Dear all
Time for another edition of National Libraries News. It’s a bumper crop this month, and
big thanks again to everyone who is sending in stories and to my colleague Meriem who is
helping compile them. We’re trying to focus on stories from the previous month where
possible so please do keep sending us current news!
If you can share the stories with colleagues please do so, and tell them they can
subscribe here:
http://infoserv.inist.fr/wwsympa.fcgi/info/nat-lib and you can get the
stories on a tweeted basis by following our Twitter account here:
https://twitter.com/iflanatlibs
Finally a plug for Qatar National Library’s first annual report – grab it here!
https://www.qnl.qa/en/about/annual-report
Kind regards,
Stuart
National Libraries News
March 2019
Note: The stories were collected by Qatar National Library and submitted from colleagues
in national libraries around the world.
Library in Focus
Headline
Summary
Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF)
800 Medieval illuminated manuscripts are now available
online<https://aleteia.org/2019/02/24/800-medieval-illuminated-manuscrip…
“The manuscripts, all dated between 700 and 1200, are being made available to the general
public for the first time, thanks to a collaboration between the British Library and the
Bibliothèque Nationale de France”.
Painstakingly perfect and utterly peculiar – the drawings of Jean-Jacques
Lequeu<https://www.apollo-magazine.com/jean-jacques-lequeu-drawing-petit…
“Five powerfully strange self-portraits open the exhibition at the Bibliothèque Nationale
de France about the fantastical French architectural draughtsman Jean-Jacques Lequeu
(1757–1826)”.
BnF launches its new
website<https://www.bnf.fr/fr/vos-reperes-sur-le-nouveau-bnffr>
“BnF has launched its new website in early March. With new ergonomics, new navigation and
new features, it is available in French for now, but will soon be available in English and
Spanish as well”.
Gallicadabra: an app designed for kids and their
parents<https://gallica.bnf.fr/blog/13032019/gallicadabra-fait-peau-neuve>
“Gallicadabra is an app that offers about fifty stories organised in different genres
(stories, alphabets, fables, nursery rhymes).
After a first version published in 2017, a new version was just released with new
features, a colourful and intuitive interface, enriched content and greater
accessibility”.
Paris Book Fair 2019 : spotlight on
Europe<https://www.livreparis.com/en/focus-on/Spotlight-on-Europe/>
“From 15 to 18 March, the 39th Paris Book Fair plans to celebrate the richness and
diversity of the European literary heritage, highlighting the role of writers and thinkers
in building an open and diverse Europe.
As a participant, BnF is holding conferences on new uses for libraries at the time of
digital lending, and on censorship in books for young children”.
National Library of the Kyrgyz Republic
Head of OSCE center visits Kyrgyz National
Library<http://kabar.kg/eng/news/head-of-osce-center-visits-kyrgyz-national-library/>
“Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek Ambassador Pierre von Arx visited Alykul
Osmonov National Library of the Kyrgyz Republic and met library Director Professor Jyldyz
Bakashova where both of them expressed their wishes to develop further bilateral
cooperation in joint projects”.
National Library of Korea
International Broadcast Centre built for Pyeongchang 2018 to be taken over by National
Library of
Korea<https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1076396/international-broadcast-centre-built-for-pyeongchang-2018-to-be-taken-over-by-national-library-of-korea>
“Plans have been officially confirmed for the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) built
for last year's Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang to be turned into a
national archive for the National Library of Korea.
The national archives will store all periodicals and journals that are published in the
country in order to preserve these documents for generations to come”.
National Library of Pakistan
Exhibition on glimpses of China’s development
concludes<https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/436405-exhibition-on-glimpses-of-china-s-development-concludes>
“An exhibition of as many as 140 significant photos concluded at National Library of
Pakistan, featuring images of 40 years of historical routes, development achievements,
win-win cooperation and reforms in China.
The display offered the visitors a glance on China’s 40 years since reform and opening up
by the pictures selected for the exhibition.
During the exhibition, Director National Library of Pakistan introduced the audience with
cultural revolution and reforms in China, celebration of Chinese New year and Developments
in China. This exhibition is an attempt to create a link between people of Pakistan and
China”.
Iran national library CEO visits
Qatar<https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/433093/Iran-national-library-CEO-…
“Ashraf Borujerdi, the Director of the National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI)
visited Qatar National Library (QNL) and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to
expand relations between the two Libraries to exchange knowledge on preserving rare
manuscripts”.
Qatar National Library presented with Ukrainian
books<https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/2652566-qatar-national-li…
“The Qatar National Library (QNL) has been enriched with donation of books and materials
about Ukraine, including collections of poems by Lesya Ukrainka and Taras Shevchenko in
Arabic, historical documents and photo chronicles
On March 3, 2019, Ambassador of Ukraine to the State of Qatar Yevhen Mykytenko held a
meeting with Deputy Executive Director of the Qatar National Library Dr. Stuart Hamilton
and Chief Librarian of QNL Mr.Patrice Landry.
