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Cultural Heritage of Estonian Diaspora in the National Library of Estonia: Practices and Opportunities
Mihkel Volt
National Library of Estonia
During the last fifteen years, the National Library of Estonia has been among the institutions that collect and preserve the cultural heritage of the Estonian diaspora. The main objectives of this presentation are the following:
- To give a short overview of the archives of the Estonian diaspora collected by the National Library of Estonia
- To describe the acquisition principles used by the National Library of Estonia for the collection of the cultural heritage (publications, archives, pieces of art) of the Estonian diaspora
- To present the standpoint of the National Library of Estonia for co-operation between different memory institutions concerning the collection and preservation of the cultural heritage of the Estonian diaspora.
Publications issued by the Estonian diaspora and the National Library of Estonia
The acquisition of collections in the National Library began with the foundation of the State Library by the Provisional Government of the Estonian Republic on 21 December 1918. In 1935, the State Library Archive Collection was established, receiving a legal deposit copy of all printed material published in Estonia. At the same time, a systematic acquisition of Estonian publications (incl. publications in Estonian published abroad) and those introducing Estonia (incl. translations of Estonian authors and publications of Estonian authors originally published abroad in foreign languages) and the Baltic countries, was started. By the end of the 1930s 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 included outstanding intellectuals, cultural, and public figures.
With the Soviet occupation, the Library became a regular public
library, run in conformity with Soviet library regulations. The library work
underwent profound changes: all links with foreign libraries were severed, and
Soviet Russian publications predominated, the majority of it constituting
Soviet legal deposit copies. The bulk of Estonian publications (incl. publications in Estonian published abroad) and those introducing Estonia (incl. translations of
Estonian authors and publications of Estonian authors originally published
abroad in foreign languages) and the Baltic countries were placed in
restricted access collections. In 1953, the State Library was named after
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, an outstanding public figure of the National
Awakening Period of Estonia and the author of the Estonian national epic poem
“Kalevipoeg”. By 1953, the collection of the Library had already reached one
million items.
The liberation movement that began in the Baltic countries in the
second half of the 1980s as well as the restoration of the independent Republic
of Estonia on August 20, 1991 considerably changed the role of the Library. In
1988, Fr. R. Kreutzwald State Library was renamed the National Library of
Estonia with its aim to collect, permanently preserve and make publicly
accessible documents published in the Estonian language (regardless of their
place of publication) and in Estonia (regardless of the languages used) as well
as concerning Estonia or including information about Estonia. In 1989, the
National Library of Estonia regained its status as a parliamentary library
responsible for serving the information needs of the Parliament and the
Government. Since 1980s the Library has increased its collections according to
its functions as a national and parliamentary library and a library for the
humanities and social sciences. The acquisition of collections in the National
Library of Estonia is based on the functions of the Library. The collections of the National Library of Estonia total 3 174 373 items, as
of January 1, 2006.
In order to perform the function of the National Library, the
following is acquired on a complete basis: literature published in Estonia,
literature in the Estonian language published abroad, original works by
Estonian authors and translations of these works, irrespective of their place
of publication. In addition, publications containing information about Estonia,
issued abroad and in foreign languages.
The National Library acquires the following materials published by
the Estonian diaspora:
Publications issued by the Estonian diaspora are generally acquired
in 2 copies, ultimately in 5 copies. The Archive Collection (ca 500 000 items)
permanently stores one copy of all publications, audiovisual and electronic
documents published by the Estonian diaspora. These copies are subject to
long-term storage. The publications in the Archive
Collection can only be used when the desired publication is missing from the
main collection. Publications are listed in the card catalogue and/or in the
electronic catalogue ESTER.
Archives concerning the Estonian diaspora in the
National Library of Estonia
The National Library of Estonia
has been granted archives and collections of prominent individuals and
institutions/ organizations of Estonian culture and society, incl. the Estonian
diaspora. Predominantly, these collections are comprised of documents and/ or of
a personal library.
