Vabariigi Presidendi kõne raamatukogu 220. aastapäeval

Abstract

Speech made by President of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis at the Festive Assembly to Mark the 220th Anniversary of the University of Tartu Library

President of the Republic of Estonia gave a speech at the 220th anniversary assembly of the University of Tartu Library, where he underlined the importance of the university’s place among the top universities of the world. He pointed out that a university library cannot be only a textbook reading room, but it has to offer much more to its visitors. The library has strongly supported the university research and achieved international recognition. The President also highlighted the library’s role in advancing Estonia’s intellectual life and supplying an important environment for knowledge creation and for discussions about Estonia’s future. He said that the skills of critical thinking and differentiating between the essential and the negligible are crucial in our information-saturated world and libraries could assume a leading role here.

The President emphasised the importance of libraries at the city, community and educational levels and hoped that libraries would help people in making wise choices for the future. Estonian people have always believed in the wisdom of books, using it in decision-making about the development of the state and education.

Last, but not least, the President encouraged people to keep learning and exploring new things all through their life. He recognised libraries as the sources of knowledge and acknowledged the University of Tartu Library as a role model for Estonian education.

To sum it up, the President concluded that libraries and the University of Tartu Library in particular, form the spiritual centre not only for the university but also for the whole country of Estonia, helping to shape its future.

Vivat, crescat, floreat Bibliotheca Universitatis Tartuensis in aeternum!