During the meeting, the sides discussed the ways of developing cooperation between the
Qatar National Library and Ukrainian national libraries”.
The Library's Annual Report 2018<https://www.qnl.qa/en/about/annual-report>
“Qatar National Library is pleased to announce that its first Annual Report for 2018 is
now released and available on the Library’s website”.
National Library of Wales
National Broadcast Archive for Wales: £1m backing
agreed<https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-47252760>
“A row over funding for a £9m National Broadcast Archive for Wales has been settled, after
ministers agreed to back the project of the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth which
wants to house the archive of 180,000, mostly BBC, recordings dating back to the 1930s”.
National Library of Finland
From Dice to Bytes – 200 years of Finnish
Gaming<https://www.kansalliskirjasto.fi/en/from-dice-to-bytes-200-years-of-finnish-gaming>
“The National Library of Finland’s new exhibition depicts the development of Finnish games
over three centuries. It puts games, players, game paraphernalia and game memories into
the spotlight. The displays feature historical board games from the 19th century, rare
computer enthusiast magazines from the 1980s as well as a video providing an overview of
Finnish video game streaming.
The content of the exhibition is primarily comprised of material submitted to the National
Library’s National Collection as legal deposit copies, as well as the Brummeriana
collection, accumulated and donated to the National Library by Professor Markus
Brummer-Korvenkontio. Games and paraphernalia connected to them are an important part of
the cultural heritage that the National Library aims to protect”.
British Library
Tony Benn archive goes to British Library in tax deal – a unique history of post-War
Labour
Britain<https://inews.co.uk/culture/arts/tony-benn-labour-archive-british-library-diaries/>
“The personal archive of Labour politician Tony Benn, an unparalleled collection of
artefacts spanning seventy years of British social and political history, has been
acquired for the nation by the British Library.
Comprising several hundred thousand documents, including film, audio tapes, unpublished
diaries and memorabilia, the archive sheds new light on the charismatic and controversial
former minister, who became a figurehead for Labour’s left wing and inspired Jeremy
Corbyn”.
National Library of Jamaica
Grange: Reggae Film Archive
coming<https://mcges.gov.jm/index.php/news/item/441-grange-reggae-film-archive-coming>
“The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange,
has announced that the Reggae Films In The Park event launched preparations to establish
the new digital Reggae Film Archive at the National Library of Jamaica as “a big step
towards preserving Jamaica’s cultural heritage and Reggae history on film”.
Library and Archives Canada (LAC)
Initiative Begins to Digitally Preserve Ontario’s Historical Vernon
Directories<http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/2019/digitally-preserve-vernon-directories.aspx>
“The Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) and Library and Archives Canada (LAC) are working
with FamilySearch International to digitize the historical Vernon directories for the
province of Ontario. The initiative will begin immediately to preserve and make the
directories freely searchable online for family historians, researchers, and Canadians.
This project will allow OGS and LAC to offer a very complete collection of directories for
Ontario. The intent is also to reach out to local libraries for any missing directories
that might be found in their collections”.
The 1926 Census of the Prairie Provinces database is on its
way!<https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/2018/1926-Census-announcement.aspx>
“Statistics Canada has transferred the 1926 Census of Prairie Provinces, which contains
over 45,000 pages, to Library and Archives Canada.
Over the summer, the Library concluded an agreement with FamilySearch to index the
thousands of census entries so Canadians can find the material on the website easily”.
National and University Library in Zagreb
Croatian National & University Library marking 412th
anniversary<https://www.croatiaweek.com/croatian-national-university-lib…
“The National and University Library (NSK) in Zagreb this year marks its 412th
anniversary, and in 2018 it saw an increase in the number of publications, reaching one
million entries in its online catalogue, more than 111,000 borrowings and more than eight
million views of its digital content”.
National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI)
Iranian manuscript scholars honored at national
library<https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/433062/Iranian-manuscript-schol…
“The 16th Honoring Ceremony for Supporters of Manuscripts was held at the National Library
and Archives of Iran (NLAI) in February 2019”.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress Helps Preserve Sesame Street for the
Future<http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/Digest/The-Library-of-Congress-He…
“The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB), a collaboration between the Library
of Congress (LC) and the WGBH Educational Foundation, will preserve a collection of
digitized Sesame Street episodes from the past 50 years of the show’s run. Sesame Workshop
will donate nearly 4,500 episodes to be incorporated into the AAPB’s record of public
media in the U.S. The collection will be available to view on-site at the LC and by
appointment at WGBH (in Boston).”