The Archives in
the National Library of Estonia which contain documents concerning the Estonian
diaspora are the following:
F. 3 Eesti
Rahvusnõukogu Rootsis (Estonian National
Council in Sweden)
F. 7 Reino Sepp
(1926 – 1992), collector (Sweden)
F. 10 Väliseestlaste poolt
saadetud dokumentide kollektsioon (Collection
of single documents of the representatives of the Estonian diaspora, 1933-2000)
F. 16 Kultuurilooline kollektsioon (Collection of Cultural History, 1929-2003).
F. 17 Paul Saagpakk (1910 – 1996), linguist
and scholar of literature (USA)
F. 19 Hilda Sabbo‘s collection of the copies of documents found in the
archives of the Russian Federation concerning political repressions in the
Soviet Union, 1917-1991
F. 22 Eduard Tubin (1905 – 1982), composer and conductor (Sweden)
F. 23 Ajalehelõigete kogu (Collection
of clippings, 1934-1997)
F. 26 Robert Kreem
(1923-2006), social scientist and public figure of the Estonian community in
Canada
F. 29 Järvi, Neeme (1937), conductor (USA).
F. 32 Sergei Soldatov (1933 – 2003),
Estonian-Russian dissident and fighter for freedom, leader of the Estonian
Democratic Movement (Eesti Demokraatlik Liikumine) in the 1970s,
publicist at Radio Free Europe/ Radio Freedom (Munich)
The personal and institutional/
organizational archives are available to users at the Rare Book Collection
Reading Room – located on the 3rd floor. Phone: 630 7346 and, e-mail: arhivaar@nlib.ee,
open: Monday to Friday 10-18. July and August: Monday to Friday 12-17.
Only arranged personal archives with inventory lists can be used.
The usage of unarranged archives is limited.
Both arranged and unarranged archives have
been listed in the electronic catalogue ESTER. The provider of the archives
sets access restrictions to the archival items.
Estonian
diaspora and the art collection of the National Library of Estonia
There
are 200 pieces of art in the figurative art collection of the National Library
of Estonia. 29 of them are the works by 14 Estonian artists abroad acquired by
the National Library during the years 1995-2000. In addition to these, one work was deposited to the Library by the Tallinn City Government –
Enno Hallek’s (1931) „Objekt“/ „Object“ (1999, oil on plywood, 82 cm x 204 cm).
The
pieces of art by the Estonian artists living abroad in the art collection of
the National Library of Estonia are the following:
Eerik (Erich) Haamer (1908 – 1994)
Mai Reet Järve-Vomm (1938)
Jaak-Tuomas Järve
(1956)
Mark-Kalev Kostabi
(1960)
Endel Kõks (1912 –
1983)
Kai Käärid (1938 –
1995)
Toomas Lehes
(1947?)
Silvia Leitu
(Silvia-Virve Tannberg, 1912 – 1969)
Olev Mikiver (1922
– 1994)
Juhan Nõmmik (1902
– 1975)
Rita Nõmmik (1910?
– 2004?)
Otto Rannamäe
(1917)
Ants Erik Vomm
(1931 – 2003)
Unknown author
In
1999, Siiri Arras from Sweden donated a collection of 15 paintings (by E.
Haamer, E. Kõks, O. Mikiver, J. Nõmmik, R. Nõmmik, S. Leitu, and an unknown
author) which had been collected by her parents Aino and Elmar Kriisa. All
other pieces of art in our art collection are donations from authors.
The National Library of Estonia aims to achieve the following goals
concerning the cultural heritage of the Estonian diaspora:
The standpoint of the National Library of Estonia for co-operation
between different memory institutions concerning the collection and
preservation of the cultural heritage of the Estonian diaspora is as follows:
Provider of the
archive: Estonian National Council in Sweden
Year of
acquisition: 1991
Source of
acquisition: donation
Status:
unarranged
Items: 43 shelf
metres
Inventories: –
Content:
correspondence, manuscripts, documents.
Provider of the
archive: Anja Sepp
Year of
acquisition: 1993
Source of
acquisition: donation
Status: arranged
(1996)
Items: 307
Inventories: 2
Content: Reino
Sepp’s correspondence and manuscripts concerning the history of Estonian music
(sailors’ and students’ songs, Estonian tango, the history of Estonian audio
recordings), copies of publications and manuscripts, audio recordings (R.
