ljubljana city library
All Around the City
“Libraries, whether my own or shared with a greater reading public, have always seemed to me pleasantly mad places, and for as long as I can remember I've been seduced by their labyrinthine logic, which suggests that reason (if not art) rules over a cacophonous arrangement of books. I feel an adventurous pleasure in losing myself among the crowded stacks, superstitiously confident that any established hierarchy of letters or numbers will lead me one day to the promised destination.� Manguel, Alberto; The Library at Night
Welcome Welcome to the Ljubljana City Library (LCL) - with more than one and a half million annual visitors and 83.000 members who annually borrow almost 5 million units of library materials - the largest public library in Slovenia. Our whole collection that consists of nearly 1.7 million units is being borrowed more than thrice annually. Over three thousand cultural and educational events that meet our user’s needs and desires are being organized each year. The LCL consists of 37 libraries that lend library materials, give information, organize cultural and educational events, and strive towards an ever increasing quality of service for our members, as well as for all inhabitants of Ljubljana and its visitors. The LCL with its services is here for you, dear visitors. We are at your service and wish you best possible accommodation within our libraries. We anxiously await your next visit. We are easy to find, for we are:
all around the city.
Before us and with us Ljubljana is a city of culture and the book. It has a long-lasting tradition of reading-rooms and libraries: • 1866 On the initiative of Blaž Potočnik, a priest, the first reading-room in Šentvid was established – the forerunner of the Šentvid Library. • 1901 The mayor Ivan Hribar established the City Library – a professional library of Ljubljana’s city administration that has evolved into the Slovanska Library. • 1911 The Economic Progressive Society for the district of Šentjakob established the Library of Saint Jacob that was later renamed into the City Library and was the predecessor of the Oton Župančič Library. Ever since the public libraries of Ljubljana have been formed, expanding, developing and complementing each other, in accordance with the development of reading habits and community demands. On 25th March 2008 the Ljubljana City Library was established by the decision of the City Council of the City of Ljubljana, that united the formerly independent libraries and their branches: Bežigrad Library, Oton Župančič Library, Jože Mazovec Library, Šiška Library, Prežihov Voranc Library, and Slovanska Library. The consolidated library began to operate on 1st June 2008. The consolidated Ljubljana City Library has provided to our members and visitors a simpler use of our facilities and collections as well as a common and perfected set of library services.
THE VISION OF LCL To understand the changes and prepare paths to the services in the future is a vision by which we are committed to permanent development with an aim of becoming the most innovative Slovenian public library.
TASKS and OPERATIONS • The LCL consists of five district libraries and 17 branch libraries including also the Slovanska Library, the Mobile Library and the Trubar Literature House. • We also operate in thirteen branch libraries located in eight other municipalities: Brezovica, Dobrova – Polhov Gradec, Horjul, Ig, Medvode, Škofljica, Vodice and Velike Lašče. • We are developing the reading culture, literacy and cultural activities. • We are exercising informal lifelong education. • We are the central regional library of the central Slovenia region and cooperate with eight independent libraries: Domžale Library, Logatec Library, Kamnik Library, Litija Library, Grosuplje City Library, Ivan Cankar Library Vrhnika, Jože Udovič Library Cerknica and Medvode Library.
We are here for you
• Among 223 employees – most of them are professional librarians and and library assistants – are indispensable in our libraries. They find the requested materials, provide informations and organize numerous cultural events and education courses for adults or youth. • The Library director manages and represents the institution and is responsible for its best operation. • The Development and Central regional Library Office together with the IT Service works on the development, performing and coordinating of the tasks of the central regional library for the central Slovenia region, the integration of user services of LCL, the development of the digital library and management of the LCL information system. • The Collection Development and Cataloguing Service selects and acquires miscellaneous materials, catalogues and classifies them and prepares them for the shelves of our libraries. • The Public Service provides updated information to library users directly, on our web page or via social networks, takes care of user services and organizes cultural and educational events. • The HR Office handles legal operations and personnel issues of LCL, carries out public procurements, organizes staff training and deals with issues of a safe and healthy working environment. • The Finance and Accounting Office keeps business books and carries out payments. • The Logistics Service supports the functioning of our libraries by maintaining library facilities and transporting library materials, inventories and staff members.
