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Purpose of the collection
Purpose of the collection in its more than 50 years of operation, the Public Central Library of Rethymnon has assembled a remarkable collection of books, magazines and audio-visual material, representatively covering the entire spectrum of human knowledge. Today this collection numbers approximately 200,000 book volumes and 1,500 magazine titles, as well as archival and photographic material, audio-visual material and a large number of local and Athenian newspaper titles. Every year the collection is enriched with about 2,000 new book titles.
From antiquity to today: political, ecclesiastical, constitutional, social, economic, military, Greek and global...
Literature, language, fine & applied arts, theater...
Philosophy, religion, folklore, social sciences, politics, economics.
The emphasis on specific areas reflects the character of the Library, but other subjects are equally well represented. So there are also books on natural sciences, technology, medicine, childcare and animal care, farming, tourism…
The collection is classified with the MelvilDewey Decimal Classification System (DDC DEWEY 20th ed.) and its cataloging with the AACR 2 international system (Anglo-American CatalogigngRules, 2nd ed.). The subject indexing follows the subject heading list of the National Library of Greece and the Library of CongressSubjectHeadings.
Since 2019, the Library, in collaboration with the National Library of Greece as coordinator of the National Library Network, uses the integrated library library system Koha based on open source software.
The Library’s core book collection is subdivided into the following special categories:
Philosophy – Psychology
Religion
Social science
Language
Natural Sciences
Technology
Art
Literature
History
General Works
The Library has more than 1,500 magazine titles, local (Cretan and Rethymnon) but mainly Athenian. Most of them are periodicals of various subjects, literary, historical, philosophical, educational. About 450 of these titles date from 1870 to 1930. Today the Library still has 45 active journal subscriptions.
In the context of the modernization of the Libraries with the use of new technologies, an effort is being made to digitize the Library’s older material, in order to view and highlight it without restrictions, but at the same time to protect it from the wear and tear of use and time. The main criteria for selecting the material to be digitized are uniqueness, rarity, special educational, research and informational utility and demand, and of course publishing production of local interest. The physical records that have been digitized to date date from before the year 1920 and are free of copyright.
Not all of the Library’s material is recorded electronically. But its electronic catalog currently includes 76,300 entries and continues to be enriched daily.
The Library has a large range of local and Athenian newspapers and continues to be enriched with about 10 new titles of daily, weekly and monthly newspapers of local interest.
The few remains of the Library of Bishop Ioannikios-Ioannous Lazaropoulos, among which are also three rare manuscripts, but also a large collection of approximately 4,300 books with publication dates from 1498 to 1945 constitute the collection of rare books of the Public Central Library of Rethymno .
The Central Public Library of Rethymno has a rich archive of newspapers. →
However, the collection of the local (Rethymnon) press from 1880 to today is large and important.
The aim of the Library is the digital presentation of this material, in collaboration with the Library of the University of Crete, in the digital base “ANEMI”.
The collection consists of 250 magazine titles with dates of publication from 1870 to 1930, of local or general interest.
About 5,500 books and publications, either their content refers to Crete, or their author is Cretan, or they have been published in Crete.
About 981 books and publications, either their content concerns Rethymno, or their author comes from or lives in Rethymno, or they have been published in Rethymno.
1. ARCHIVE OF THE RUSSIAN CONSULATE OF RETHYMNI [Archive of G. I. Chatzigrigorakis]
It consists of four (4) archival units corresponding to the personal files of the vice-consuls: a) Emilio Varvieris (1860-1861), b) Georgiou Skouludis (1861-1877), c) Emmanuel Mavrantzakis (1877-1891) and d) Georgiou I Hatzigrigoraki (1891-1919).
2. FILE OF TITUS PETYCHAKIS
It consists of folders of various archival material (correspondence, documents, photographs, newspaper articles, handwritten texts) and is part of the Library of T. Petichakis which was donated to D.K.B.R. in 2012.
3. PHOTO FILE
Black and white photographs of Rethymno Town and postcards from the 1920s to the present day. Also, photos of social events, celebrations, etc.
4. WALL CALENDAR
It consists of wall calendars donated to the Library by organizations and clubs.
5. MAPS OF CRETE
It consists of maps and engravings that date from the 16th to the 20th century and have as their subject Crete and its individual regions.
6. STUDENT MOVEMENT ΄70
It consists of Leaflets, Conference Presentations, Posters, Newspapers (student, student), Announcements, Articles, etc. that sent Greek students abroad in the period 1965-1976.
7. ANDREA NENEDAKI FILE
It consists of personal documents (curriculum vitae, photographs, diplomas and correspondence received or sent by A. Nenedakis to persons friendly to him). Also, photos of himself, his family but also the city of Rethymno and other Rethymnonites that he used in his books as well as postcards on the subject of Rethymno. Finally, it contains manuscripts and typescripts of his books.
8. ARCHIVE OF GEORGIOS F. DAFERMOS
It consists of Diaries – Notebooks, Family and official letters, Information about several Primary Schools of Rethymno Prefecture, Archives of the Rethymno Teachers’ Association, Handwritten Notes of Primary School students, Letters from the Front (1912-13 and Asia Minor Campaign) and the War of 1940 and the Occupation, Archives for the publication of the Magazine “Prometheus Pyrphoros”, Articles and Publications by him and his collaborators, Folklore Material, Archives of the “Talos” Anogeia Shooting Club, Meteorological observations, Archives of the Association of Multiple Children of the Prefecture of Rethymno (1944-1946) ) etc.
The collection consists of the donation in 2013 of Georgios P. Ekkekakis to the Public Central Library of Rethymno, 10,000 volumes of books, magazines and newspapers.
For over half a century, G. P. Ekkekakis has relentlessly collected every form or manuscript, with the sole criterion of selection being of cryptological interest. This continuous activity of his and his search in all the lengths and breadths of the earth for every document related to Crete, has resulted in today having compiled the richest and most complete cretological library not only locally, but also on a pan-Hellenic level. The Library of Rethymnon, which received the collection, now acquires a different character and content. In addition to the fact that its collections are enriched with approximately 10,000 new documents, it is now a reference library for cretological subjects.
The Central Public Library of Rethymnon has a rich and well-organized children’s section. More than 3,000 titles await young readers to explore. The collection includes picture books for children from 2 to 12 years, children’s and adolescent novels, children’s theater and a large number of encyclopedic books aimed at school-age readers.
The Library has a large number of foreign language books, mainly novels in many languages (English, French, German, Bulgarian, Serbian, Russian, etc.).
The collection of the Public Central Library of Rethymnon reflects the reading preferences and demands of its readers. Readers have the primary role in the selection of titles and the development of the collection either by searching for specific titles and preferring specific categories of books, or by suggesting titles and authors for new purchases, or finally by donating books to the Library.
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Tuesday – Wednesday – Friday:
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