Sepp’s presentations, broadcasts of Estonian Radio), photos, clippings,
booklets.
Year of
acquisition: 1998-2001
Source of
acquisition: donation
Status: arranged
Items: 82
Inventories: 1
Content:
documents concerning activities of the Estonians in the USA (Baltimore,
Minnesota), Canada (Toronto), Sweden (Gothenburg), the Netherlands.
Year of
acquisition: 1996 –
Source of
acquisition: donation
Status: arranged
Items: 49 (5
items contain materials about the Estonian diaspora)
Inventories: 1
Content
concerning the Estonian diaspora in this archive: photos of Estonian students
at Tübingen University from 1948-1949, materials about Ilmar Sulg and Ants
Vomm.
Provider of the
archive: Paul Saagpakk
Year of
acquisition: 1995
Source of
acquisition: donation
Status: arranged
(2004)
Items: 66
Inventories: 1
Content: versions
of Paul Saagpakk’s “Estonian-English Dictionary”, correspondence and materials
on the compilation of this dictionary, manuscript of Paul Saagpakk’s dictionary
of synonyms.
Provider of the archive: Hilda Sabbo
Year of
acquisition: 1997
Source of
acquisition: donation
Status: arranged
(1997)
Items: 35
Inventories: 1
Content: the copies
of documents concerning political repressions in the Soviet Union (incl. occupied
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; the Estonian villages in Caucasus) which were
procured by Hilda Sabbo in the archives of the Russian Federation.
Remark: Hilda
Sabbo (born in 1930, Uus-Eesti village, North-Caucasus) is an active amateur
historian.
Provider of the
archive: Eino Tubin
Year of
acquisition: 1993-1994
Source of
acquisition: donation
Status: arranged
(1998)
Items: 32
Inventories: 1
Content:
manuscripts, correspondence, clippings, booklets and photos concerning Eduard
Tubin’s activities and the reception of his works (1938-1997).
Remarks: 1. The
library of Eduard Tubin (books, scores, microfilms of his manuscripts) is
available in the Fine Arts Centre of the National Library of Estonia. 2.
Another archive of Eduard Tubin is located in the Estonian Theatre and Music
Museum, Tallinn.
Providers of the
items concerning the Estonian diaspora: Ülo Jürima, Vello Kivisto
Year of
acquisition: 1997-1999
Status: arranged
(2002)
Items: 67
Inventories: 1
Content:
clippings from the newspapers “Meie Elu” and “Vaba Eestlane” (Canada) by Ülo
Jürima from 1950-1997; clippings from the newspapers “Stockholms-Tidningen” and
“Eskilstuna-Kuriren” (Sweden) by Vello Kivisto from 1934-1977.
Year of
acquisition: 2002
Source of
acquisition: donation
Status:
unarranged
Items: 5 shelf
metres
Inventories: –
Content:
manuscripts, correspondence, photos.
F. 28 Jakob Nerman`s (1882 – 1963) collection of documents and photos about Estonian settlements in Caucasus, 1882-1962)
Year of
acquisition: 1966
Source of
acquisition: purchase
Status: arranged
(2005)
Items: 76
Inventories: 1
Content: photos
collected by J. Nerman in Estonian villages (Estonia, Salme, Sulevi, Linda and
Punase-Lageda) in Caucasus, manuscripts of J. Nerman’s writings.
Remark: Another part of Jakob Nerman’s
collection about Estonian settlements in Caucasus is located in the Estonian
History Museum, Tallinn.
Source of
acquisition: donation
Year of
acquisition: 2004 –
Status:
unarranged
Items: 10 shelf metres
Inventories: –
Content: clippings,
booklets and photos about N. Järvi’s activities.
Provider of the
archive: Ludmilla Grünberg
Source of
acquisition: purchase
Year of
acquisition: 2006
Status:
unarranged
Items: 10 shelf
metres
Inventories: –
Content:
correspondence, manuscripts, copies of documents of Radio Free Europe/ Radio
Freedom, photos of dissidents.
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