We add value
• As a public library we provide access to materials and information. • As a center of literacy we reduce social and intellectual marginalization. • As a center of reading culture we supply materials, and by organizing reading projects and events we encourage and educate. • We take particular care for children and youth in the fields of reading, education and quality leisure activities. • We take particular care for the elderly by acquiring adjusted materials and by arranging suitable events and educational courses. • By virtual services we provide a simple use of the library. • We provide support to information and media literacy programs. • With our network of 37 branch libraries, we ensure uniform services throughout the city. • We provide support for lifelong-learning processes. • We support the development of national identity and of multiculturalism. • We operate as an intergenerational meeting place and support the exchange of experiences, opinions and skills.
www.mklj.si/eng
We research and create Daily, diverse events that are free of charge and available to all our visitors are being held in our libraries: literary evenings, reading groups, shows and concerts, workshops and courses.
FOR ADULTS • books: printed, electronic and audio We are the first Slovenian library that dared to venture “beyond paper”, and offer the loan of e-books on e-ink reading devices to its members. The e-ink reading devices are easy to use, easy to hold, pleasant to read, and enable a zoom-in – an important feature for the elderly and the visually impaired. The audio books are of benefit to those with reading difficulties as well as to those who choose to spice up a long journey by listening to a good novel. • movies & music Many quality and popular movies of various productions are available on DVDs and Blu-Rays. A diverse selection of CDs will suit even the most demanding of preferences. • reading lists Reading lists that provide assistance in finding suitable books are available in our libraries or on our web page. • book exhibitions of awarded Slovenian and foreign authors Materials dealing with a specific subject or author are presented at book exhibitions set up weekly or monthly for various target groups. • the Reading City The encouragement project on quality reading among adult readers is organised every year with recommendation list of novels.
• reading-rooms Our reading-rooms are supplied with daily, weekly and monthly press as well as with professional journals. For you we receive as many as 1.212 titles, of which 246 are in foreign languages. Newspapers and magazines may be read daily during opening hours in comfortable reading rooms. • study cells for reading and learning Student reading-rooms along with additional convenient collections of books are available, and for more thorough study study-cells are also available to you. • video corners You may spend your free time in our library by watching a movie of your own choice. • reading groups and literary evenings Anyone who wishes to discuss the books is invited to attend meetings of various reading groups or literary evenings which host as guests renowned and inspiring writers. • travelogues Listen to travelers and their interesting tales and travel with them to the well-known or exotic lands. • professional and popular lectures The lecturers present various subjects, answer your questions and forward their experiences. • educational courses and workshops You may gather or upgrade your knowledge or skills in various available forms: self-study with multimedia materials, learning under supervision of tutors or by attending various guided courses, workshops and lectures. • concerts and theatre performances Theatre and film performances as well as concerts of established or non-established performers attract many visitors to our halls.
• exhibitions Interesting and often very well accepted exhibitions are organized in our exhibition halls. • chess and social games Various social games may be played in our libraries and the knowledge of chess may be upgraded in our chess school, led by a chess master. • book purchasing Our bookshops offer new or second hand books at low prices. • creativity Exhibit your creativity at a workshop or at an independent exhibition, organized for you on the premises of our libraries. • coffee or tea Warm drinks are available in our libraries while you read or chat.
PARTICULARLY PROUD OF • The Pionirska – The Centre for Youth Literature and Librarianship Has its origins in the Pionirska Library, that soon after its founding in 1948 became the leading institution in youth librarianship. Our professionals in the Pionirska Library develop new librarian approaches, lead several national projects (Slovenian library-museum Mega quiz), are engaged in professional education in the field of youth literacy and librarianship (Professional Wednesdays), publish an annual Manual for reading quality youth literature and annually grant The Golden Pear, our first trade mark.
