Local History

In its effort to preserve, promote and highlight the history and culture of Lesvos and Asia Minor, the Library keeps a Local History Collection. The Collection covers a wide subject field as for example, History, Folklore, Geography, Culture, Education, etc of both Lesvos and Asia Minor, written either by authors of Lesvian and/or Asia minor origin, or regarding Lesvos and Asia Minor. The core of the collection consists of donations by scholars, including items dating from the 19th century to this day. It comprises 4.000 titles of books and audiovisual material which is constantly being enriched. This material has been fully recorded and catalogued and is available in the Open Public Access Catalog (OPAC) of the library. The bibliography gathered over the past years consists of books from donations made by the authors themselves or by purchases of items. According to Government Gazette (FEK) 637, issue B'/6-4-2009, producers are obliged to submit newly published items to local Public Libraries.
More specifically, according to the law:
" 1. Publishers, writers or typographers, when there is no publisher, should submit to the Central Public Library or the head office of the Public Library a copy/ an item of all types of printed material, including local periodicals and newspapers, produced in the area of the Central Public Library or the head office of the Public Library. The obligation to submit an item also regards audiovisual and electronic publications in physical form, as well as electronic publications in a form accessible via the internet, in one copy. In the case of consecutive publications or reprints, the obligation regards the publication or reprint as well, given that it has been enriched or revised.
2. The submission should be made during the first month of circulation and is proved by the dispatch accompanying the items submitted, as well as the receipt for the material and its registration, issued by Public Libraries and sent to the publisher or author.
3. Negligence of the obligation to submit items to Public Libraries is fined and the fine is collected by the relevant library, according to the Collection of Public Revenue Code. The fine level for every case and all necessary details are determined by a common decision of the Ministers of Economy and Economics and of Education and Religion.
The law has been in effect after its publication."
It is a proven fact that the obligatory submission of all published items is a particularly functional institution as this way a Library:

• Can preserve the works of local scholars for generations to come.
• Consists a valid information source for all new local publications and a steady means for their diffusion.