UPPSALA LATVIAN LIBRARY AND ITS DONATION TO LATVIA IN 1989

Received: 2019 11 22. Accepted: 2020 03 31 Copyright © 2020 Jana Dreimane. Published by Vilnius University Press. This is an Open Access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Knygotyra ISSN 0204–2061 eISSN 2345-0053 2020, vol. 74, pp. 209–228 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15388/Knygotyra.2020.74.52


INTRODUCTION
During its re-occupation by the Soviet Union (1944−1990), Latvia was drawn into the Cold War, a confrontation between the USSR and the United States and its allies, which resulted in the division of the nation, not only territorially but also in terms of access to information. Latvians living in the socalled capitalist countries were able to enjoy freedom of expression, but they had limited access to objective information on the situation in Latvia, as the Soviet security services 1 strictly controlled the media sent abroad. Throughout the occupation, all posted items from both individuals and organisations to/ from abroad were secretly examined (perlustrated) at a postal censorship point to remove literature "harmful" to the Soviet regime, unless recipients had certain privileges allowing them to receive it. 2 Most of the exile books and press sent to Latvia were destroyed as "anti-Soviet" information, an insignificant number of copies being kept for counter-propaganda and research purposes. 3 Latvian residents' knowledge about the lives, cultural and scientific achievements of their compatriots in exile was poor, as exile publications only circulated illegally -passed from hand to hand among small groups of trusted persons. Dissemination of "anti-Soviet" information was punishable severely, by up to ten years' imprisonment. 4 Officially, it was only in 1988 that the path for politically neutral émigré literature (mainly books) to reach readers in Latvia was opened, while the restricted-access regime was maintained for almost all exile press until the end of 1989. The Uppsala Latvian Library -a large collection of about 900 printed items compiled in Sweden over 30 years, which was received by the Latvian State Library (from March 1991 -the National Library of Latvia) in 1989, half a year before the restoration of independence, became one of the cornerstones of the bridge re-uniting the Latvian nation. 1 Initially under the control of the USSR People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, from 1946 the Ministry of the Interior, from 1954 the State Security Committee of the USSR Ministerial Council, as well as analogous security structures of the Latvian SSR.  (1946−1960s)]. In SMYKALIN Little research has been undertaken on the history of libraries in Latvian exile communities; it is complicated by the dispersion of historical sources (often one part of a library's documents is held in the archives of their founders in their home countries, while other parts are held by Latvian memory institutions) and the lack of such sources (often libraries' activities were not adequately documented). A broader overview, based mainly on press publications, is limited to the largest exile libraries in Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia, which played an important role in preserving the Latvian cultural heritage. 5 The authors of the survey conceptually linked the creation of exile libraries with the desire of refugees to preserve ties with their homeland: "An unbreakable link to the homeland, that Latvians could remotely maintain, was their native language. The link to language is provided by reading. But how was it possible to ensure reading in a native tongue? One of the securest ways was the establishment of libraries." 6 However, the authors of the article have not further analysed the contribution of libraries to the dissemination and strengthening of native language knowledge in exile Latvian society.
The survey provides only basic information about libraries: their establishment, collection development and content, catalogues and databases, access and situation after the restoration of independence of Latvia.
Hypothetically, the small exile libraries also played an important role in the cultural life of expatriates. The object of the present study is the small Uppsala Latvian Library, whose operations, unlike many other diaspora libraries, have been relatively well documented. Information about the library can be found not only in the press, but also in the Uppsala Latvian Society files in the National Archives of Latvia, 7 the National Library of Latvia, 8 and the Academic Library of the University of Latvia. 9 The aim of this study is to determine the significance of the Uppsala Latvian Library donation in the acquisition of exile documentary   heritage in Latvia. The study elucidates both the development and composition of the library collection, its availability and utilisation -first in the small Latvian community of Uppsala, then at the National Library of Latvia.

ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE UPPSALA LIBRARY
Towards the end of World War II, from the summer of 1944, approximately 180 000 of Latvia's inhabitants went into exile, escaping imminent Soviet occupation. 10 Some 4 000 Latvians arrived in Sweden in refugee boats. 11 After a short time in the refugee camps, most of them settled in Sweden's major cities: Stockholm, Gothenburg, Uppsala, Västerås, etc. Uppsala became the second largest Latvian centre in Sweden with about 200 compatriots. The majority worked in silk and ceramic factories, a small number in hospitals, and archives, but Latvians with academic degrees were able to take up positions at Uppsala University, albeit initially in lower categories. 12 Shortly before the end of World War II, the Uppsala Latvian Society was founded on March 3, 1945, 13 in order to "[…] unite the Latvians in Uppsala and its surrounding area for the purpose of Latvian cultural and social activities in the spirit of democratic ideas." 14 Although its revenue was low, 15 the Society soon rented an apartment for a Latvian Club, providing space for board meetings, an out-patient clinic, dental surgery, hair salon, children's activities, and a library. 16 Leons Čuibe (1915−2010), a pastor and employee of the Uppsala University Library, was elected as the librarian from among the new members. 17 However, the con-struction of a larger library had to be postponed because, owing to a lack of funds, the Society was obliged to relocate several times and accept sub-tenants in its premises. The issue of establishing a library could only be raised seriously in 1952, when the Society had accrued some savings and the refugees' lives had stabilised. In March 1952, chairman of the society, publicist, library specialist Osvalds Freivalds (1905−1975) and board member, master of economics Vera Skuja (née Kaminska, 1910Kaminska, −1998, urged the establishment of a Latvian library, by requesting books from the main refugee organization -the Latvian Central Committee, 18 which had collected tens of thousands of printed items from soon-to-be closed refugee camps in Germany. 19 Unfortunately, these collections had already been distributed to other Latvian communities, so the library had to be organised without outside help. Less than a year later, the newly elected board entrusted this work to Vice-chair V. Skuja, 20 24 In the following year, too, donors (including not only members of the Society, but also publishers and various organisations, such as the Uppsala branch of the Daugavas Vanagi) played an important role, because the Board's funding of SEK 300 only sufficed for the acquisition of reference books and a subscription to the Ceļa Zīmes literary monthly (1948−1987). 25 In 1955, the library was supplemented by the book collection compiled for the Latvian Saturday school, which had been es- 24 Ibid. 25  tablished from various donations in 1952 and was located in the same building as the Uppsala Latvian Library. 26 (Fig. 5) Unfortunately, the books for children and young people had not been bound, so much of this collection was so dilapidated that it could no longer be read. 27 The Uppsala Latvian Library purchased books both directly from their publishers (Ziemeļblāzma in Västerås, owned by Jānis Abučs (1914−1978), Imanta by Imants Reitmanis (1919−1966) in Copenhagen, etc.), and from the Latvian Aid Committee bookstore in Stockholm, and book distributors from within the Society, for example, literary critic and journalist Jānis Rudzītis (1909−1970). Nevertheless, from the 1960s, the Board allocated ever smaller amounts -an average of SEK 100 each year -consequently, the library became dependent on donations of money and books. Gradually, these also declined to no more than ten printed items a year. Statistics show that the library grew most rapidly in its early stages: in 1954, it had 240 books, 28 in 1956 -330, 29 in 1957 -375, 30 and in 1959, more than 400 books. 31 In the following years, the growth of the library slowed markedly. 32 At the beginning of 1969, the library had 609 books, 33 ten years later −725, 34 but in January 1988 -857. 35 Despite its limited funding, the exile community's most important publications were concentrated in the Uppsala Latvian Library: it contained not only the reference literature mentioned above, specialist publications and academic research, but also fiction.    39 In the early years, society members' interest in the library was quite high. In 1953, it was attended by 20 families -as the organisation only had 60 members at the time, this was considered a very good result. 40 The following year, the library visitor numbers increased to 30 families. 41 According to the Uppsala Latvian Library catalogue and the card file of loans, the greatest interest was 39 Minutes of the Uppsala Latvian Society Board meeting, 9 December 1953. LNA, LVA, Coll. 2559. 40 In the first year, the library's collection grew to 120 books, see in Latvian fiction -mainly novels 42 as well as the memoirs of Latvian exiles. (Fig. 6) Academic publications (such as A. Spekke's Latvijas vēsture) and specialist literature were chosen by only a few readers. Unfortunately, the popularity of the library declined over time: in the 1970s it had an average of 15 readers a year. 43 To a large extent, this can be explained by the slow growth of the collection, which could not then attract readers over a long period. Most probably, readers also purchased literature themselves -soon after its foundation, the Society organised the sale of books (book fairs), because it could supplement its revenue by collecting a small percentage of the profits. Book fairs, with the participation of several vendors, were also organised at larger Society events.