Film News Roundup: Library of Congress Announces Ken Burns Documentary
Award<https://variety.com/2019/film/news/library-of-congress-ken-burns-d…
“In today’s film news roundup, the Library of Congress honors Ken Burns, Anthony Anderson
is hosting the NAACP Image Awards, Berlin winner “Piranhas” gets distribution and “The
Biggest Little Farm” gets school screenings”.
National Library of Scotland
220-year-old map from the Hebrides is saved
<https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/220-year-old-map-from-the-hebrides-is-saved-1-4875528>
“Chapman's 1800 Plan of Stornoway Bayhead is the earliest surviving map of the town
and has now been saved by conservators at National Library of Scotland”.
National Library of Belarus
"The Best Books of Belarus": Exhibition According to the Results of the 58th
National Competition "The Art of the
Book"<https://www.nlb.by/en/news/Book-exhibitions/the-best-books-of-belarus-exhibition-according-to-the-results-of-the-58th-national-competition-the-a/>
“From February 15 to April 30 in the library (3rd floor, circular corridor) an exhibition
dedicated to the results of the 58th National Competition "The Art of the Book"
was held.
40 publishers with 158 publications took part in this competition. Less than half of them
entered the short-list, from which the competent jury selected the winners in 14
nominations.
According to the results of publishing in 2018, the highest book award of Belarus was
marked by the work of RUE Belkartografia of the State Property Committee: the 4-volume big
atlas of Belarus' history, the first most complete edition reflecting the historical
past of our country”.
German National Library
Exhibitions in
Leipzig<https://www.dnb.de/EN/Ausstellungen/Leipzig/ausstellungenLeipzig.html?cms_docId=293662&cms_notFirst=true>
“Jan Tschichold’s (1902–1974) works have become classics of graphic design and still
inspire young typographers today. In its new temporary exhibition, the German Museum of
Books and Writing at the German National Library in Leipzig draws on Tschichold’s
extensive legacy, which it was gifted in 2015.
The exhibition is organised in cooperation with the University of Erfurt”.
National Library of South Africa
The National Library of South Africa's Mzansi Libraries On-Line (MLO)
Project<http://www.nlsa.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MLO_NewsLetter1.pdf>
“In collaboration with the Departemntt of Arts and Culture (DAC) and the Provincal Library
services, the National Library of Sputh Africa worked on a project named “Mzansi Libraries
On-Line (MLO)” that seeks to empower South African communities by providing free access to
the internet as well as ICT equipment at Public Libraries”.
NLSA Annual Report for 2017/18<http://www.nlsa.ac.za/?p=789>
“The National Library of South Africa is the custodian and provider of the nation’s key
knowledge resources. The NLSA is mandated by the National Library of South Africa Act to
collect and preserve documentary heritage and to make them accessible thereby ensuring
that knowledge is preserved for posterity and that information is available to all”.
National Library of South Africa Hosts Citeathon
#1Lib1Ref<http://www.nlsa.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/NLSA_hosts_Citeathon_March-2019.pdf>
“The National Library of South Africa (NLSA) hosted a Citeathon in February 2019 in
participation of Wikipedia's #1Lib1Ref campaign where librarians globally to add value
to the encyclopaedia by adding missing citations in order to improve the credibility of
articles1.
On 5 February a Citeathon was held on the NLSA’s Pretoria Campus led by the NLSA’s
Graduate Development Programme (GDP) which the aim is to create the future information and
knowledge management professional with multiple key skills adaptable to the evolving
library and knowledge management profession”.
National Library of Brazil
Re-Launch of the France-Brazil digital
library<http://heritage.bnf.fr/france-bresil/homepage>
“Firstly launched in 2009 as part of “the Year of France in Brazil”, this website in both
French and Portuguese focuses on the history of Franco-Brazilian relations through more
than a thousand documents selected from the collections of the BnF and the National
Library of Brazil.
In celebration of its 10th anniversary, France-Brazil has been redesigned and enriched
before being incorporated to the digital collection "Shared Heritage" launched
by the BnF in 2017”.
Swiss National Library
New exhibition "Vu du ciel" (from the
sky)<https://www.nb.admin.ch/snl/en/home/exhibitions-events/past-exhibitions/vonoben.html>
“From 28th February to 28th June, the Swiss National Library is holding an exhibition that
invites visitors to change their perspective looking at aerial views from Spelterini
(1890) to drones”.
National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco (BNRM)
The BNRM and the National Library of Serbia signed a protocol of
cooperation<https://lnt.ma/maroc-serbie-signent-trois-accords-de-cooperation/>
“Morocco and Serbia signed in early March in Rabat, three cooperation agreements in the
fields of trade, tourism and culture: the Director of the National Library of the Kingdom
of Morocco (BNRM), Mohamed El Ferrane, and the Serbian Ambassador to Morocco, Sladjana
Prica, signed a protocol of cooperation between the BNRM and the National Library of
Serbia”.
