along with the change in näme, the role of the library changed considerably: the bidk of Estonian and foreign publications were placed under restricted access, foreign contacts were cut off and Russian publications (received mostly as manadtory all-union deposit copies) gained predominance. Despite strong ideological pressure, the bulk of Estonian publications was saved from destruction thanks to its status as a research library. Ln 1953, tbe State Library was named after Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, an outstanding public figure of the National Awakening Period of Estonia and author of the Estonian national epic poem "Kalevipoeg". By 1953, the collection of the library already reached a million items. The liberation movement that begun in the Baltic countries in the second half of the 1980’s as well as the restoration of the independent Republic of Estonia õn August 20, 1991 considerably changed the role of the library. Ln 1988, the Fr. R. Kreutzwald State Library was renamed the National Library of Estonia. Lts primary aim is to collect, store, and make publicly accessible printed matter published in Estonia, in Estonian, and about Estonia. Ln 1989, the National Library of Estonia regained its status as a parliamentary library being responsible for serving the information needs of the parliament and government. This dual function evolved from the historical development of the library and tbe construction of a specially designed library building at Tõnismägi, completed in 1993. The Republic of Estonia and the National Library of Estonia were born in the same year -1918. The development of the library reflects the joys and tragedies of the Estonian nation. The history of the National Library has been the history of our aspirations to have a home of our own. September 11,1993 has gone into Estonian history as the inauguration day of the National Library of Estonia. The flags of all the counties of Estonia, displayed in the foyer of the main building, wiil always remind us of our obligations to each individual in Estonia, as well as our duties in the overall development of the country. This day denotes not only the completion of the building but also the readiness of the National Library to have a say in the future of our people and in the destiny of our country. The results of our work wiil truly be assessed by future generations. —■ a national library with the aim of collecting, storing and making publicly accessible the printed matter published in Estonia, in Estonian, or about Estonia regardless of their place of publication. — a parliamentary library with the aim of providing information services to the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu), to the government, and to governmental institutions. — a public library serving everybody regardless of äge or citizenship. — an information centre providing information to various institutions as well as individuals. a cultural centre where various book and art exhibitions äre held along with concerts, conferences and other cultural activities. —■ a professional development centre for librarians with the aim of collecting and storing publications õn librarianship as well as serving all individuals interested in these materials. The centre also organizes advanced training courses. IMJMHU ■— a book research centre pursuing research in librarianship and information sciences and responsible for related development activities. — a centre for research õn book preservation and conservation in Estonia. — a centre for the compilation of the union catalogues of foreign books, journals, and databases acquired by Estonian libraries. — a national statistical centre õn book publishing and õn Estonian libraries. — a publisher of material õn book science and librarianship as well as other informational publications. — the national ISSN, ISBN, and ISSM agency. — a place where the Estonian Librarians Association is located and where the only Estonian scolarly publication for librarians, the journal Raamatukogu (Library) is published. By the turn of the century the Estonian book wiil be nearly 500 years old. This time period can be considered both long and short. But for a small nation of one million that has been under foreign rule for centuries, it certifies the strength of its national culture. One of the main functions of the National Library of Estonia is to collect Estonian literature. In 1995, the Mandatory Deposit Collection of the NLE celebrated its 60th anniversary. This is a collection of publications aiming at collecting and preserving printed matter written in Estonian, related to Estonia or printed in Estonia. In 1935 when the collection was founded, a procedure was enforced in the State Library that one copy of each publication printed in Estonia be deposited there. Books published before this date as well as publications printed outside Estonia were acquired either by purchase or as gifts. The present Mandatory Deposit Collection comprises separate collections for books, journals and pamphlets, acquired by the library as mandatory deposit copies. As a rule only one copy of each publication is preserved in the Mandatory Deposit Collection. There äre exceptions to this rule and sometimes books äre acquired in several copies due to différencies in bookbinding and design, as well as due to autographs, signatures, impressions and ex-librises of Estonian dignitaries in different copies. Estonian national literature published over the centuries is recorded in the national bibliography, the compilation of which is one of the main tasks of a national library. The National Library of Estonia compiles and publishes — the current national bibliography of Estonian books õn the basis of the mandatory copy deposited to the library. It is published as a quarterly "The National Bibliography of Estonia. Books", and as a monthly "New Estonian Books". — the current national bibliography of Estonian art publications and sheet music. — the current analytical national bibliography of Estonian press articles "ARTIKLID." — "ESTONICA", the bibliography of publications related to Estonia, published outside the country. —■ the analytical retrospective national bibliography of Estonian press articles. Like the history of Estonia, the retrospective national bibliography of Estonia needs to be revised. For this purpose the National Library of Estonia cooperates with other research libraries in Estonia: the Library of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, the Tartu University Library, and the Archive Library of the Museum of Literature. As a result of this cooperation several volumes of the retrospective Estonian national bibliography have been published. The NLE houses the national statistical centre õn book publishing that compiles Estonian publication statistics under the UNESCO recommendations. The statistical data õn Estonian books and periodicals publishing is sent to the State Statistical Office of Estonia and to the UNESCO. In 1989, the National Library of Estonia regained its initial main function - that is to be a parliamentary library. In 1993, the Reference and Information Analysis Centre was established to provide library and information services to the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament). The tasks of the Centre äre stated in the Law õn the National Library. The Reference and Information Analysis Centre — provides information and reference services to the Riigikogu and the staff of government institutions in the Reference Reading Room, the Law Reading Room (both located in the main NLE building) and in the Parliamentary Reading Room (located in Toompea Castle). As the National Library is open to the general public, it provides reference services to everybody, although priority is given to members of Parliament