• Slovanska Library – Centre for local materials and specialized collections for Humanities Provides support for research and study in humanities as well as in Slavic languages, literatures and cultures. The Slavonic Library is Ljubljana’s local-history center that collects and distributes materials and information concerning Ljubljana, its suburbs, and their inhabitants. Slovanska Library keeps a unique collection of 3000 miniature books. • Lifelong Learning Centre Provides education to our members as well as to wider library staff and the employees of the LCL. The Center consists of: b The Learning Exchange collects, edits and transmits the information between those who seek specific knowledge or skills and those who offer it. b The Centre for Autonomous Learning offers equipped study cells, multimedia educational materials, and workshops in the field of computing, foreign languages and of other contents. b The Employment Information Service operates as an info-center for seekers of employment, students, high school pupils and pensioners. It organizes workshops and provides information about the labor market, the opportunities and ways to find employment, as well as about social care, labor rights and the rights of the unemployed. b The Learning Centre plans, organizes and performs professional education of LCL’s librarians and the librarians of other Slovenian public libraries.
• The Mobile Library hit the road for the first time in 1974. It supplies distant places with library materials, particularly in the rural suburbs where the stationary branch library is unavailable. It visits particular destinations such as kindergartens, hospitals, institutes, residential homes for elderly and prisons. The bibliobus has 46 bus stops within the Municipality of Ljubljana and eight other municipalities of the central Slovenia region. The library operating within a bus attracts attention and interest everywhere. • The Trubar Literature House is a newly established cultural venue. It commenced its cultural mission in September 2010 in cooperation with the Department for Culture of the City Municipality of Ljubljana, and has since placed itself into the center of our capital as a public space dedicated to the book and literature. With the Trubar Literature House the LCL has acquired a venue where the book, literature and socially critical reflections can meet.
Growing up
As we are aware of how important it is for young people to get accustomed to the library and its facilities from an early age, the LCL leads a policy of not charging membership fees to children and the youth. Our libraries provide many reading and other activities for the proper growth and well-being of children and youth.
TO CHILDREN, THE YOUTH, and their parents we provide • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
books for the youngest and for autonomous readers cartoons, youth movies and music children and youth magazines, as well as magazines for parents comfortably arranged family spots shelves with useful literature for parents (toddler nursing, upbringing, child development and family trips) comic-books spots with excellent comics video corners: view cartoons or movies of own choice theatre, puppet and movie shows as well as concerts creative and instructive workshops story time in Slovenian and in foreign languages fairytale hours with puppies quizzes and literary riddles reading lists, contests, and awards summer reading hints exciting exhibitions
ESPECIALLY PROUD OF • Mega quiz is a Slovenian library-museum quiz that has been for several years organized within LCL by the Pionirska Library in collaboration with other libraries, museums and schools. • Cici All Ears – reading for toddlers is a reading project intended for preschool children and their parents that is organized in collaboration with Ljubljana kindergartens. Cici All Ears encourages family reading and promotes literature and libraries. • Summer reading Take-Offs is a project of encouraging reading habits among young readers between the ages of 7 and 12. During the summer holidays the children read half an hour daily and by doing so develop their reading habits.
• Robinsoniad in the information jungle encourages reading, creativity and ingenuity on the internet among the youth. • Reading with Paws is a reading meeting with well-trained therapy dogs. Children read them stories and get friends with animals. It is not intended merely for children who like dogs but also for those who fear them. • Kosovir’s spoon is an interactive object for listening to fairy-tales that was designed on the basis of the literary work Cosies on the flying spoon by Svetlana Makarovič, a famous Slovene writer. • Toy Library is a collection of toys that consists of around 2.000 pieces of toys and games for children from the age of one month onward. Children, accompanied by their parents, can borrow and take the toys home. A large section of toys is suitable for children with physical, reading or concentration disabilities.
FOR EVERYONE We are committed to include vulnerable groups of the population: the young who have quit school, the unemployed, the elderly, members of other ethnic groups, asylum seekers and the physically disabled. In our libraries you will find information and ways of improving your current situation. • The visually impaired can borrow books with larger print, audiobooks or e-ink reading devices that allow font adjustment. • Book at home is a Home Library service and it is available to those who are physically unable to visit the library. Books and other materials are brought to the user’s home as well as carried back to the library.
