The hundred-year-old national library’s message to future generations

Abstract

The role and tasks of the library as an institution have considerably changed. Libraries are more and more regarded as powers that create and connect communities. The National Library of Estonia keeps that in mind when maintaining and establishing networks both as a humanities library as well as a social sciences and parliamentary library. Partnerships with libraries and memory institutions are especially important, as we are becoming a central service development institution for Estonian libraries. A great change has taken place in our way of thinking. The National Library of Estonia is no longer collection-centred, not only carrying out the mission to preserve cultural heritage, but is also human-centred, customer-centred. Our goals are to make collections available as much as possible, to address our users, and to provide an inspiring environment via the library space. The modern national library should indeed remind of a modern public library – the library of the whole nation. It is a place from where to draw inspiration, where to create and expose the creation, and where to hold discussions and debates. Today we offer a bulk of digital content as open data and the development of digital humanities services is in progress. Still we have to admit that the library’s role in teaching people how to use (open) data and how to support users with digital competencies should increase. Libraries are facing a never-ending work in developing the digital competences of their staff, who, in turn, will teach the library users, the citizens of e-governed state. The vision of the National Library of Estonia for the coming years is to be the library of a new generation and the developer of librarianship ideas by providing an open, inspiring, and participatory environment for activities. We have used a metaphor of a bridge while drawing up our new strategy. We aim to create a bridge between knowledge and people. A bridge that every new generation will build again and what will become ever more telling, significant and lasting by every generation.