Centre for Old and Rare Books

The Centre  for Old and Rare Books is an organization that coordinates structural units working with old books (i.e., printed materials published from the 15th century to the first half of the 19th century) based on the collections of Baltica and rare books. The center raises awareness of rare books as sources for research and objects for preservation and supports research in the fields of humanities and cultural history. The collection of old prints in the Academic Library of Tallinn University is based on the Oleviste Church library, which originated in the 16th century and is associated with the Reformation. The historical collections come mainly from the library of the Baltic German Scientific Society and the Estonian Literary Society, which operated in Tallinn from 1842 to 1940, and the oldest component of which is the Oleviste Church library.

The restoration of printed materials in the Academic Library began in 1989, and the main focus of preservation activities is the maintenance of storage facilities and the restoration of printed materials.