WEAVED ON THE WEB The LCL’s homepage provides daily information to members and visitors, recommends books and other materials, presents events and education courses, and invites you to cooperate with us within various projects. • By clicking the online public access catalogue COBISS/OPAC check whether the requested materials are available in our libraries. Another click within My Library service and the books are ordered or reserved. Also check within My Library, when the loan period of the borrowed materials expires, and if you wish, extend the loan period. • By using the chargeable Inter-Library Loan Service materials unavailable in our libraries may be ordered. • Wireless internet access on the premises of our libraries is provided for by the Libroam and Eduroam networks. • Computer reservation in any of our libraries at any given time can be carried out by the use of the MyPC service. • Various electronic databases with remote access are available. We also provide interesting and entertaining content on our social networks accounts available on: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and Pinterest.
WWW.mklj.si
Looking forward We are focusing our efforts on the development of additional services in the physical and virtual environment of the Library. In the future we intend to facilitate the returning of materials at any library, the delivery of library materials to user’s homes or workplaces, the arrangement of on-line payments and the playing of games. We are confident that LCL’s endeavours contribute to better quality of life of individuals as well as to the recognition of Ljubljana as a city of knowledge and literature.
Libraries Library
Location
Telephone
Bežigrad
Einspielerjeva ul. 1
01 236 38 00
Brezovica
Podpeška c. 2, Brezovica
01 365 31 65
Črnuče
Dunajska 367
01 537 26 09
Dobrova
Ul. V. Dolničarja 2, Dobrova
01 364 20 40
Frana Levstika
Stritarjeva c. 1, Velike Lašče
01 788 98 86
dr. France Škerl
Vojkova 87a
01 534 99 85
Fužine
Preglov trg 15
01 540 72 79
Gameljne
Sred. Gameljne 50
01 511 00 30
Glinškova ploščad
Glinškova ploščad 11a
01 534 66 86
Grba
Cesta na Brdo 63
01 257 29 17
Horjul
Slovenska c. 17, Horjul
01 750 02 12
Ig
Banija 4, Ig
01 286 33 88
Jarše
Clevelandska 17-19
01 541 25 67
Jožeta Mazovca
Zaloška 61
01 548 45 10
Kolodvor
Trg osvobodilne fronte 10
01 291 23 96
Nove Poljane
Povšetova 37
01 521 15 20
Otona Župančiča
Kersnikova 2
01 600 13 00
Podpeč
Jezero 21, Preserje
01 363 13 18
Poljane
Zarnikova 3
01 306 15 89
Polje
Zadobrovška 1
01 528 33 87
Potujoča
s postajališči
041 47 39 30
Prežihov Voranc
Tržaška c. 47a
01 244 35 74
Rudnik
Dolenjska cesta 11
01 427 34 23
Savsko naselje
Belokranjska 2
01 437 12 90
Slovanska
Einspielerjeva ul. 1
01 236 38 60
Šentvid
Prušnikova 106
01 512 46 08
Šiška
Trg kom. Staneta 8
01 519 38 42
Škofljica
Ob pošti 29, Škofljica
01 366 30 44
Trubarjeva hiša literature
Stritarjeva 7
01 256 56 94
Vodice
Škofjeloška cesta 7, Vodice
01 832 33 66
Zadvor
Cesta II. grupe odredov 43
01 547 43 98
Zalog
Zaloška 220
01 549 26 65
City of Ljubljana
All Around the City Ljubljana City Library Published by Responsibility Editor Translation
Ljubljana City Library Jelka Gazvoda, MA Veronika Rijavec Matej Gazvoda
Language Editing
Aleš Klemen, MA
Design
Ingrid Verdnik Pal
photography print circulation
archive LCL, Domen Grögl, Nuša Osredkar Collegium Graphicum d. o. o. 2.000 copies Ljubljana, August 2014
eng.mklj.si