The Yearbooks of the Estonian Librarians Association 2011

Preface

What were the most important features of Library Year 2011? The time is over when the library’s role was clearly defined. Now, as bearers of culture and supporters of freedom of information, we compete in the big market. The fight for survival has a fresh impetus. We wish to become more visible in the field of culture, to offer more contemporary (e-)services and to receive state support and funding. It is not difficult to guess why marketing is playing a growingly significant role in this process. The important keywords of the year were marketing and public relations with several seminars, meetings and an International Conference focussing on this theme. Not even the motto for Library Days "Let`s meet in the library!" was selected arbitarily as it reflected the awareness towards transforming libraries into community centres, places where people can enjoy culture and spend their leisure time. Libraries have always had this function, but today library space as a means of marketing is becoming increasingly more important than the essence of a library. Our customers would like sofas in the library, they want to drink a cup of coffee and they are looking for more activities… Paradoxically enough, this year’s focal point was a debate on the very essence of libraries, book acquisition policy – do we stock books that sell or books of literary merit? Inflamed by the media, the whole discussion took on both political and nationwide dimensions. History repeats itself and there is nothing new in the fact that political power tries to seize control over the acquisition policy of libraries. Let’s leave the appreciation of literary matter to every reader and let’s hope together with Toomas Kiho that a "belief in reading is a cornerstone to preserve as a nation of culture". Hannu Sulin, Counsellor for Cultural Affairs in the Ministry of Education and Culture, writes about the cooperation between libraries and the state in Finland.

Katre Riisalu has been appointed as the new President of the Estonian Librarians Association, a unifying professional body for librarians whose development plan has a particular focus on innovation and on strengthening the organisation. To maintain continuity both within the ELA and the profession as a whole, we have to ensure appropriate succession at libraries. Who are our young colleagues? What are they thinking of and what are they writing about? Why do young people remain indifferent to ELA? Is there any hope that, in addition to Ex-club, a youth section will be established? To get some idea of the implications of these issues, we opened a new youth column in the Yearbook and hopefully the voice of these young colleagues will resonate with the readers in forthcoming publications.

Many thanks to all the authors of Yearbook 2011 and the people who helped to compile the yearbook: Kaie Holm, Triinu Seppam, Ivika Türkson, Kristina Pai and Reet Olevsoo.

Kaie Viigipuu-Kreintaal, May 2012

 

About Reading and Writing

Toomas Kiho, JournalAkadeemia (Academy), Editor

In the Soviet times there was a didactic saying: don’t think; if you think, don’t speak; if you speak, don’t write; if you write, don’t sign; if you sign, don’t be surprised.

Texts like Our striped Pussy's eyes were shining, ... bade the children come, read quick. Whosoever could not read, Pussy told them they must heed. But who read well as they should, got a treat for they were good.“[1]are even more important in the context of reading and writing.

An old-established belief that Estonian nation is a nation who holds faith in reading is comprised in this simple children’s song. A belief in reading is a corner stone to preserve as a nation of culture.

Although Estonians are often referred to as a singing nation, as well as IT- and technology nation, the written word seems to be closest to the Estonian heart. We believe that a word once written down or typed, must be true. A long tradition is behind this trust – written word in Estonian sprung up from the translations of religious texts. Generation after generation alphabet has been learned and written knowledge acquired by reading the catechism.

Hence the liability of written word: people tend to accept everything written down to be true. Countermeasure is critical reading, our trust in written word must be critical.

What is the mission of schooling and education in the field of reading and writing? We go to school to learn to read and write. This applies to the era of eSchool, as well.

At present the balance between reading and writing is dislocated due to two factors. The first being the change of the political system, a transition to market economy, that took place twenty years ago. The importance of books in our homes and our relation to libraries has changed. The end of the era of forbidden books played even more significant part. This meant change in ideas and intellectuality.We had to face different circumstances: suddenly everything was permitted and could be published freely.

The second and even more important change is the rapid development of new technologies. Blogs and etceteras enable to produce innumerable amounts of written texts. The rise of new media has brought about revolutions, coups etc.

Not the amount of written material is primary, but the precondition for writing – thinking is! Most recognizable of the changes is the fact that you needn’t even think before you write something down. In the vast internet you can easily publish even most absurd things.

The act of reading is vanishing. Not only in the sense that in case everybody is writing there is no one who has time to read. The point is that reading is the precondition for writing.

Is it possible for texts that matter collectively to spring up in this multiplicity of titles? We have our beloved authors whose writings and characters are widely known. Andrus Kivirähk, for example. Journalism, on the other hand, helps to produce this kind of common cultural space. So the possibility, that some of the written texts will sink into our collective cultural memory, remains.

All the texts, either original texts or translations, we add to Estonian litarary space consolidate Estonian written culture and make it more resistible. The thicker the cultural layer the more distinctly every new text relates to former creations.

The amount of texts is not sufficient to create correlations. There must be someone (librarians, or knowledgeable readers, for example)with educated literary mind to recognize more and less important texts, to associate already published texts with new publications. That is why education is necessary...

Oasis in the Desert of Loneliness

Rein Veidemann, Literary Scholar, Writer, Journalist

When in autumn 2011 a decision to reserve a certain sum of money from the means of acquiring books for public libraries to purchase contemporary Estonian literature and journals on culture was accepted in the Ministry of Culture, it was to be understood as a state supported preparatory care taking for the welfare of the readers and the publishers. A writer has also the right to make profit on larger print-runs. Actually, not a single author in Estonia is able to make a living as a full time freelance novelist and it is useless to hope that authors will get any financial gain from government approved acquisition lists. But a lot of books may appear in public libraries which the readers are unwilling to borrow.

