Chapter Eleven

Modern European Libraries

In this chapter, the author divided the discussion into four types of library collections, namely:
1. National libraries
2. University libraries
3. Public libraries
4. Special libraries
These types of library collections then were treated according to each countries in Europe.
Generally, most countries in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century suffered from
various shortcomings due to the two World Wars. In spite of that, some libraries still undergo
developments and improvements, while some others were on the verge of invasion,
confiscation, and destruction in the World Wars. Those shortcomings were mainly in the form
of lack of staffs due to most workers being registered for military services of the country;
shortage of funds supporting the development of the library which being prioritized for funding
the wars; as well as lack of publications to be stored and collected for the libraries.

For national libraries, it has been noted that Europe’s greatest libraries were her national
libraries. As the case of Bibliotheque Nationale in France (National Library of France), even
though it suffered seriously at the hands of invaders during the two World Wars, it somehow
benefited at the aftermath of the wars. As noted by the author, “the (Bibliotheque Nationale)
library, due to its symbolic and real significance to the French nation, enjoyed a rapid and
substantial growth after each of the conflicts. Book stocks increased at a rapid rate, ever more
people were employed by the library, and financial support rose significantly. Today the
Bibliotheque Nationale enjoys the reputation of being France’s finest library, and ranks as a
major library resource in all of Europe.”
Similarly to the British Museum Library, its development and improvement of system
were evident after the world war, especially in the short span of time from 1967 to 1972. The
new national library system was developed that consists of four main divisions: The Lending,
Division, the Reference Division, the Bibliographic Services Division, and the Central
Administration Division. This new national library format promises to meet the needs of the
readers of he United Kingdom despite the severe economic problems besetting the country,
and to greatly enhance the reference and lending library services available throughout the
nation.
 While in Russia, the development and improvement of its national library continued
especially after the Russian Revolution in 1917. The National Library of Russia, a former
imperial library in Leningrad was declared as the national collection at the outset of the World
War I, and further enriched by the acquisition of many collections formerly owned privately
by the Russian nobility. It was first designated as the Russian Public library, which later
labelled as the Saltykov-Shchedrin State Library since 1932. At the same time, another national
library, Lenin State Library (today called Russian State Library) in Moscow, housing 25, 000,
000 catalogued items- including books, pamphlets and periodicals- replaced the former as the
official national library and is even larger in size. Both these “National libraries”, taken
together, represent one the largest and most progressive national library systems in the world.

In Germany, Berlin Library which was reverted to that of Prussian State Library houses
more than 2, 500, 000 by 1930; 55, 000 manuscripts and over 400,000 maps. Among its many
strong points were an almost unequalled collection on music and music history, and the
collection on the history of World War I containing over 100, 000 items. Under such librarians
as Adolph von Harnack, Fritz Milkau, and Hugo Anders Kruess, the influence of the Berlin
Library was felt throughout the library world.

For university libraries, a lot of them were severely affected by the chaos from the two
major World Wars. As in the case of France, the library at the University of Nancy were
destroyed in the World War I. In World War II, the library at the University of Caen were also
destroyed by bombing. Apart from destruction of libraries, other university libraries suffered
from insufficient financial supports, as well as shortage of staffs. While in England, Oxford
and Cambridge libraries did not affected much from the two World Ward, however they still
undergo severe test in the bombing of England in World War II. As for German university
libraries, not much physical damages occurred to them, nonetheless still suffered from a lack
of staff, funds, and foreign publications. Due to political and economic depression at that time,
progress was much prevented. In Russia, many university libraries in the Ukraine, White
Russia, and even in Moscow and Leningrad were severely damaged, if not completely
destroyed in World War II. The State University of Leningrad, for example, was almost
completely razed in the fighting of that city. Fortunately most of its contents had already been
moved to Saratov.
 Since 1500, according to the author, the university libraries of Europe have borne more
than their share of the task of preserving and extending the cultural heritage of the Western
world. On the whole, it has been the university libraries that have served as the research centres
in all fields – scientific literary and historical.

For public libraries, there was considerable destruction of public libraries everywhere
in the two World Wars. Progress and improvement of public libraries in this period of time
were not much, except heavily exposed to bombings, invasions and destructions. However,
throughout the world wars, in Germany, for example, all public libraries were placed under
strict control of the government, and censorship over their contents was rigidly enforced. Books
by Jewish or Communist authors were removed form circulation and often publicly burned.
While in Russia, public libraries became the government instrument to propagate the Marxist-
Leninist philosophy, to disseminate the government and Communist party news and
propaganda, and to improve the material and cultural level of the people so that they can
become better Soviet citizens. All in all, aftermath of World War II, public libraries across
Europe have also experienced significant growth, despite somehow being the instrument of
some parties during the war and much of these libraries were destroyed at that time.

Special libraries, as categorized by the author, are the libraries that are limited in subject
content or in types of users, or both. One of the best example given is the Vatican Library in
Rome. Besides that, American Library in Berlin, International Youth Library in Munich, and
New Technical Library at Hanover were also considered as the special library, which they
contain a book collection, a translation centre, and a bureau of documentation to give a
complete research service.

In conclusion, the impressive growth of European libraries since World War I is clearly
obvious to anyone familiar with the history of these libraries. This shows how devastating the
World Wars have done to the libraries and the academic world as a whole.