Research libraries in a knowledge-based Estonia
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University of Tartu Library, director
In scholarly communication, electronic periodicals and databases are pushing aside traditional print periodicals and monographs.
In light of this fact, annual University of Tartu Library budget expenditure on e-materials has grown—in the form of spending on joint procurements of licenses for use of scientific databases financed by the Ministry of Education and Research. Currently, members of the University of Tartu community have access via the library to more than 70 databases containing over 17,000 full text scientific journals, in addition to reference databases, electronic reference works and books. Aside from this, information on the contents of the scientific library collections must also be made more available. Thus it is important to cover, in the electronic catalog, absolutely all works found in the library, since collections not described in the e-catalog are essentially buried treasure. The digital cultural legacy on the web helps to link Estonians living in Estonia and elsewhere around the world and to introduce our culture to other peoples. To increase the rate of digitization and amount of text digitized, the University of Tartu Library plans to embark on a large-scale project to digitize its collections starting this autumn.