Distrust can be sensed behind government prescriptions. The state would like to see libraries as reading schools appreciating only classical- and elite literature. The state is not willing to spend taxpayers’ money on littering the bookshelves of libraries with trashy romance novels by writers like Barbara Cartland. This is called the syndrome of Barbara Cartland and is also known as the syndrome of Rein Lang. First and foremost it creates the impression that libraries are used as instruments of power, which was characteristic of Soviet totalitarianism.

Never before in the history of Estonia has the choice of books from the variety of title, class and genre been so rich, but paradoxically, the number of active readers forms a bit more than 20% of all the population of Estonia. Today television and internet are the major channels for most people to enjoy culture.

According to literary scholar Janika Kronberg, besides the loneliness of the authors and literature, also the readers barricade themselves into a kind of narrow circle. Women have always dominated in Estonian reading culture, which has helped the women’s fiction to secure its position.

While in the 1990s libraries carried a social function in many respects, the beginning of the 21st century due to improving circumstances brought about the recovery of libraries’ position as cultural institutions, as a place to meet and communicate with people. Library is like oasis in the desert of loneliness, the nodal point of human transit, the source of infiniteness of the mind – as long as written culture exists.

 

Collections and Politics

Kristina Pai, University of Tartu Library, Director of Collection Development

Forming their collections, memory institutions depend on political frameworks. How the political influences will echoe in the coming decades, depends upon political wisdom. In the political whirlwinds Estonian libraries have been deprived of the first books in Estonian which were destroyed, as well as a number of unique collections were destroyed systematically during the Soviet era. Intelligent policy will contribute to the development and preservation of collections, including the titles which are removed from sale for a variety of reasons. Legal Deposit Copy Act establishes that a deposit copy of all publications will be preserved.

What are the relationships between libraries and politics today? A number of rules regulating the work of libraries are supported by law. Consequently, libraries are standing on solid ground. This article observes different laws affecting the work of libraries. In most cases legislation gives general guidance only, leaving the final decision either to the librarian or a specialist. In some cases libraries are given detailed regulations governing conduct. Sometimes political decisions that affect the development of collections and also the users are made without consulting a specialist. From the viewpoint of many government officials the state is not obliged to finance public libraries. Financial support is the responsibility of local municipalities. The possible effects of this policy can be unpredictable.

The position of libraries in the society must be firmly established, while library represents a democratic institution accessableto everyone free of charge. In addition to providing reading materials, library offers a possibility to use computers, communicate, enjoy exhibitions and other activities. The role of libraries is more important in times of economic hardship than in times of economic abundance: the library offers a possibility to stay in touch with life, keep up-to-date through lifelong learning, find fuel for the mind and enjoy reading, while some families have so little disposable income they can’t afford any books. Libraries play the role of community centres, which in its turn requires high competencies from librarians – the expectations of the readers are higher. In this situation it is important for the state to develop cooperation with libraries, acknowledge librarians and support collection development decisions.

 

Marketing Concept in Libraries: More Questions than Answers

Aira Lepik, Tallinn University Institute of Information Studies, Associate Professor

To be recognized and acknowledged by the target groups of the library, it is poignant to find opportunities to be present and to make yourself heard. Is marketing really a critical success factor for libraries? The article aims to contribute to the process of opinion formation and create opportunities for giving reasons for better marketing decisions.

The role of marketing in the context of libraries has been a constant focus since the 1970s. Still there seems to be some doubt about the role of library marketing as activity and research subject. Among possible causes are lack of knowledge in contemporary trends of marketing and readiness to apply marketing principles in everyday work. It is important to follow the latest trends and give attention to the adaption of marketing strategies so that it will work for the benefit of libraries.

Marketing can be described as a tool to increase return on investment (ROI). The analysis of ROI in libraries is justified as a possibility to prove the necessity of budget expenditures and to explain the taxpayers how the money provided by taxation has been used. The analysis of ROI allows the value and influence of libraries to be translated into the language understood by financers.

The return on investment of social media and the relationship between library’s economic indicators and marketing activity has come into focus of attention. Marketing your expertise, marketing through blogs, marketing yourself are the keywords describing the writings on the 21st century library marketing.

If we assume that relationship marketing and/or psychological-emotional marketing will be in the centre of interestof library marketing in the near future, then it will be important to focus on demand analysis. At the same time, it is important to analyse and estimate the influence of changing digital information environment to the marketing of library services and be prepared for changes dictated by the marketing of digital information resources.

 

Advocating Libraries Using National Strategies and Policies

Twin Cities Conference report, May 4th, 2011, Tallinn

Hannu Sulin, Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland, Counsellor of Cultural Affairs

In Finland the Ministry of Education and Culture guides the policy of public library system by designing strategies and establishing corresponding laws and policies for libraries. The municipalities are responsible for basic services, including library services. The article concentrates on municipal level and explains how national strategies and policies are used in advocating libraries.

It must be made clear to decision makers what is the advantage of public library services. In Finland the public library services are devided into basic and support services. The major function of public libraries now and in the future is to assure equal access to information and culture, help to improve equity in education and minimize the digital gap between people. The development of public libraries has been a part of the development of democracy.

For the first time public libraries are facing a challange where they have to compete for the attention of information seekers and cultural consumers. They have to provide some extra value that others don’t.

The aim of the Ministry is to give the libraries a clear framework, from which the libraries can choose their own priorities for local development and marketing. In Finland municipalities are very independent.

Region-wide cooperation is the pre-condition for creating and developing library- and information services, especially in the field of web services. To promote cooperation both, inner and outer barriers must be surpassed. Libraries must turn their inward focus outward.

