The European Library Office produces a bimonthly newsletter in English to which you can subscribe by filling in the right column form. This newsletter is intended to inform partners, professionals, and the general readership about recent events and information related to The European Library network; it serves as both a source of news and a platform for an exchange of information for all partners.

The content of this page is a selection of the latest newsletter of The European Library. If you wish to view the entire content of the latest newsletter or older issues, click on the Newsletters Archive.

Our partners in The European Library play a unique role as national libraries. Each has an exciting story to tell and we are delighted to be able to profile the National and University Library of Slovenia in this video. Dare Balažic, an advisor to Senior Management for International Cooperation of the NUK, accepted our invitation to act as narrator.

"I am a member of the Editorial Working Group of The European Library. The Group makes an active contribution to improving the presentation and promotion of the NUK collections in The European Library portal and also undertakes vital coordination work for the creation of online exhibitions" says Dare.

"The NUK was one of the original partners in the EC-funded TEL project and was one of the Full Participants at the launch of The European Library service in 2005. Multilingualism was soon recognised as a key issue in the success of the service. Users’ expectations involve the ability to interact with the service in their native language. In order to fulfil this goal, I have been translating the HOME & COLLECTIONS interface and metadata into Slovenian. I also helped raise awareness about opportunities for cooperation during the TEL-ME-MOR project."

"The Digital Library of Slovenia is now a well established portal, offering an increasing digital content and services. Consequently, more collections have become searchable through The European Library service."

The Director’s corner is dedicated to directors and chief executives of national libraries across Europe. Mr. Lenart Šetinc, NUK Acting Managing Director, gives us a brief presentation of the role and position of the National and University Library of Slovenia in Europe.

"Does the present era of globalisation, international cooperation and the power of the Internet imply the decline of national cultures and multilingualism? Or is it an opportunity for the affirmation of cultural independence and linguistic diversity?"

"“The electronic environment undoubtedly promotes unification, but on the other hand it also confronts the coexistence of different languages and different cultural identities. Such a multicultural and multilingual environment requires awareness. National libraries, for which preserving cultural national heritage is a core aim, can be at the heart of these endeavours."

"Europe’s national libraries are exploring answers to these global challenges through the Conference of European National Libraries (CENL), and, in particular, through The European Library. This service has brought about many concrete solutions, now implemented within a common portal"

"The National and University Library – NUK - is an institution with a long tradition, established during the 18th century. It has been the official Slovenian national library for more than sixty years. Like other national libraries around Europe, the library today faces a number of tasks. They include preservation of the endangered written cultural heritage and development of a digital library, in partnership and co-operation with The European Library family."

The National and University Library celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Miško Kranjec, the storyteller from Prekmurje. Kranjec created one of the most comprehensive oeuvres in Slovenia.

During his life, Kranjec published more than 50 books, mainly novels, short stories, tales and essay writings. Even though his literary views - often mixed with the current political issues - became out-of-date after 1945, and later they were also in conflict with modernism, Kranjec is still considered to be one of the founders of Social Realism and one of its most prominent Slovenian representatives.

Marijan Rupert, MA, Head, Manuscript and Rare Prints Collections tells us about the Miško Kranjec exhibition: "The NUK prepared the exhibition by selecting his published books, announcements in literary magazines and newspapers and his unique literary archive. During his lifetime, Kranjec transferred his own literary archive to the Manuscript Department at the National and University Library for permanent preservation."

"The literary creativity of Miško Kranjec has become part of the canon of literary history in Slovenia, and numerous literary-theoretical studies have been written about him. Kranjec’s work maintains the memory of key turning points in modern national history. In accordance with the doctrine of Socialist Realism, the aesthetic component remains in the background of Kranjec’s oeuvre."

"The model of Social or Socialist Realism became outdated around 1950. Kranjec’s influence cannot be traced anymore. Nevertheless, it is likely that his magnificent oeuvre has encouraged a number of contemporary authors from Prekmurje, the region where the writer was born, and which he used as a characteristic theme in his work."

"Although literature and fiction, respectively, are often mixed with political and ideological reality, Kranjec is mainly regarded as a writer nowadays. As a social worker he never participated in real politics, but he acted almost exclusively as a publicist in the field of culture"

Find out more on the NUK exhibition page.

The National and University Library – NUK - collects, documents, preserves and archives the written cultural heritage of the Slovenian nation and country. The NUK provides ready access to its collection of knowledge and culture of past and current Slovenian generations and makes it available to the citizens of Slovenia and other countries.

"After the 1945 Liberation, the former university library was officially recognised as the Slovenian national library and renamed National and University Library (NUK), illustrating its twofold character. After 1991, with the independence of Slovenia from federal Yugoslavia, it has continued to function as the Slovenian national library" says says Dare Balažic, Editorial Working Group representative for the NUK.

"NUK's total collection comprises some 2.5 million items (1.1 million books), and is extremely varied, ranging from medieval manuscripts and early printed books, to government and official publications. The library's most precious document is probably Codex Suprasliensis,a medieval manuscript from the first half of the 11th century, which was included into the Unesco Memory of the World Register in 2007 as the first document owned by any Slovenian institution."

"As negotiations are under way for Slovenia to become an OECD member, the NUK will be designated as deposit library for the full range of OECD publications, adding to the already well-established collections of EU, Unesco and other official publications"

"Legal deposit started in 1807, when the first decree on legal deposit was passed in the Austrian Empire and was used in all Slovenian regions belonging to the Empire. The current Slovenian National Bibliography has been published without interruption since 1945, periodically and in a number of series. It is available in both printed and electronic format. The 2006 Legal Deposit Act extends legal deposit to e-publications of all kinds and ensures long-term preservation within the digital repository. The library successfully carried out retrospective conversion of bibliographic records, including those stored in the oldest catalogues. The NUK contributes records to the COBIB national union catalogue which is part of the COBISS national shared bibliographic system."

• THE EUROPEAN LIBRARY CHALLENGES MULTILINGUAL BORDERS

The European Library challenges multilingual borders

The European Library has taken an important decision to make its collections accessible in many of Europe’s native languages. This means that end users will be able to browse through all national library collections across Europe in their native language.

The titles and descriptions of 330 digital collections and catalogues are being made accessible in 27 languages. Additional languages will follow in the near future.

Following a thorough review of translation companies, Scriptware was selected in June 2008 to take on the ambitious task. "This unique multi-language project needed the right approach. The idea of a translation portal where all the partners involved could interact was very appealing. Consequently, we asked Scriptware to employ their TransiBar portal" says Lizzy Komen, project coordinator.

Frank ter Reehorst, Managing Director of Scriptware adds: "This is the first time we have had 27 languages in one go in TransiBar. It is a significant development, as we have been submitting the translation to online review by locally-based reviewers in the national libraries”. The European Library Editorial Working Group is currently reviewing these translations and the available translations will go live during a stakeholder’s presentation in Lisbon on 3rd October. "

View Scriptware's press release in 27 languages