“Rakstu Avots” – Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskās baznīcas grāmatu sērijas ideja un tās īstenojums (1932–1940)

Abstract

Appreciating the essential role of books in shaping the worldview of individuals, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (LELB) and its pastors actively published books on Christian themes in the independent Republic of Latvia (1918–1940). Among them was the book series “Source of Writings” (Rakstu Avots) initiated and edited by a pastor, bibliophile, and librarian Gustavs Šaurums (1883–1952). Almost 90 titles of books were published in the series from 1933 until the Soviet occupation in the summer of 1940. The aim of the book series was to prevent the influence of “harmful” literature on society, offering good religious reading material instead. The research aims to determine the opinion of LELB pastors about the most important ethical values and reading material needed by society, as well as society’s attitude towards this literature. The main source of the research is the book set of the series. The bibliographic method (collection of bibliographic information about the book series and its analysis) used in the research allows us to ascertain the range of authors and works chosen by the publishers, the frequency of publishing, the circulation and other important characteristics of books. The text analysis method provides an opportunity to determine the essential ideas the publisher wanted to popularise and strengthen in society. The publishing frequency of the series (one printed work every month) and the consistently low price (the annual set cost one lat) are commendable. The annual sets of the series did have 12 issues, but they were small in size, modestly designed, and mostly printed in Gothic script (except for the children’s books, which were printed in antique type and usually illustrated). The works postulated a strong Christian faith and complete trust in God’s destiny as a fundamental ethical value. The works of the series, kept in the spirit of conservatism, did not take into account the complex life situation of the 20th-century individual, in which he had to face various spiritual, intellectual movements and growing secularism. The series gained attention only in the LELB environment.