EIFL-IP and the Estonia’s new copyright bill

EIFL-IP has worked with the National Library of Estonia, the Consortium of Estonian Libraries Network (ELNET) and the Estonian Librarians Association to actively engage libraries in the planned new copyright law of Estonia, that is expected by September 2014.

They have worked in a plan for actively engage libraries in the copyright law, and to inform the general public about emerging copyright issues that libraries face everyday, such as the lending of e-books.

You can check the case study and the other advocacy campaigns in relation with the matter.

E-services and e-books in Estonia

Today we present one of the last presentations of last NAPLE Assembly. In this case, Meeli Veskus from Estonia shows a general outlook of e-services and e-books in her country.

Cycling for Libraries

We reproduce this message sent to IFLA-L list:

“Dearest all,

I’m delighted to announce the dates for the next Cycling for libraries  – unconference: we will start from beautiful Vilnius, Lithuania on 28th of July, and arrive in exciting Tallinn, Estonia on 7th of August, 2012.

This unique bicycling unconference will lead our mobile thinktank of 100 international librarians and librarylovers through Riga and Tartu, via two magnificient national parks, and many fascinating library-destinations. We would like to have you with us, so mark your calendars. The registration opens in early Spring. And please spread the word.

http://www.cyclingforlibraries.org/2012/02/07/welcome-to-vilnius-tallinn-28-7-7-8-2012/

This radical event is PowerPoint-free. Instead, the concept is built on meaningful and personal encounters with colleagues, workshopping, challenging debates, library visits, innovative programme, contemplation in movement, fresh outdoors and memories that last a lifetime. And bicycling, of course. 600 kilometers of it.

We are organizing Cycling for libraries as an independent, loose and informal network of enthusiast. Last year we bicycled from Copenhagen to Berlin with a group of 80 participants from a dozen countries, and if you haven’t heard about it already (helloes to all of you who have!), you can see some of the stories by watching our half-an-hour documentary movie, our 3 minute daily videos from the event, thousands of photos, and a wide variety of professional and popular media and reports from people who participated. Just google for “cycling for libraries”, find us on Facebook and Twitter (#cyc4lib), or simply ask me.

If you are coming to IFLA 2012 in Helsinki 11th-17th August (and don’t miss IFLAcamp), this is how to arrive in style!

Welcome!

Master pathfinders Mace Ojala from Turku City Library, and Jukka Pennanen from National Library of Finland
http://www.cyclingforlibraries.org”

Welcome to NAPLE Blog!

Dear friends,

Welcome to NAPLE Blog!

In this blog, you can read the news related to NAPLE and public libraries in Europe. We hope to receive your comments and opinions to enrich the NAPLE Blog.

See you soon

Estonian Public Libraries

557 public libraries, ca150 inplaces where library does not have to be. According to the Public Library Act public library has to be in places where lives at least 500 inhabitants. In such places library usually is the only public institution and local authorities keep them because lot of public services can get in the library. Free Internet for public use is very much needed in smaller places.  

Last three years has been very difficult economic situation in Estonia, but it has been very interesting time too. For libraries there were many challenges, for examples how to organize the everyday work of libraries in view of significant budget cuts both – from the state and local government side. But only 2 part-time working libraries were closed this time. From 2009 library use is growing again. We are especially glad to witness that children and young people have come to visit libraries more in last couple of years. 2010 we celebrated the year of reading and lot of library events helped to get library more needed and attractive.  We even built some new libraries during these hard years. The most beautiful is of course the Tallinn  University of Technology Library. And several new buildings for public libraries in a bigger villages.

Cooperation of Estonian Libraries

Estonian Libraries Network Consortium (ELNET Consortium) is a non-profit organization representing the common public interests of libraries. ELNET Consortium libraries have 4 cooperation projects: e-catalogue ESTER, Estonian article database ISE, the Estonian Subject Thesaurus (EMS) and common procurements of e-resources. The online catalogue ESTER is the shared catalogue of the ELNET Consortium member libraries (containing information on all documents acquired by these libraries). The catalogue also contains data on the holdings of university college libraries and special libraries. Today the shared catalogue is supplemented by 13 libraries, all of them using the integrated library system Millennium that is managed by the consortium (the software is developed by UScompany Innovative Interfaces). On January 2009 the database of Estonian articles, Index Scriptorium Estoniae (ISE), at http://ise.elnet.ee/ was opened to users. This database, the result of cooperation between 12 libraries in the ELNET Consortium, contains articles, from newspapers, magazines and journals, serial publications and anthologies and collections from the 1900s on allowing the full-text to be accessed in free digital archives and Web publications. The Estonian Subject Thesaurus is a universal controlled vocabulary in Estonian for indexing and searching various library materials. The subject terms fromEMS are used

• In the online catalogue ESTER
• In the database of Estonian articles ISE
• In the union catalogue URRAM of the Estonian public libraries http://www.kodulugu.ee/
•  In the other catalogues and bibliographic databases of Estonia.

Meeli Veskus

The Estonian Library for the Blind

The Estonian Library for the Blind dates back to 1947 and in the course of time its status and names have varied. In 2004 it became the branch of the Repository Library of Estonia and since June 2010, after having moved to the building of the Repository Library of Estonia, it has become one of the three departments of the Repository Library which is administered and funded by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

Until June 2010 the Estonian Library for the Blind rented rooms from the North Estonian Association of the Blind in the house the maintenance of which was far beyond the capabilities of the organization. The move to the newly renovated and furnished space in the building of the Repository Library has significantly improved providing library services for the visually impaired people, storing conditions and the working environment for the staff.