 

Library Space as a Means of Marketing – Case: Designing the Library for Young People

Virpi Launonen, director of Mikkeli City Library (Southern Savo regional library)

Is library a stockroom for books or a living room for people – this is a problem many libraries in Finland are dealing with. Young people don’t visit libraries as often as before, which is something we really should be worried about. What is young peoples’ idea of a good library?

In Mikkeli we conducted a survey among young people to find out their knowledge of library services; their experiences, wishes and expectations concerning the library and what the future development of the library looks like.

The main conclusion was that the library as an interior is not attractive enough: pupils would like to have more sofas, the facilities should be more modern in general; the request to be silent irritates young people; there are too many books; there should be more books on display as reading tips; there should be more activities: clubs, workshops, events and a possibility to have a snack and to do homework.

After completing the survey we arranged the library festival Kirjavaa. The biggest event of the festival was the Living Library, with eight writers and one rap artist telling about their literary work. About 700 ninth-graders visited the Living Library during a day. An adventure game for “detectives” was organized, where children became familiar with the library building and different library materials. The music department staff was dressed up as famous pop/rock singers, and the pupils guessed who they could be. The local writers’ association organized a workshop on fantasy worlds.

In Mikkeli an existing school building is renovated. The building will also house a new Kalevankanga library. Pupils got their chance to have a say on how the library should look and what kind of services and activities there should be. One half of the library looks like the traditional library with book shelves. The other half consists of a computer room and a living room. In the living room there are sofas, TVs, Playstation and Wii.

With all this we want to refresh the dusty image of the library. We hope that giving the customers a chance to take part in the library planning process will make the library more attractive.

 

Open Access to Scientific Information

Merit Burenkov, University of Tartu Library, Open Access E-book Specialist

New solutions to distribute scientific information and improve the publishing processes have been seeked since the beginning of this century. The Internet enables instant and unrestricted access to information. Still part of the scientific information in the Internet is not accessible to the user. Considerable sums of money are to be paid to read certain onlinemagazines.

Three international statements, adopted in Budapest (2002), in Berlin (2003) and in Bethesdas (2003), provided a definition of Open Access (OA), a new unified concept of publishing scientific information.

The idea of the concept is to provide direct and free of cost access to taxpayer- funded scientific research via the Internet. The funding of the published results of research projects comes from grants. Thus scientists can have instant access to scientific information and use it in their own research work, provided that the author is properly cited.

Most publishers look upon the idea of Open Access with scepticism. They consider plagiarism a potential threat. Actually the works distributed freely are subject to proper attribution of authorship, similar to those published in traditional ways and plagiarism is not allowed.

Different licensing schemes have been worked out to define the guidelines of Open Access. International Creative Commonslicences are used mostly.

Open Access publications are not widely spread in Estonia and the total volume of Open Access scientific publications is still negligible worldwide. Putting Open Access into practice has been impeded by little awareness and a barrier of fear, on the one hand, and lack of certain regulations, on the other.

In the beginning of 2012, according to official regulations 136 institutions require the research papers to be made publicly available and 88 universities require the Doctorial theses to be published in Open Access.

Estonian State and its’ institutions have to work out a secure and explicit OA policy and set achievable future goals to support a global scientific knowledge base via Open Access.

 

Open Access to Scientific Information, Funding, Archival Libraries

Taivo Raud,Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, Ddeputy Manager of Research Policy Department

Open Access to scientific information

During the last few years’ internal and external factors have focused the attention of the Estonian state and the community of scientists on the question of Open Access to scientific information.

According to Research and Development Organisation Act (RDOA) research libraries are responsible for acquiring, preserving, processing and disseminating scientific information.

Still there is no direct enforcement in Estonian legislation to make Open Access to scientific information available. Being an OECD member, Estonia has to take into account general trends in Europe and worldwide and to react accordingly. International pressure to apply Open Access to scientific information in domestic policies is increasing and Estonia has to take concrete steps. It should be in the best interest of every author to make their publications as accessible as possible.

Estonian Research Council was established on the 1st of March 2012. The Council is responsible for assessing the availability of grant subsided scientific information, monitoring intellectual property creation and usage, observing the ethical issues and best practices in science.

The total funding for acquiring new knowledge in Estonia is growing and catching up the pre-crisis level or even surpassing it. The growth is mostly based on funding through EU Structural Funds. The University share of funding also needs to be restored.

Archival libraries

The amendment of RDOA entered into force on Jan. 1, 2012. By this amendment the regulation of archival libraries is excluded from the competence of RDOA. The development and permanent preservation of the complete collection of national cultural heritage archive is not the primary function of research and development organisation, but rather belongs to the area of culture with the aim to collect and preserve deposit copies. The corresponding tasks of the libraries are designated by the Legal Deposit Copy Act.

 

Impressions from the 9th Congress of Baltic Librarians CoBal9

Gerda Koidla, Tallinn University of Technology Library, Deputy Director

Twenty Estonian librarians took part in the 9th Congress of Baltic Librarians „Reading in Digital Age: New Partnerships and Services“, held in October 16–18 in Trakai.

The organizers asked the Estonian librarians to deliver reports on the situation of reading in Estonia and to introduce new ideas and projects in the following areas: how the definition of reading is changing in today’s society; new and attractive methods of creating a motivation towards reading; digital devices and their part in popularising reading; the role of libraries and their partners in developing new services and in strengthening the cooperation between publishers, writers and readers; healing reading – bibliotherapy; motivating children and changing their reading habits.

Eight reports were delivered by Estonian librarians, besides Kalju Tammaru conducted a workshop on children’s reading interests.

