Lars Burman’s last Valborg as balcony host
“The Last Day of April has been one of the highlights of the year during my years as Library Director”, says Lars Burman. Photo: Magnus Hjalmarsson
The Last Day of April is approaching, and this occasion will be a special one for Library Director Lars Burman. He will be participating in the celebrations for the last time as Library Director, after almost 12 years at the helm of Uppsala University Library.
This summer, Burman will leave the University Library and return to research at the Department of Literature. But first it’s time for one last proper 30 April celebration, during which the Vice-Chancellor greets the spring from the Carolina Rediviva balcony.
“The Last Day of April has been one of the highlights of the year during my years as Library Director”, says Lars Burman. “Uppsala University Library and Carolina Rediviva are at the centre of the action on that day. One year we had 80,000 people on Carolina Hill. The preparations, the gathering on the balcony and the climax with the donning of the caps... it’s something I’ll never forget.”
Guests from across the globe
Another aspect he remembers fondly is all the exciting visits.
“I have been involved in three state visits and we are constantly receiving VIP guests from across the globe. It’s a pleasure to show them the University’s treasures.”
The library’s collections are in good condition as Uppsala University Library has escaped wars, fires and floods. Photo: Magnus Hjalmarsson
The library’s collections include many internationally significant books, images and documents collected since the 17th century. What’s more, they are in good condition as Uppsala University Library has escaped wars, fires and floods throughout history.
Nowadays you don’t have to travel to Uppsala as you can access a lot of information on your computer. The digitisation of older books and documents is an area on which Burman has worked extensively during his years as Library Director.
Fun to work in teams
He helped build Alvin, an open archive for researchers and the public, which today has 450,000 records and is continuing to grow. The Diva system for scientific publications had 25 members when he joined the library – now it has 50.
Projects such as these require many people with different specialities to collaborate.
“It was great to have the chance to work in teams via the library. We have a fantastic management team and an environment in which it is easy to collaborate, which I have found very enjoyable.”
Burman came to Uppsala University as a student in 1979. He obtained his doctorate in literature and continued as a researcher, professor and head of department. Alongside his research, he has been involved in student life, with 20 years as an inspector at Värmland student nation. Activities at the nations mean a lot to him.
“It’s very unique; nowhere else are activities at the nations so strong as they are in Uppsala.”
Period of change
When the position of Library Director became vacant in 2012, he was encouraged to apply and he thought “why not?”
“I have broad interests. I enjoy teaching and research but also working with others, such as in administrative contexts to make things happen, make changes and improve.
And indeed, the years at the University Library have been a period of change, even if digitisation began as far back as the 1960s, since the libraries were early adopters of the new technology.
“Things have moved very fast in the last 25 years. For example, more and more things are becoming instantly accessible and available digitally. This does not mean that libraries are playing a lesser role; very often we act as information brokers. We connect those who need information with the sources.”
Often packed at Carolina Rediviva
Despite its age, the Carolina Rediviva is a library full of life. At opening time, a long queue of visitors usually snakes up the stairs.
“Many people have their favourite spots, and on a few occasions there’s not been a single table available. It was full, basically.”
“This is the most centrally located building in Uppsala and it should of course be used by people,” says Lars Burman. Photo: Magnus Hjalmarsson
The major renovation of Carolina in 2019 is something he looks back on fondly. It also laid the groundwork for a future renovation of the reading rooms. In the future, Burman hopes that some of the books can be moved out to make room for students and researchers.
“Carolina Rediviva is very much a repository, which in some respects could be improved. And it should not be a repository but a building to be used by people. If a million or so books were moved, no one would notice. The library feel would remain and the books would appreciate it too. This is the most centrally located building in Uppsala and it should of course be used by people.”
Returning to research
However, it will be up to the next Library Director to make those decisions, because soon Burman will return to the world of research. Next up will be a project on students in the 17th and 18th centuries and their literary production.
He wants to conduct some of his research abroad, initially in Cambridge.
How does it feel to go back to research after your time at the library?
“It will be lonelier, as I’m going back to the Ivory Tower. That’s not a bad thing sometimes, as we sometimes need to catch our breath and these have been some intense years. But it is with a certain sadness that I’m leaving these intense weekdays since it’s not at all a given that a library is quiet,” notes Burman with a smile.
Annica Hulth
Facts – Lars Burman
Title: Library Director at Uppsala University Library and Professor of Literature.
Recent news: Soon to leave role of Library Director.
In my spare time: Involved in student life for many years, and leaving my role this summer as inspector of Värmland student nation after twenty years. Would like to find more time for woodworking.
Hidden talent: Reading aloud. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve been reading aloud with my daughters and my mother every evening via Messenger, as we live in different locations. We are now on the forty-third book, and have read everything from Ann of Green Gables to The Wind in the Willows.
Latest book read: An Angel at my Table by Janet Frame, a writer from New Zealand. It is absolutely marvellous and one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. It’s also the name of her three-part autobiography.
Favourite travel destination: I love to go to Italy with my wife Carina, either Rome or Tuscany.
Inspired by: Meeting people, discussing ideas with others and seeing how those ideas grow by working on them together. But I can also feel like I’m having an exchange of ideas with the authors from literary history: reading is a kind of “dialogue with the dead”.
View of history: There is a quote by L P Hartley: “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” I like that. You learn a lot about other ways of thinking and behaving by visiting that country.