Estonian National Library
Books on Armenia and Artsakh on display at Estonian National
Library<http://www.armradio.am/en/7752>
“A special expo dedicated to Armenia and Artsakh is on display at the Estonian National
Library presenting books donated by the Armenian Embassy in Estonia, which introduce
readers to the rich historical-cultural heritage, architecture and geography of Armenia
and Artsakh, different episodes of history, the Armenian Genocide and the Armenian
literature.
The Armenian Embassy has donated more than 50 books to the Estonian National Library over
two years. Close cooperation has been established with the national and university
libraries of Lithuania and Latvia, as well.
The exhibition will continue through March 31”.
National and University Library
of Iceland
The Map Collection of the National
Library<https://landsbokasafn.is/index.php?page=maps>
“The Map Collection of the National Library holds most maps of Iceland that have been
published during the ages. Most of these maps have been acquired through the legislation
on legal deposits.
The largest part of the Icelandic maps are from Danish survey project of the country
during early 20th century (herforingjaráðskortin), maps from the British and US-Army from
the middle of the 20th century (AMS-maps), publications of the National Land Survey of
Iceland and other publishers. The Map Collection also contains a large collection of books
(about 600 volumes) on maps and cartography which it received as a donation from Haraldur
Sigurðsson and his wife Sigrún Á. Sigurðardóttir. In that collection one can find copies
of atlases of the finest cartographers of earlier centuries, many works by respected
scholars in this field as well as the main journals on maps and cartography”.
National Library of Australia
National Library launches 'enormous' archive of Australia's
Internet<https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/658641/national-library-launches-enormous-archive-australia-internet/>
“The Australian Web Archive, which launched this month, is one of the biggest in the world
containing around 600 terabytes of data across 9 billion records.
The archive contains thousands of .au domain web pages allowing users to see how they
looked at different points in time from 1996 to the present.
The project has been some 20 years in the making, with the archive's functionality
developed over the last two years by National Library's small technology team, led by
chief information officer David Wong”.
Australian Joint Copying
Project<https://www.nla.gov.au/content/australian-joint-copying-project>
“The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) is a collection of unique historical material
relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific dating from 1560 to 1984.
Records filmed by the AJCP include a diverse range of material from UK Government
Departments such as the Admiralty, Home Office, Colonial Office, the Dominions Office held
by The National Archives of the UK and County Record Offices as well as personal archives
and manuscripts of leading politicians, explorers, scientists, religious and missionary
societies, convicts and businesses held by private organisations or individuals”.
'Cartoons are awful', and new exhibition shows just how
awful<https://www.smh.com.au/national/cartoons-are-awful-and-new-exhibition-shows-just-how-awful-20190306-p5126c.html>
“The National Library of Australia hosted an exhibition “Australian Cartoons”, cartooning
genius David Pope work features alongside more than 130 cartoons, which looks at 200 years
of cartooning in Australia”.
Libraries Around the World
Best libraries in London: The V&A, British Library, Wellcome Trust, BFI and
more<https://www.standard.co.uk/futurelondon/culturecity/best-libraries-in-london-wellcome-trust-british-library-canada-water-victoria-and-albert-guildhall-a4072696.html>
“Whether you need somewhere to study or cosy up with your favourite book, London’s
libraries provide an essential quiet haven in the bustling city. But many of them require
a registration process beforehand. Future London reveals how to gain access to the
capital’s best libraries for free”.
The Royal Library of Belgium becomes
KBR<http://www.kbr.be/en/the-royal-library-of-belgium-becomes-kbr/>
“The Royal Library of Belgium, which preserves more than 8 million documents, changes its
name to KBR”.
The Library of Alexandria Book Fair welcomes the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts is the
Guest of
Honour<https://www.bibalex.org/en/news/details?documentid=34764&>
“The Alexandria International Book Fair is taking place from 25 March to 7 April 2019. It
hosts 50 Egyptian and Arab publishers, and includes special pavilions for Kuwait, the
United Arab Emirates, Syria, and Palestine. The Book Fair is also hosting several
pavilions from Arab and governmental entities such as the Ministry of Antiquities, the
Arab Academy for Science and Technology, the National Council for Mental Health, the
National Center for Translation, the Consulate of Palestine and the Azbekeya Book
Market”.
Research Tools: National Library of Medicine (NLM) Launches “Medicine on
Screen”<https://www.infodocket.com/2019/02/21/research-tools-national-li…
“The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world’s largest biomedial library,
announces the launch of Medicine on Screen: Films and Essays from NLM—replacing Medical
Movies on the Web which debuted in 2013—expanding NLM’s engagement with researchers from a
variety of disciplines who use the medium of film and video to study the human
condition”.
New York Public Library Issues Lou Reed
Cards<https://pitchfork.com/news/new-york-public-library-issues-lou-reed…
“6,000 limited-edition library cards celebrate the opening of the Lou Reed Archive.”
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