The president of ELA Katre Riisalu, reviewed the situation of reading in Estonia, relying upon Helin Puksandi’s brief report. She acquainted the Year of Reading 2010, the main goal of which was to bring reading into focus to balance the diminishing reading habits and introduced the results from the PISA survey in Estonia. The Estonian students took the 13th place in world competition in functional reading in 2006, 2009 and the 2nd place in Europe. The head of the North-Karelia Provincial Library in Finland, Rebekka Pilppula, reported that Finnish young people are on the 1st place in Europe in functional reading. The Finns spend about 45 minutes a day on reading and young people read even more than they did some time ago.

Michael Dowling from American Library Association claimed that in America the future belongs to e-books: 94% of scientific libraries, 72% of public libraries and 33% of school libraries offer e-book lending.

The head of Sauga library, Piia Salundi, introduced a digital library portal „E-Library – your nearest library“: the initiative of a small group of dedicated individuals who donate their free time to make Estonian literature available online. The portal is gathering popularity, especially among students and teachers.

Tiina Sulg from Tartu Public Library provided an overview of the social networks of the Estonian sci-fi community (See e-posti aadress on spämmirobotite eest kaitstud. Selle nägemiseks peab su veebilehitsejas olema JavaSkript sisse lülitatud., www.ulme.ee, Tartu Public Library’s blog of sci-fi experiences). Maire Liivamets from the National Library of Estonia described literary tours „Estonian writers in Estonian libraries“ and introduced a subsection of National Library’s website „Readings from Liivamets“ for readers who want to keep track of everything being published. On initiative of ELA a day of Estonian book is celebrated as part of the Library Days.

The reports delivered in the workshop guided by Kalju Tammaru demonstrated similar trends and concerns: how to bring children into the library and how to encourage reading. The future success of libraries depends on this basic task.

Triinu Seppam touched on the subject of e-book lending and reading environment for e-books. Tallinn Central Library will be the first public library in Estonia to start digital lending in 2012. Mike Maxwell from US firm Kirtas Technologies Inc demonstrated how digital library software YooLib quickly and easily enables to make the digital collections available and how the future technology Hyperbook creates 3D image of a book or a picture.

The next 10th Congress of Baltic Librarians will be held in 2015 in Latvia.

 

Media Institutions as Book Publishers in Estonia in the 1994–2009 Period

Signe Läns, Master of Social Science (Information Science)

Trends similar to global market, where media giants operate in numerous media industries, including book publishing, can be noted in Estonian media- and publishing market. The article is based on the master’s thesis devoted to an analysis of the activity of media institutions in book publishing in Estonia from 1994 through 2009 and the changes taken place during this period.

The position of media institutions in book publishing has not been as dominant in Estonia as it is in the English speaking markets. But proportionally the importance of media groups in book production is rising constantly. Companies such as Maaleht, Ajakirjade Kirjastus, Äripäeva Kirjastus, Eesti Ekspressi Kirjastus and Eesti Päevaleht are notable for their book production among other media institutions. Their publishings include mostly handbooks, followed by fiction and childrn’s literature. Handbooks form the majority among the publications of Maaleht, Ajakirjade Kirjastus and Äripäev. Fiction enjoys substantial growth among the publications of Eesti Päevaleht. Ajakirjade Kirjastus and Eesti Ekspress have published the majority of children’s books.

Research demonstrates a certain advantage that media institutions have among other publishers, as they can use their own publications as means of advertising.

Today three of the media companies analysed in the article have consolidated their book publishing units into a new company named Hea Lugu OÜ.

 

Folksonomy Application in Digital Collections of Art Museums

Julia Püsiäinen, Master of Social Science (Information Science)

A new term folksonomy became popular on the Web around 2000. The article gives a brief overview of folksonomy and its application in tagging the digital collections of art museums.

The term folksonomy is a combination of two words: folks – people, folk, and taxonomy – a science which classifies and systematizesobjects by hierarchical relations. Social classificatio and social indexing are also synonyms to folksonomy. The development of Web 2.0, where user-generated web content is described by tags, contributed to the emergence of folksonomy. Folksonomy is applicable in commercial websites as well as in far more informative sites connected with work and science.

Traditionally vocabularies of terms and hierarchical relations are used in indexing and the documents are described by dedicated professionals. In folksonomy the categories and terminology exhaustively reflecting the needs of the users is applied. A great advantage of folksonomy is the possibility to tag nontextual documents. This can’t be done automatically and therefore their findability by search engines is hampered.

The development of web- and information technologies through last decade has the impact on art museums, the museum collections are made available on-line. Works of art mostly receive their significance through the thoughts that cluster around them. Thus folksonomy helps to create the context and bridges the semantic gap in the vocabularies of an art specialist and a common user in the digital environment. According to their own cognitive experience the users can enter any tags they want to associate with a work of art.

Many art museums, e. g. Cleveland Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Indianapolis Art Museum, Smithsonian Photography Initiative (USA), Städel Museum (Germany), McCord Museum (Canada), Powerhouse Museum (Australia), have started to apply folksonomy in their digital collections.

The research of the possibilities of using folksonomy in the digital collection was carried out in the Art Museum of Estonia in 2010-2011. Research showed that tagging in the digital collection has been chaotic and insufficient, there are no thesauri for description of works of art in Estonia. The experiment showed many similarities in the way tagging was done by the participants and by the professional museum cataloguer: both tagged the visual elements of an image. Besides, the participants described the social, cultural and emotional background they associated with the image. The keyword descriptions of the artefacts were divided into eight categories: nouns, adjectives, verbs, authors, titles, geographical locations, terms, phrases. Classic problems of folksonomy were present: synonymy, polysemy, orthography, use of abbreviations, plural vs. singular, ambiguity of the tags.

