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Welcome to this month’s Roma Special Newsletter. In this issue we’re celebrating the launch of The European Library’s riveting new web exhibition ‘A Roma Journey’. This excellent online experience is all the more exciting because it’s a truly pan European and multilingual endeavour. Thanks to The European Library’s collaboration with the National Library of Serbia and valuable contributions from the national libraries of Denmark, Moldova and Georgia, the curator and romologist Mr. Dragoljub Acković and the Phonogrammarchiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, we all get the opportunity to revel in the world of the roaming Roma.

A Hidden History-The National Library of Serbia

‘A Roma Journey’ takes you on a tour through a fascinating collection of books, rare manuscripts, photographs, paintings and videos from the world of the Roma in the Balkans and across Europe. The Romani’s rich oral heritage is unravelled for all thanks to the collaboration of the Department for Digitisation of the National Library of Serbia and The European Library.

Visitors can gain unique insights in to life for the Roma from the 19th Century onwards. Digital delights on offer include the first ever dictionary in Roma-Serbian-German, written in a WWII concentration camp, as well as 19th century postcards highlighting these hidden faces of history. There’s also a chance to feast your eyes on the first book on the Romani people published in Serbia in 1803 (one of only 9 books published in the whole country that year) along with more contemporary collections.

Ms. Vesna Injac, the Deputy Director of the National Library of Serbia, is keen to point out this isn’t the first time the NLS has had a Romani focus. "The content is just one part of the Digital Romani Collection, which we started coordinating in 2006. The collection," states Injac, "was created, in cooperation with The European Library, with the aim of providing free access to Romani cultural gems." The NLS has already collected bibliographies from over 20 European national libraries. And there’s a European bibliography on the Roma language, accessible on the NLS website.

Serbia has had a long relationship with the Roma. "The Roma people had lived in Serbia for many centuries sharing the good and bad moments in history with Serbian people," says Injac. Although the Roma are represented in current day Serbia, the majority of the population live in poverty. This exhibition provides a chance for the public to uncover the culture of this, often misunderstood, nomadic people. In the words of exhibition curator and Roma expert Mr. Dragoljub Acković it’s hoped the exhibition, "will have an unprecedented impact across Europe…and uncover the traces of a long living culture of travellers".

Raising Awareness of the Roma - The National Library of Moldova

As one of the exhibition’s contributing national libraries, Moldova has a rich Roma heritage. The Roma have made their home in Moldova from as early as 1385 and when Moldova was part of the former USSR there were also nomadic Roma populations.

With the exhibition highlighting the Roma heritage, Raisa Melnic, from the NLM, is keen to point out how they have also influenced others. "Romani life and traditions inspired a lot of artists. Alexander Pushkin was exiled in Moldova where he fell in love with a beautiful Romani girl called Zamfira. He used his story to write the poem 'Romani'." The poem went on to inspire the painter Ilie Bogdescu to create a series of illustrations. Three copies of the poem, published by “Cartea Moldovei”, have been transmitted to their national library.

The National Library of Moldova has already organised several events raising the profile of these groups. Melnic explains: "We have organized book exhibitions: ‘The origin and history of Roma population’, ‘Romani culture and civilization’ and books written and translated by Roma have been presented at the International Book Salon in Chisinau".

Danish Alliances with the Roma

The National Library of Denmark’s contribution to the exhibition provides a very personal focus. The library has contributed knowledge about a Roma family from a Danish music teacher’s correspondence with the family, who were expelled from Denmark in the beginning of the 1900s. According to Ditte Goldschmidt, who works at the National Library of Denmark’s Danish Folklore Archives, the letters reveal the "daily, often difficult conditions for the travelling foreign Roma people". Denmark has had a strained relationship with the Roma and these letters help to shed light on the struggle these nomadic groups faced.

Austrian Audio Input

Another fascinating part of the exhibition is the audio content provided by the Phonogrammarchiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna. "Our Romani holdings are one of the largest collections of their kind," reveals curator Christiane Fennesz-Juhasz. The recordings have been chosen from the Archive’s collection of field recordings covering oral tradition, music and language varieties of various European Roma communities. One of the main sources for the exhibition comes from Mozes Heinschink’s sound collection, covering 1960 to the present. One of the highlights of the audio section is the reportedly "creepy" tale of "Prilica and Pralica", recorded in 1901. "As far as I know this is the very first sound document of the Romani language," says Fennesz-Juhasz. And there are many other revelatory recordings on offer, including fairy tales, music, oral history narrations and sound bites from famous personalities.

Chopin: The Romantic Refugee - British Library

Satisfy your Chopin cravings with this exhibition dedicated to his time in Great Britain. View original manuscripts of some of his most famous compositions alongside portraits, letters and historic documents charting his passion for the Polish political cause. The great composer gave his last five concerts in Britain and the exhibition also provides access to rare historic recordings. 1 March-16th May 2010. More info...

Grigore Vieru: "Taina, care mă apără" - The National Library of the Republic of Moldova

Take a tour of the life and works of Moldova’s greatest contemporary poet with this virtual exhibition from their national library. More info...

Vasile Vasilache: "Surâsul lui Vasile Vasilache" - National Library of the Republic of Moldova

Another virtual voyage from the national library of Moldova covers the life and works of contemporary writer, Vasile Vasilache. More info...

Swiss Appeal: Switzerland in Travel Guides - Swiss National Library

Want to know what makes Switzerland so special? This exhibition of travel guides and posters from the past and present will prove theirs more to the Swiss than cheese and chocolate. 12th March-27th June 2010. More info...

More Swiss newspapers online! – Swiss National Library

The complete holdings of The Journal de Genève, Gazette de Lausanne and the Nouveau Quotidien, three daily newspapers that were the forerunners of Le Temps have been digitised and made available online. More info...

A French Facelift – French National Library

Take a peak at the BnF's refreshed and revamped website and get to grips with Gallic goings on. More info...