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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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”.
Library and Archives Canada (LAC)	The 1926 Census of the Prairie Provinces database is on its way!	“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	“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	“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	“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).”
Library of Congress	Film News Roundup: Library of Congress Announces Ken Burns Documentary Award	“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	“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"	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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)	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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	“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”	“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	“6,000 limited-edition library cards celebrate the opening of the Lou Reed Archive.”