Finding out the preferences of the users, the principles and categories of tagging with keywords can be determined. This could prepare the ground for working out a thesaurus in the field of art. It also gives the museums a better idea of user-centered interpretation of visual art and helps to concentrate on the needs of the user.

 

Time for Changes

Kristel Rannaääre, ELA School Libraries Section, President

Without goals, there is no action.
 But if the goal is insignificant, nothing special is done either.
Denis Diderot, 1713–1784

Our society is constantly changing and we should be ready to move with the wind of change. We must set goals that will keep us on track in order not to be like a weathervane. In the goal setting process we need to understand for whose sake are we doing this.

The role of the Association leader is one of great responsibility and relies upon the sense of purpose. The role demands a wish to grow and develop, a wish to change the world. People usually resist change because it would force them to strech their personal comfort zones, make them accept new challenges and force them to fight. The main goal of the Association has not changed over time, but the methods of progress toward goals must change and new goals supporting the sustainability of the organization, must be added. Strategic development plan will ensure focused process. I believe that everyone, who has been the leader of the Association, has once made this choice, wishing to contribute to the development and protection of the domain. But I don’t believe that today they are still innovative and change-oriented.

I am proud of belonging to the wonderful team of School Librarians Section board members, who are keeping pace with changing times. I am happy to work together with ex- and current board members, who are ready to adapt to changing conditions, without forgetting for whose sake they are working. I wish that the board of the Association will be ready to do things differently, keep an open mind to new ideas and new colleagues.

 

Why am I still not a Member of Estonian Librarians Association

Veronika Raudsepp Linnupuu, Viljandi City Library, Head of Reading Rooms

When I was offered the possibility to explain my reasons for not belonging to the librarians professional association, I had trouble explaining the concept even to myself. I absolutely confused myself while trying to explain my viewpoints. One thing was clear: not a few solid arguments were overweighed by subtle and impression-induced emotions.

As it was not obvious what the Association stands for, how can I be useful to the Association, what kind of knowledge it offers and which possibilities provides - I simply postponed the decision. Years later these questions still remain unanswered.

Four main assertions are listed below: the Association seems powerless; the professional association has not been able to use its potential to shape the negotiations over librarians´ salaries; the contribution of the Association to public debates and lobbying activities is insufficient; the development of public libraries is not important to the Association.

Deliberately, I didn’t try to provide references to confirm or contradict my assertions – my not-belonging – to is mostly based on impressions and ignorance. Hopefully my ignorance will help the Association to build successful membership campaigns. Secretly I still hope that even in my case conversion to the „association faith is possible.

Despite the critical attitude towards the Association I find the organization necessary and its potentiality high. Basically it is a voluntary association where every member contributes to its common good at the expense of their commitment to work, family and self-improvement.

There is no deficiency of creative thinking. There is deficiency of inflamers, who make people forget about being in a hurry all the time, who encourage to be a bit more spontaneous, a bit more crazy. Maybe this sparkle is to be added to otherwise too academic atmosphere of the Association?

Discography of Estonian Vinyl Records 1954–2010

Erik Morna, music critic, Radio 2 DJ

Review: Eesti vinüülplaatide diskograafia 1954–2010 / Tallinn : Eesti Rahvusraamatukogu, 2011

„Discography of Estonian vinyl records 1954–2010“ was issued at an interesting time , where our pop music is being pressed on vinyls in numerous quantities, with the sound quality never heard before and a modern choice from a range never seen before.

Before re-establishing our independence the possibility to release pop- and rock music albums belonged to the privileged few, mostly state salaried musicians. These albums, as mentioned in the humorous and informative introduction of the book, were expired due to long editing periods before the moment of release. Jazz was finding it’s way to official recognition in the early years of Estonian vinyl records repository, to say nothing of old music and classical music, the reason why the user of the discography can find decent, timeless, world-class rarities.

The list of audio books, children’s music and a few recordings by Estonian expatriates appear to be a real gift.

In an exciting, capacious and mightily illustrated catalogue one can also find some shortcomings. Quite a lot of Estonian vinyls are missing from the list – not all the producers (especially those of the 90’s) were willing to hand over a deposit copy. At the same time, a number of performers, whose connection with Estonia might seem questionable, are included on the list (Miliza Korjus, Perry & the Poor Boys, Charles Lloyd). The importance of these artists in our cultural history surely has been the main reason they are considered worth mentioning.

A serious hobbyist has to purchase a flash drive to accompany the book. As for classical- and children’s music and pop albums, this little digital drive will compensate the shortcomings in name register.

If similar compendium had been published in 1993, it would have presumed to be final. Now that vinyl records have rotated back into fashion, the book is to be completed each year. Metsatöll, Kosmikud, Vaiko Eplik, Ewert & the Two Dragons – the majority of the best pop albums of 2011have been released on vinyls and something tells me that the record shelf is going to be several centimeters thicker this year.

In Memoriam Endel Annus (16.02.1915 Tartumaa – 25.05.2011 Tallinn)

Endel Annus was Estonian book researcher and bibliographer. He had graduated from the Department of Estonian Philology of Tartu University while at the same time studying bibliography. He has been working at the Estonian Literary Museum, Estonian State Library and Estonian Academic Library.

Endel Annus has researched the history of Estonian calendars, ABC books and the historiography of Estonian Bible.

The compilation of the Estonian Retrospective National Bibliography developed into his life’s work.

In co-operation of the largest libraries in the country and under the supervision of Endel Annus, the first volumes of Estonian Book Bibliography (1525-1917) were published in 1990ies. Until now eight capacious volumes of the Bibliography of Estonian Books and Periodicals have been issued.

