Developing the international distribution of humanities studies in Finland: the exchange of publications of two learned societies in 1831–1914

Abstract

Examines the international exchange of publications of two Finnish learned societies: the Finnish Literature Society and the Finnish Antiquarian Society from their foundation until the outbreak of the First World War. The exchange of publications had two purposes: it was a means of acquiring international literature for the libraries of the societies and a way of distributing results of research to foreign scholars. In spite of the availability of texts written in the Finnish language and on Finnish subjects, the Finnish societies received many foreign exchange proposals. Relevancy of the received publications was usually not criticized and all the offers were accepted. These two societies trusted in the exchange as a means of distributing their studies internationally, and did not seriously endeavour to find commercial distribution channels for their publications.

Beyond borders: Examining the role of national learned societies in the social sciences and humanities

“…The history of learned societies dates back to the 17th century when the Royal Society of London and the Parisian Académie des sciences were founded. Later, scientific academies and societies were established throughout Europe, reaching their zenith in the late 20th century (Lilja, 2012;McClellan, 1985). To the best of our knowledge, there are no official figures on the number of these organizations worldwide, but it is estimated that there are about 9000 learned societies across Europe (Late & Pölönen, 2021).…”

Publications Exchanges in Distribution

“…14 In light of the ongoing need to operate an exchange through to the present, and apparently to justify its operation, along with historical discussions that resemble those today for open access and the free circulation of scientific information, this complex subject for science seems ripe for study. 15 Exchange of publications as an aspect of circulation or distribution is similarly well known yet embedded in book history and library history. The indexes to studies in both fields of scholarship demonstrate its omission, its misplacement, or its relegation to other activities in library management.…”