What is the historical explanation for the birth of the best public libraries in the world? "Library Spirit in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Historical perspectives" gives a row of answers. It presents the development of public libraries in the Nordic and Baltic countries from their historical roots until the present day. This is the first time libraries in this vast area covering a large part of the globe are presented together.

The Nordic countries are on the top of the world considering (among other thins) public libraries. These countries share a true library spirit. Even Baltic countries, after they were given a chance after the break of the Wall, have developed their libraries dynamically. What is unique in the book, is that even libraries in the autonomic regions of the Nordic area, Greenland, Faroe Islands and Åland, are present in the book, as well as library services to the Sami people. On top of articles on all these countries and areas, there is an overview of the key events of library history in the region.

The book is published by the network HIBOLIRE (The Nordic-Baltic-Russian Network on the History of Books, Libraries and Reading). It is edited by a team: Prof. Tiiu Reimo (University of Tallinn, Estonia), fil.lic. Magnus Torstensson (Bibliotekshögskolan i Borås, Sweden), Ass.Prof. Martin Dyrbye (Danmarks Biblioteksskole) and docent Ilkka Mäkinen (University of Tampere). Authors are members of the network and other experts.