In Memoriam Kaljo-Olev Veskimägi (15.07.1930 Oulu – 15.11.2011 Tallinn)

Kaljo-Olev Veskimägi was an assistant professor of Tallinn University, the Estonian researcher of the history of libraries, promoter of librarianship, lecturer and researcher of censorship. After graduating from the Leningrad National Institute on Librarianship in 1953, he started to work as the inspector in the Department of Libraries under the Ministry of Culture of the ESSR. In 1964 Kaljo-Olev Veskimägi received a degree of the Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences from the Tartu State University and started his job as the assistant professor at the Department of information science of the Tallinn Pedagogical Institute. More than 90 diploma- and Bachelor’s dissertations have been written under his supervision. He has published several articles and study materials on the history of libraries. In re-independent Estonia Kaljo-Olev Veskimägi focused on investigating censorship. He is one of the re-founders of ELA in 1988, he belonged to the first temporary board of ELA.

 

Laureate of the ELA’s Prize for Merits 2011 – Anne Valmas

Elle Tarik, Tartu Public Library, Librarian

Anne Valmas has been working at the Library of the Tallinn University of Technology as a bibliographer and the Head of the Department (1966-1979), at the National Library of Estonia as a Head of the Fine Arts Information Centre and the Director of Library Services (1979-1989), from 1989 as the Head of the Expatriate Estonian Literature Centre and as a Director of the Tallinn University Academic Library. At present, she is working as a Researcher at the Expatriate Estonian Literature Centre.

Familiarizing and emphasizing the importance of the expatriate Estonian literature at homeland has been her life’s work. She wrote her Doctoral thesis on the same subject. Besides, she has published compendiums on the same subject and written articles for various publications. She is the founder of the Expatriate Estonian Literature Centre.

Anne Valmas was the re-founder of the Estonian Librarians Association (1988). She was the President of ELA between 1994 and 1998. She has made outstanding efforts in composing personal bibliographies, bibliographic and personal stories databases. In 2004 she initiated the creation of the bibliographic database of Estonian librarianship, which is constantly completed.

Anne is a witty interlocutor, she has wide cultural interests and she is an enjoyable companion in every endeavour.

 

Laureate of the ELA’s Annual Prize 2011 – Kaie Holm

Õie Tammissaar, Lääne Viru County Central Library, Director

Triinu Seppam, Tallinn Central Library, Director of Library Services

Kaie Holm has been working as a Director of the Tallinn Central Library from 1998. Under her supervision all in all 16 libraries have been built, renovated or refurbished in our capital and by so far the only library bus in Estonia has been purchased, in this way establishing libraries as centres of the communities.

Kaie Holm was the initiator of the tradition launched in 2008. The library publishes a book and every child starting the first school year will receive the book as a gift. Library volunteer programm, launched a couple of years ago, is now giving joy to both − the reader and the librarian.

From 2004 the Aleksander Sibul stipend has been granted by Tallinn Central Library. The stipend is meant to increase the motivation of the students of librarianship and to ensure appropriate succession at public libraries. During the last years Kaie has been a lecturer of management at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy.

Under her lead, the software of eBook reading and lending environment has been developed at the Tallinn Central Library. The software development would enable to buy and lend the eBooks of the Estonian authors. The software is suitable to be used in other public libraries of Estonia.

In November 2011, when a discussion on public libraries acquisition policies was highlighted in media representations, Kaie was the one to take the floor in broadcast- and print media. She presented her planned arguments in a convincing manner, explaining the needs of the readers and the libraries. Kaie Holm has been a key opinion leader in our speciality area for years.

 

The Children’s Librarian of the Year 2011 – Tiina Lutter

Ädu Neemre, Tartu Public Library, Head of Youth- and Children’s Literature Department

Tiina Lutter started her job as a librarian at the Tartu Public Library in 1989. Her first job was at the branch library, later she continued her career at the Children’s Department, which she is still devoted to. She has conducted library lessons, taken care of library materials and lent out books for children.

From 2006 Tiina has set her heart on creating and completing the children’s poetry database for Tartu Public Library. Over these years the database has become the environment used by librarians, teachers, kindergarten teachers and enthusiasts all over Estonia. At present, the database contains more than 10 000 entries.

The database of children’s poetry shows the poetry collections published in Estonia. Tiina is now adding poems published in various magazines to the database.

 

The School Librarian of the Year 2011 – Tiia Ojanurm

Külli Ots, PõlvaCentralLibrary,Chief Librarian

Tiia Ojanurm was appointed the Head of the Library of Põlva Joint Upper Secondary School in 1974. She is a collaborative person. For decades she has been the leader of the School Librarians Subject Division at Põlva County, has been training new colleagues and sharing expertise with them.

Tiia has laid the foundation for the now statewide recitation contest „I want to tell you“. The competition has concluded eleven successful years. She has taken on a leadership role in organizing the School Librarians’ Summer Seminar in Põlva County in 1999 and 2011. Tiia is working at the library meeting the high 1st standard. She is conducting Read-Aloud Days and library hours; culture lessons are organized to celebrate literary anniversaries. Tiia Ojanurm has given her heart and soul to school libraries and colleagues both near and a far are aware of the fact.

 

The Rural Librarian of the Year 2011 – Piia Salundi

Liivia Koolme, Urge Public Library, Head

This year’s best rural librarian, Piia Salundi, started her job at Sauga (Pärnu County) in 2004. She combined her library work with studies at University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy and graduated from the Academy with excellent results. She’s a conscientious worker and exact in task deadlines. She has received recognition in other counties and even outside Estonia for her interest in e-library related themes.

