The document explores the role of public libraries in Estonia, highlighting their historical development and current status, with 559 libraries serving approximately 384,000 regular users. The study examines public perceptions and policy implications, revealing that libraries are primarily viewed as cultural institutions rather than educational ones. Additionally, it reflects on the challenges faced, including the prioritization of digital over print resources and a lack of recognition in national information policies.

1. Understandings of the role
of a public library in Estonia
Mai Põldaas
6th QQML 2014, Istanbul

2. The territory of Estonia covers 45,227 km2 and
Estonian population is 1.3 million people
Map is taken from Wikipedia

3. Public libraries in Estonia
• The oldest public library in Estonia
dates back to 1552
• The total number of public libraries
in Estonia is 559, including
– 20 central libraries,
– 50 city libraries and
– 449 village libraries

4. Public libraries in Estonia
(2)
• 47% of citizens in the last twelve
months have visited a public library
at least once
• ~384,000 regular users of public
library services
• Main services are free of charge

5. Public libraries in Estonia
(3)
• The Public Libraries Act is in use
• Various national policies are in use,
but no (public) library’s policy,
special vision or other statement is
formulated into what kind of a
direction will public libraries
develop in Estonia

6. The aim of the study
• To investigate the understandings
of the role of a public library in
nowadays Estonia

7. Main research question
• How is the public library’s role seen
and understood by those who
make decisions or have impact on
decision making?

8. Context for the study
• Still a few years ago libraries rarely
managed to receive media
attention in Estonia
• Things changed in November 2011
with the then Minister of Culture’s
interview to one of the Estonian
daily newspaper

9. Context (2)
• Minister of Culture announce-
ments about state’s plans:
– state no longer supports and gives
money for mass culture acquisition in
public libraries
– embargo period for libraries before
they can buy new books
– compulsory lists for public libraries

10. Context (3)
– plans to support digitization of
Estonian literature
– state will not give money for acquiring
books on paper for public libraries,
but will support ebooks acquiring in
the National Library instead
– local goverments should finance
public libraries, not state
– does not like the fact that public
libraries have become social
institutions

11. Context
• Minister’s two
interviews (in
November 2011
and January
2013) caused a
lot of feedback
and initiated
discussions in
media
By U. Nemvalts

12. Context (5)
• Years 2012-2013 were the time to
update many national polices in
Estonia, including
– The Basics in Cultural Policy until
2020
– The Development Plan for
Information Society in Estonia until
2020
– The Strategy for Lifelong Learning in
Estonia 2020

13. Context (6)
• It can be said, that among other
things these documents and media
materials reveal the
understandings of the role of a
public library in nowadays Estonia

14. Methodology
• an empirical study
• qualitative research methods were
used:
– qualitative content analysis
– discourse analysis

15. Methodology (2)
• First the documentary analysis of
earlier mentioned three policies
was done by using content analysis

16. Methodology (3)
• Next various media materials were
analysed by using content analysis
• 54 in total:
– the articles and interviews of
ministers, politicians, library directors,
writers and other opinion leaders
published in Estonian daily
newspapers, cultural newspaper Sirp,
weekly newspaper Maaleht and few
others from the years 2011-2013

17. Methodology (4)
• close reading was done, to find
main statements, expectations and
understandings
• for category creation the deductive
category development was used,
where main missions of the public
library by IFLA/UNESCO Public
Library Manifesto (1994) were
followed

18. Methodology (5)
• Categories:
– free and equal access to information;
– reading;
– learning and lifelong learning;
– facilitating the development of
information and computer literacy
skills;

19. Methodology (6)
– community engagement;
– providing access to cultural
expressions of all performing arts;
– supporting the oral tradition and
awareness of cultural heritage;
– fostering inter-cultural dialogue and
favoring cultural diversity

20. Methodology (7)
• During the categorization process,
the codenames were given to
these, whose opinions were
gathered from the media
• Using the results of the content
analysis, discourse analysis was
done to find the discourses there
exist in Estonian society about
understandings of the public
library’s role

21. Methodology (8)
• Discourses build on a number of
meaning patterns that are available
in social stocks of knowledge, or
they may constitute and spread
new ones, anchor them in such
stocks of knowledge (Keller 2013:
121).

22. Methodology (9)
• Here the concept of meaning
pattern was used.
• It aims at the statement level of an
utterance, at those kinds of core
elements that can be labelled as
socially typified in a given context –
i.e., temporarily conventionalized or
fixed meaning figures in social
collectives.

23. Some results
• Estonian public libraries roles are seen
mainly in cultural contexts and as a
cultural institution.
• Public library’s missions and roles are
part of Estonian cultural policy, Estonian
Minister of Culture expects public
libraries act as cultural institutions
above all.
• In accordance with that are readers and
writers expectations to public libraries,
as well.

24. Results (2)
• Public library in
Estonia is a book
and reading
oriented
institution.

25. Results (3)
• Public libraries in
Estonia act as
active community
centers,
especially in rural
areas of the
country.

26. Results (4)
• They are not seen much as educational
institutions and it is not expected from
them to make different kind of media
materials (like music, films) available for
the public.
• Libraries are not mentioned in the
country’s information policy – there is
not a word dedicated to them in The
Development Plan for Information
Society in Estonia until 2020

27. Results (5)
• Discourse analysis reveals the
opposition between information
and library worlds, a kind of battle
between the new and old
understandings.
• Estonian public libraries being
(printed) book oriented, are taken
as institutions from a different area,
from the past.

28. Results (6)
• Almost not making available other
media, they are often not seen as a
place being part of the
contemporary information
environment.
• What looms there in the
background to support this
discourse, is the Estonian success
story as an e-state.

29. Results (7)
• The announcement about the
digitalization of Estonian cultural
heritage and making it available from
one place (National Library, for
example) is in a very good accordance
with this view.
• There many services are almost
replaced with e-services in Estonia, why
not to do the same with books and
libraries.

30. Results (8)
• The next conflict, difference in
discourses, reveals in the
Minister’s statements about the
public library’s social role.
• And a sexist approach, unequal
attitude between sexes, can be
detected in this study.

31. • For more, read the paper! 
• The research continues – to
investigate more about the role of a
public library in Estonia.

32. • Thank you!
• Any comments, questions?
• mai.poldaas@ut.ee
• Institute of Social Studies, UT