Pärnu Central Library, Estonia

Pärnu Central Library is in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay. Estonia, a country in Northern Europe, is next to the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland. Pärnu is a summer resort with hotels, restaurants, and beaches. Since 1996, Pärnu has been known as Estonia’s Summer Capital. The Pärnu Central Library building was designed by the architectural firm 3+1, based in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital on the Baltic Sea. The architects Markus Kaasik, Andres Ojari, and Ilmar Valdur worked on the project, completed in 2008. The library is located in the middle of Pärnu, where a castle once stood in the Middle Ages. The outline of the castle walls can still be seen on the street in front of the building, although its remaining fragments were destroyed during World War II, as the Pärnu Museum website explains. The library’s glass walls allow visitors to be aware of the building’s setting in the city. This transparent look is especially appealing at night, and during the long Estonian winters when brightness is appreciated. The library works to serve year-round residents as well as summer visitors. The tradition of libraries in Pärnu began a century before this recent building. In 1909 a public reading room was opened with a collection of 400 books in the Estonian language. Today the library houses about 300 000 books in different languages and around 200 periodical titles. The library’s director is Dr. Heinike Sinijärv. As one architectural website points out, the building project took several years because due to high construction costs and lack of budget, the city government first planned only to construct a unit to store books. Only later was it decided to create a library to serve the public as well. The three-story building includes a periodicals reading room, 10 internet work stations, including one for visually impaired readers, exhibition galleries, lecture hall, administrative and acquisitions offices, and coffee shop, all on the ground floor. Upstairs are a conference hall, circulating books and children’s departments, and on the top floor, a reference reading room, German reading room, and music department. As the website librarybuildings.info points out:

The main structural innovation related to the library function is the fact that all books are on open shelves – the public can freely stroll the stacks and browse the volumes. It is perhaps akin to an ordinary supermarket – shelves upon shelves where it is as easy as possible to find the product (book) you are looking for. The only major difference is that here no one is compelling you to buy anything. The modern library is becoming more and more user-friendly, a fluid event space.

Thailand and Estonia

As the website of the Honorary Consulate of the Kingdom of Thailand in Estonia points out, Thailand and Estonia have a long historical relationship. The Estonian-born mineralogist and explorer Moritz von Engelhardt (1779 – 1842) wrote about Siam in the Estonian language as part of his research in 1824. In 1921, Siam, a founding member of the League of Nations – later to be reassembled as the United Nations – recognized the Republic of Estonia when it joined that group. In 1991, The Kingdom of Thailand again officially recognized the Republic of Estonia, after the State Council of the Soviet Union recognized the independence of Estonia, followed by the international recognition of the Republic of Estonia. Before then, Estonia, like many other countries in the region, had been occupied by the Soviet Union.

Cultural and economic exchanges.

In 2015, a Thai cultural troupe from the Bunditpatanasilpa Institute, Ministry of Culture, Bangkok, traveled to Estonia. The Thai troupe performed at the Orient Festival in Tallinn. Among the dances from different eras they performed were Rāma Battles Thotsakan; The Sacrifice of Manohra; Ram Nora; Fon Nok King Ka Ra; Sounding the Drums of War; Coconut Dance of the Northeast; Rabam Bantern Paree; Rum Chon Kai; A Shadow Play: Roots of Culture; Muay Thai or Thai Kickboxing; Dance of the Long Drums; The Legend of Loy Kratong; Serng Bang Fai; Ram Vimayanathakara; Dance of the Four Regions; The Sword Dance; The Rice Harvest Dance; and Miniature Puppet Show. The dancers also offered a master class in traditional Thai dance at the Tallinn University Department of Choreography. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Stockholm, also organized a workshop to teach Estonians about some Thai handicrafts such as painted umbrellas and the palm leaf fish mobile, showing the Thai barb, or carp, a symbol of prosperity. The Thai performers also entertained on a cruise from Tallinn to Stockholm, Sweden. Last year, the first Thai eco-cosmetics shop in Estonia opened in Solaris Centre, a shopping mall and cultural center in Tallinn. Lemongrass House sells organic and ecological spa products and eco-cosmetics, featuring soaps, shampoos, shower gels, face and body creams, massage oils, and herbal teas. Lemongrass House is a was established in 1996 in Thailand.

Research comparisons

Scientific research has been conducted to study the different points of view and tastes of Thai and Estonian people. In 2014, an article in the Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology by Dr. Aussama Soontrunnarudrungsri, chairperson of Food Technology Department, Assumption University, Faculty of Biotechnology, Bangkok, Associate Professor Suntaree Suwonsichon, Department of Product Development, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, and others examined how preferred foods differ in the Kingdom and Estonia. In both countries, fish are appreciated, such as sprat, a small, herring-like, marine fish. Yet according to the article, Thai people did not much like sprat, except one product with high pepper flavor and an intense sour taste. In Estonia, most tasters preferred traditional and lightly spiced varities of the same product. To better explore such consumer differences, the Estonian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (EECHAM) is alert to developments that affect the Estonian business community in Thailand. As its website states:

EECHAM is an independent, non-profit chamber of commerce, registered under the Kingdom of Thailand. Our members consist of Thai and Estonian companies, government links, as well a number of business individuals. EECHAM works closely with government bodies and trade organisations in both Thailand and Estonia, including Thai Board of Investments (BOI), Thai Customs Department, Thai Department of Business Development (DBD) and other bilateral Chambers of Commerce. Our mission is to promote trade and investment between Thailand and Estonia by providing a platform for companies and business individuals to connect – toward commercial growth with new partners, markets and opportunities. We encourage dialogue and exchange of experiences between our members by providing professional networking functions, access to local business events, extensive business and consulting services, and further business opportunities. We welcome companies and individuals from Estonia and Thailand who wish to be part of the business community to join us.

(All images courtesy of VisitEstonia.com and the Pärnu Central Library)