Besides library work Piia is the County’s homepage manager. For the last several years she has been the editor of the County’s newspaper „Sauga Messages“. She is also active in planning and organizing the quiz shows and other events in the County. She is full of fresh ideas and has a courage to perform.

 

The Special Libraries Deed of the Year 2011– Maio Vaniko

Liilia Külv, University of Tartu Library, Chief Specialist on Special Libraries

The ELA award for the Deed of the Year at Special Libraries was given to Maio Vaniko for dedicated development of librarianship at the Institute of Journalism and Communication Library of the University of Tartu.

The Library of Journalism is a gathering place for students and professors, where they can prepare for lectures, held meetings, organize and conduct group discussions. Maio is the only librarian in the building and her principle is: when the light is on and the door is open, every reader can step within despite the late hour. Students hold her very dear. According to their words Maio is educated, helpful, resourceful, patient and she is the reason why the Library of Journalism is their favourite place. In the near future the Library of Journalism together with two other libraries is combined into one - the Social Sciences Faculty Library. Maio considers it necessary that a change should take place, but on the other hand a small cozy library with an inviting aura is disappearing.

TheResearch Libraries Deed of the Year2011 – adaption of information system ESTER to the Euro

Mare-Nelli Ilus, Estonian Libraries Network Consortium, Executive Director

Riin Olonen, Estonian Libraries Network Consortium, Development Manager

The Deed of the Year at Research Libraries was finding the solution and creating the software development for the information system ESTER to convert the prices of separate items, fees etc. from Estonian Kroon to Euro and the dual display of prices in a period of a year.

The information systems of other libraries faced the same task but euro conversion in the information system ESTER was accentuated for the significant contribution of one person – Urmas Sinisalu – to solve the problem.

Urmas Sinisalu has been working at the National Library of Estonia since 1994 (latterly as the project manager). Since 1998 he is involved as the IT specialist for the Estonian Libraries Network Consortium. Urmas Sinisalu is innovative, he encourages discussions and makes proposals for new developments. Due to his efforts e-Catalogue ESTER has become more user-friendly, the data from the catalogue will soon be online and can be retrieved by various search tools of Google. The 2011 Estonian Libraries Network Consortium annual prize „ESTER“ was awarded to Urmas Sinisalu for his contribution to the development of information systems and for collaboration.

The Town Libraries Deed of the Year 2011 – Flyer Campaign of Lääne-Viru County Central Library

Kristina Pai, University of Tartu Library, Director of Collection Development

Lääne-Viru County Central Library was nominated for this award due to instant response to parlament elections and by making library more visible through the campaign. The political situation was skillfully used to popularise libraries, library services and librarianship. Funny flyers were hanging in the windows of the library – a reminder of election promises with their exclamatory sentences.

Under the slogan „Choose order!“ the library advises to return borrowed items in a timely manner. Calls like „Enough of banalities! Listen to Arvo Pärt!“, „Worthy literature – your definite choice!“ etc. The endeavor was newsworthy, causing exhilaration among librarians as well as in media. Tiina Kriisa, the Development Specialist of Lääne-Viru County Central Library was the initiator of the campaign. She told that it was just a whimsy, an instantly accomplished thought.

 

The Deed of the Year at Public Libraries 2011 – eReader and eBook lending at Tartu Public Library

Ülo Treikelder, Tartu Public Library, Head of the Department of Technical Literature, Head of the Working Group on eReader lending

Ewa Roots (Urd), Tartu Public Library, Personnel Manager

The idea to give the readers of Tartu Public Library a possibility to lend eBooks with eReaders sprang from the beginning of 2011, when the first eReader (Nook) was purchased. The Working Group on the basis of the Department of Technical Literature was formed at the library. The purpose of this Working Group was to coordinate every detail concerning eReaders.

The task was to find out which eReader would be best for library users and the digital books for eReaders were chosen. Technical issues of eBook lending were solved.

Six ELONEX eReaders were purchased for the library on March, 2011, and the eReaders with 26 eBooks were starting to be lent out. The choice includes books from Estonian classics, such as Tammsaare, Vilde, Bornhöhe, two books in Russian and a couple of selected masterpieces from world literature.

The next task of the working group is to keep an eye on future developments and to find further possibilities to broaden the choice of books offered.

 

Activities of the Estonian Librarians Association in 2011

By the end of 2011 the Estonian Librarians Association (ELA) included 799 members, of whom eight were honorary members, seven supporting members (libraries) and one foreign member. To understand the wishes and expectations to the organisation the Board conducted an electronic survey among the members of ELA. 164 members (20%) answered the questionnaire.

The Board included eight members: Katre Riisalu, the president (National Library of Estonia), Vaike Kurel (Old Town Educational College Library), Kristina Pai (Tartu University Library), Lea Rand (Toila Library), Anneli Sepp (Tartu University Library), Asko Tamme (Tartu Public Library), Ave Janu (Tallinn University of Technology Library) and Õie Tammissaar (Lääne-Viru County Central Library). The Board held eight meetings, three of them via Skype. Already active structural units continued their work, except working groups on Classification and Subject Indexing.

The Development Plan for ELA was prepared in 2011. The aim is to approve the Development Plan and the Action Plan at the 2012 annual meeting.

63 applications for the award of the librarian professional qualification on the basis of submitted documents were received. The professional level Librarian III was granted to 38 librarians and level IV to 18 librarians. The Professions Committee rejected granting professional qualification to 7 applicants.

With the support of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia recognition was given and a number of awards were delivered in 2011: ELA traditional Prize for Merits and Annual Prize, the Rural Librarian, the Children’s Librarian and the School Librarian of the Year, the Research and Special Libraries Deed of the Year. The Press Prize was awarded for the first time to a journalist who had in the prior year most effectively highlighted the subjects related to libraries. The Estonian National Cultural Foundation announced the Ivi Tingre Foundation prize for the first time.

