NATIONAL (ETHNIC) BOOK IN EUROPE LATE IN THE 19TH AND EARLY IN THE 20TH CENTURY.

The concept of the 'national (ethnic) book' features rarely in the bibliological literature, nor its precise meaning has been established. The problem of the ethnic affiliation of books is present only in two areas of bibliological theory and practice: in the cultivation of national bibliography and in the determination and realization of tasks of national libraries. Thus, does national (ethnic) book exist in a way national literature or national music do? What are the features of the ethnic book? What elements of the book and what system of the book determine its limits? The criteria to distinguish an ethnic book are not clear-cut. The language of a book is said to determine its ethnic affiliation because it is a feature that distinguishes the nation. However, this criterion is quite frequently insufficient because national cultures are often of a multi-language character; on the other hand, the "major" languages serve different nations. The notion of a national book appeared contemporaneously with the formation of nations and the development of literary national languages. In Europe, the beginnings of the national book are connected with the Renaissance and religious reformation in the 15th and 16th centuries when the first texts printed in ethnic languages were distributed. Meanders of economic, political and cultural development of European societies influenced the processes of emergence of national literature and national publication repertoire, being responsible for marked differences among particular countries. By the end of the 19th century, a clear pattern in European book culture could be observed. Publications in a few major languages which were state languages of the greatest European powers prevailed. Much less common were books published in languages of the nations that did not enjoy political independence at that time but had a long history of literary tradition. The appearance, quantitative growth and qualitative development of book production in languages of newly emergent nations was a new phenomenon enhanced through the 19th century. The bibliographic-statistical approach to the size and nature of the global publishing activities (for books and periodicals), with consideration of particular countries and languages, was attempted by Bolesław Iwiński, a cooperator of the Institut International de Bibliographie in Brussels, at the International Congress of Bibliography and Documentation which was hold there in 1910. Currently, the issue of ethnic book, both at present and with reference to the past, remains in the focus of both linguistics (Harald Haarmann, Kenneth Shearer) and political science, bibliology, other humanities and social sciences. An answer to the questions about the quantitative extent of printing production of a given nation, specific types of books, particular national features of the circulation and reception of books considerably enriches the national culture knowledge resources. The role of the book in the nation-formation processes is an important evidence in favour of the ethnic view on the book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]