Other collections of Latvian printed works in the city may have also dampened readers' interest: from 1959, the Uppsala City Library started a collection (though it grew very slowly), 44 while, from the mid-1950s, Latvian researchers had access to the Latvian National Foundation's deposit of printed items at the Uppsala University Library. 45 However, the Society's documents suggest that the Society's internal crisis, which escalated in the 1970s, was actually to blame. First of all, the numbers of active members became ever smaller, with no newcomers compensating. Writer and educator Jānis Gulbītis (Viesiens, 1916−2011), author of the Society's history, admitted: "Among Uppsalians, there are now no more of the people who diligently attended the once-frequent lecture evenings […]. Age too prevents one or the other from walking to such meetings." 46 As a result, both the numbers of Society events and their attendances fell sharply, until, by the early 1980s, sometimes only one or two events were held each year. The Society's account ledger (1965−1979) shows that from 1977, no new books were purchased for the Library, although the Society could afford it because it received an annual state subsidy. 47 Possible reasons: the most active furnishers of new publications had passed away: the critic J. Rudzītis and publisher J. Abučs. The 1988 annual general meeting discussed the dissolution of the Society. 48 Even though the association still had 72 members, the numbers of events and library attendees were negligible. The participants in the meeting acknowledged that the Society's library was a valuable repository of books, but it could no longer serve the Latvian community of Uppsala. It was decided to continue the work of the Society as far as possible, but the fate of the library remained undecided. 49 During the discussions between the board and library manager V. Skuja, the idea was raised of donating the collection to either the Uppsala City Library, the Latvian centre "Abrene" in France, or a library in Latvia. 50 This decision was urgently required because the school in which the library was located was to be reconstructed.  bers that the exhibition was very popular, and people even queued up to read publications from the Latvian history series of the publishing house Daugava. 58 The Uppsala Society's board was pleased to note that "[…] the books were released to the public in the homeland, as promised, and will continue to be available to Latvian readers and researchers." 59 Initially, the exhibition was supposed to be open for one month, but the great demand saw its duration extended a number of times (until 31 August 1990). The exile literature began to flow into Latvia in an ever-increasing stream. The total scale of donations is unknown, but its volume can be estimated from certain facts. For example, the National Library of Latvia received more than 28 000 copies of exile literature between 1990 and 1994. 60 On 1 March 1990, in a letter to A. Vilks, V. Skuja acknowledged: "I am very pleased that the Uppsala Latvian Library has brought pleasure and is being so useful for finding out about books that you knew very little or nothing about. I am particularly pleased that you exhibited the books and that every library visitor has access to them. I am very happy that the library that I collected and organised lives on and is giving pleasure to the Latvians of my homeland, this had been my dream and intention for some time. You have also introduced others, beyond those generally interested in books, to the Uppsala Latvian Library in your radio talk of, I believe, 15 February. […] I read that the exhibition is continuing and I have received very enthusiastic reports from those who have visited it." 61 (Fig. 7)

Conclusions
The Uppsala Latvian Library was typical of those of small Latvian diaspora communities, in terms of both size and potential for development. It served a practical purpose -strengthening the sense of being Latvian, so through donations and purchases it tried to provide the local Latvian community with the most informative, interesting reading material in their native language. The selection was facilitated by the easy availability of many high-quality works, as Sweden was one of the exile community's publishing centres. 62 Nevertheless, the potential of this library abroad was never fully realised as Latvians of the middle and younger generations became more and more integrated into Swedish society, and the interest in Latvian literature and, consequently, in the Society's Library waned. In addition, like many other exile libraries, its operation was based on the enthusiasm of a single person. Often, as people leave such roles, collections created over decades become neglected. The timely decision of the board to donate the library to a homeland organisation prevented such a situation from occurring at the Uppsala Latvian Society. It should be emphasised that the donation was widely reported in mass media, encouraging many other exile organisations and individuals to send their book collections, document archives and potential museum artefacts to Latvian memory institutions. Nowadays the collections of exile literature in the country's major academic libraries are relatively complete, lacking ephemera and publications from the early years, which were printed on duplicators and published in small volumes. Dace Rozenberga, a specialist in Latvian bibliometrics, points out in her doctoral thesis, The Impact of Latvian exile literature on research in Latvia (1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006), that today, libraries are the main source of information on exile literature for Latvian researchers. 63 Most often, they visit the J. Misiņš Library at the University of Latvia Academic Library and the National Library of Latvia, where this literature is concentrated. 64 It should be noted that several of the researchers interviewed by D. Rozenberga first encountered exile literature at a library, and two of them actually at the exile book exhibition at the State Library. 65 D. Rozenberga's study, which is not solely based on a survey of researchers, but also on a citation-frequency analysis of émigré literature, shows that Latvian researchers in the humanities continue to actively utilise exile publications. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that many books from the Uppsala Latvian Library can be found in the open-access collection of the Lettonica and Baltic Reading Room at the National Library of Latvia, which holds the most frequently requested literature on Latvia.