“LUGEMISAASTA TULEMUSED EESTI RAHVARAAMATUKOGUDE SEISUKOHAST” (juhendaja Mai Põldaas, MA).
LÜHIÜLEVAADE: Kultuuriministeerium kuulutas 2010. aasta Lugemisaastaks, et selle tähistamiseks korraldatavate ettevõtmiste ja sündmuste abil suurendada inimeste, eriti laste ja noorte, lugemust. Positiivsete vastukajade kõrval avaldati meedias arvamusi Lugemisaasta korraldamise mõttetusest ja selle kasuteguri puudumisest.
Lõputöö raames valminud uuring tõestas, et Eesti rahvaraamatukogude seisukohalt täitis 2010. aastal korraldatud Lugemisaasta suures osas oma eesmärgi. Aasta kokkuvõttes suurenes kasutajate, laenutuste ja külastuste arv, seda eelkõige lastele korraldatud rohkete sündmuste tõttu. Raamatukoguhoidjate arvates mõjutas 2010. a külastustulemusi oluliselt ka majanduslik olukord – inimesed ostnud teavikuid koju, vaid laenutasid raamatukogust. Paljudest Lugemisaasta positiivsetest tulemustest peeti kogu Eestis kõige märkimisväärsemaks lugemise väärtustamist ja selle vastu huvi äratamist ning oma raamatukogus uute lugejate raamatukokku tee leidmist. Kogu Eestis tunti eelkõige puudust lugejate enamatest kohtumistest kirjanikega ja seda just väikestes maakohtades. Oma raamatukogus oleks raamatukoguhoidjate arvates pidanud eelkõige korraldama rohkem uudseid üritusi ja ettevõtmisi. Väljatoodud takistused olid seotud põhiliselt rahaliste vahendite vähesusega – raamatukogudele kirjanduse muretsemiseks mõeldud raha vähendamine ning riigipoolne liiga väike rahaline abi.
Eesti rahvaraamatukoguhoidjate hinnang Lugemisaastale ja selle tulemustele on nii oma raamatukogu kui kogu Eesti osas üldkokkuvõttes positiivne ning teema-aasta võiks vastajate arvates muuta traditsiooniliseks.
Urve Vakker
Lõputöö autor
TÜ Viljandi Kultuuriakadeemia
LÄBITUD ÕPPEKAVA: raamatukogunduse ja infokeskkondade õppekava.
SUMMARY: RESULTS OF THE YEAR OF READING FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF ESTONIAN PUBLIC LIBRARIES
The Ministry of Culture of the Estonian Republic proclaimed 2010 to be the Year of Reading, to increase the popularity of reading among the public, especially children and youngsters, through various events and enterprises. Besides positive feedback, the media also published opinions about the senselessness of the Year of Reading and its lack of efficiency.
The main purpose of the paper was to assess the efficiency of the Year of Reading from the point of view of public libraries. The sub-purposes were to learn about the various aspects of the themes of the Year of Reading generally and to give a thorough overview of the proclaimed theme year and its results according to public libraries, as well as to look into the opinion of the librarians about the Year of Reading, aspects of its results and impact in 2011.
The following issues are tried to be solved: did the 2010 Year of Reading fulfilled its purpose from the point of view of Estonian public libraries – did people use libraries more, did they read more and if there were aspects that had an impact on the results in additioon to the organized Year of Reading events. In addition to that, the author tried to find out how the Year of Reading and its results and aspects on the year 2011 were assessed by the librarians.
The theme is topical because only some months over one year have passed since the Year of Reading and it is now time for summaries, analyses and conclusions. The novelty of the theme is emphasised by the fact that the Year of Reading was organised for the first time in Estonia. Therefore it is essential to look into the results of this new enterprise, to assess it and in case the results are positive, to make it a tradition.
The present paper gives an overview of the importance of reading, the events of the Year of Reading in Estonia and other countries and also some previous research papers on the same topic. To get the results of the announced theme year from the point of view of Estonian public libraries and to study the opinion of the librarians concerning the Year of Reading, its results, essential factors and impact in 2011, a questionnaire was carried out among the librarians of all Estonian counties.
The results of the research show that the Year of Reading 2010 mostly fulfilled its purpose from the point of view of Estonian public libraries. Various types of events on various topics were organised, and the increase in participants compared to the average of 2007-2009 shows the high level of activity of the librarians in pursuing the goals of the Year of Reading. There was an increase in the use of libraries and popularity of reading, which proves that the Year of Reading was a success.
Children also used libraries more than before. Although the number of readers decreased in 2010, compared to 2007-2009, the number of visits and loans increased especially due to the many events organised for children.
In the opinion of the librarians, the results of 2010 were mostly affected by the economic situation – people did not have the means to buy more reference books, rather, they borrowed them from the library. At the same time, the positive impact of the Year of Reading was considered equal to the previous one. A considerable negative impact was mostly caused by the number of population in the service area and the decrease of the budget, including expenditure on buying new publications, as well as the fact that people were concerned with their everyday worries, which left them little time to read.
Among the many positive results, individual libraries considered the most essential new readers finding their way to the library, also emphasizing the value of reading and rekindling interest in it all over Estonia.
In all areas of Estonia, people wished they could have had more meetings with authors, especially in smaller villages. The librarians thought there could have been more new type of events and enterprises. They mentioned the lack of financial means as the main obstacles – there was decrease in the finances given to libraries for buying literature and little material help from the government.
The librarians of Estonian public libraries assessed the Year of Reading and its results mostly as positive and the respondents think the theme year could be made traditional in Estonia.
The Year of Reading 2010 had its impact on the activities and results of the public libraries also in 2011. Compared to 2010, numbers decreased a little, but they increased compared to the average of 2007-2009. According to the librarians, the results of 2011 increased in the libraries mostly due to the economic situation – people could not afford to buy reference books any more and therefore, they came to the library to borrow them. Decrease in the number of population had a negative impact on the statistics.
According to the librarians, the opinions and regulations concerning libraries of the Minister of Culture, Mr R. Lang, had a negative impact on the popularity of reading and preferences in the choice of books.
I would like to express my gratitude to all people who responded to the questionnaire, as well as Ms Maire Rauk, the head librarian of the Central Library of Saare County, also Ms Kai Idarand and Ms Margit Jõgi, main specialists of the research and development centre of the Estonian National Library. I would also like to thank my supervisor for all the help given.