The significant event in 2011 was the speech meeting „The place of the library in the cultural policy of political parties“, which was held before the annual meeting of ELA. All political parties taking part in the elections were invited. The Library Days „Let`s meet at the library“, organized by ELA Board and Library Marketing working group, were celebrated in autumn. The media plan was compiled and the introductory video for You Tube was shot. In addition to previously mentioned activities the Rural Libraries’ Day, the Research and Special Libraries’ Day, the Day of Information Literacy were held.

The mailing list for information exchange within ELA is active since 2006. 690 members have joined the list. ELA is on Facebook. Major endeavors are reported in the column for ELA in the journal „Raamatukogu“ („Library“).

The problems rised by the Minister of Culture concerning the public libraries acquizition policy touched the Estonian people and were reflected in mass media. In the final months of the year dozens of librarians had an opportunity to say a word in local media.

ELA is the member of IFLA and participates in the work of three sections: Education and Training, Classification and Indexing, Management of Library Associations. Katre Riisalu introduced the activities of ELA at the international conference „To (too?) Public: Library Marketing and Public Relations in Public Libraries Today“ and at the jubilee conference of Lithuanian librarians „Biržiška´s reading“ in Vilnius.

Six issues of the journal „Raamatukogu“ was published in 2011. The journal is published in cooperation of the National Library and ELA. ELA Yearbook 2010 was published in 2011, compiled by Kai Kalvik from Tallinn University Academic Library.

 

Activities of the Estonian Libraries Network Consortium in 2011

Riin Olonen, Estonian Libraries Network Consortium, Development Manager

Consortium of Estonian Libraries Network is a nonprofit association established to represent the common public interests of libraries. By the end of the year the Consortium had 10 members, all in all there is 13 member libraries. The online catalogue ESTER is the shared catalogue of the ELNET Consortium member libraries. The Consortium has established 7 working groups and the eBook round table.

In the online catalogue ESTER the initial currencies were converted into euros. The new layout of the full entry display was applied. The development of open stack manager software was an important step.

At the end of the year the new version of ELNET-ID was successfully completed. The software enables to use the ID card in the integrated library system Millennium. The translation process of Millennium and the compilation and supplementation of the directives of new redactions of MARC cataloging are in progress.

Most of the article databases of the National Library, the Tartu Public Library and the Tallinn University Academic Library were transferred to the Database of Estonian Articles ISE (ise.elnet.ee). The common database Digitized Estonian Newspapers has been supplemented (DEA, dea.nlib.ee).

Due to funding through e-Research Information Program subscription to all the significant research information databases will proceed. The Estonian Research Information System software development was added to the program.

The first phase of the new capacious project Estonian E-Repository and Conservation of Collections was launched. University of Tartu, Tallinn University, Estonian Literary Museum, National Library of Estonia and ELNET Consortium are participating in the project.

The prize „ESTER!“ was awarded for the first time. This recognition award is meant to honor developers of the information system ESTER. Urmas Sinisalu got the prize in 2011. Outstanding employees and partners were acknowledged with a letter of thanks at the 15th anniversary celebration of ELNET Consortium: Anneli Marjapuu, Marika Meltsas, Sirje Nilbe, Taivo Raud, Anneli Sepp, Urmas Sinisalu, Külli Solo and Tiiu Tarkpea.

 

Activities of the Estonian Music Library Association in 2011

Kaie Viigipuu-Kreintaal,Estonian Music Library Association, President

Estonian Music Library Association (EMLA) is an organization, whose aim is to promote collaboration between music libraries and to represent their common public interests. The EMLA is the Estonian Branch of the IAML (International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres). In 2011 the association had 15 members: 12 institutional and 3 individuals.

The board consisted of the following members: Kaie Viigipuu-Kreintaal (President, Tallinn Central Library), Ilvi Rauna (Vice-President, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Library), Heidi Heinmaa (Secretary, NLE), Avo Kartul (University of Tartu Library), Ene Roost (Pärnu Central Library), Meery Salu (Tartu Public Library), Viive Valper (Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir).

The spring school and general meeting took place at the Lääne County Central Library at Haapsalu on 4-5 June. Lectures upon Cyrillus Kreek, the composer who lived and worked at Haapsalu; and on music composition in Estonia and abroad during the past fifty years were delivered; and a visit to the Kreek House Museum was organized.

EMLA celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011. The Jubilee Conference was held in the Organ Hall of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre on 27 of October. Presentations by our Estonian and Finnish colleagues dealt with the role of music collections in the new digital age, the activities of the Music Academy Library in its 76-year history, the story of Estonian gramophone records over the past 110 years, and the music collections of the Estonian Folklore Archives and the work of the International Arvo Pärt Centre.

In 1901, exactly 110 years ago, the first gramophone record was released in Estonia. Two exhibitions were held in the National Library to celebrate the anniversary: Estonian Gramophone Record 110 and Estonian Vinyl, and the publication Eesti vinüülplaadi diskograafia 1954-2010 (The Discography of Estonian Vinyl Records 1954-2010), ISBN 9789949413263, was issued simultaneously in print and digital form.

Other branch activites includes Katre Riisalu, Heidi Heinmaa and Ilvi Rauna attending the annual conference of IAML in Dublin; Katre Riisalu and Marika Koha went to the annual conference of BAAC (Baltic Audiovisual Archival Council) in Tallinn; and 53 entries and 43 summaries of music literature published in Estonia were added to RILM’s International Database.


 

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