Digital Library of Slovenia

Coordinates: 46°2′51.18″N 14°30′13.31″E / 46.04755°N 14.5036972°E / 46.04755; 14.5036972 The Digital Library of Slovenia is a web portal providing ready access to digitised knowledge and cultural treasures. It offers a free search through sources and free access to digitised contents, such as periodicals, books, manuscripts, map, photographs, music and manuals.

History

The Digital Library of Slovenia is a part of The National and University Library of Slovenia (NUK). Strategic origin of the project can be found in The Strategy of the Republic of Slovenia in the Information Society si2010, the resolution on the National Programme for Culture to cover the 2008-11 period and many other European Union documents and initiatives which define the meaning and guidelines of further development towards an open, developed and, first of all, a universally accessible information society.

As a response to these challenges, the NUK started to develop a web portal that would guarantee an equal and free of charge access to relevant information, irrespective of user’s location. The portal would be also a support to learning, scientific and research work, cultural development, progress of national identity and also to a virtual environment. The Digital Library of Slovenia was presented to public for the first time in November 2005 and is also a part of The European Library, a joint project of European national libraries.

Technical aspects

The Digital Library of Slovenia portal acquires publications metadata directly by using Z39.50 protocol which provides access to a library catalogue, or the information is a result of a digitisation of materials. Basis for metadata description is the Dublin Core (DC) standard which suggests enlistment of 15 basic elements for describing digital objects that may be extended at will by using expandable DC scheme.

Data are taken through the HTTP protocol by placing demand on OAI-PMH server that enables influx and transmission of data from practically all existing metadata schemes. Server provides a result in one of the XML format, defined in advance. As data collections can be huge, because transferred through the web, and formation and transfer of huge XML files might take too long, transfer of collection is split in optional number of series.

National libraries, archives, depositary units and other owners of electronic contents who receive data are often faced with question referring to permanent tracking of published electronic documents. Accessibility of articles (as for instance as basis of reference) should be ensured irrespective of the fact that Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of a document can be changed (even often). One of the most prevalent international approaches enabling tracking of digital contents irrespective of variability of their web location is use of DOI (Digital Object Identifier) service. Other solution that can be implemented on local level is called URN (Uniform Resource Name).

While Digital Object Identifier is administered by the International DOI Foundation (IDF) organisation and the usage of a DOI identifier is a payable service, the URN is a solution that can be developed and used free of charge. National and University Library provided realisation of the Digital Library of Slovenia. Principle of the operation and usage of a URN reference number to a great extent resembles to the DOI indicator.There are two major system functions: the URN generator – service defining unique URN record for every object and the URN resolver – interpreter that connects a given URN record with a digital object.

Collections

The Digital Library of Slovenia offers access to publications, published on the web and to digitised contents, published on classic carriers. Through a single access and a cross-search feature it unifies collections of a different kind in one place. Searching in collections is possible according to bibliographic data (author, title, publishing date, content, type of material …). Full-text retrieval technology, supported by OCR, is used to allow you to search directly in the text.

Currently available collections:

• Scientific and scholarly articles: there are more than 3,000 articles published in many internationally recognised professional and scientific journals.
• Articles: the collection of articles provides tools for browsing of older newspapers that gave character of the period (Kmetijske in rokodelske novice, Ljubljanski zvon, Dom in svet, Novi akordi, Sodobnost, Štajerc, Nova muzika).
• Photographs: photographs of the poets Anton Aškerc, Karel Destovnik Kajuh, the bishop Anton Jeglič, senators of the Drava Banovina and many others; there are also postcards with Jurij Vega, France Prešeren, and old Ljubljana; caricatures by Maksim Gaspari and Hinko Smrekar; reproductions of Ivan Cankar's drawings and manuscripts…together there are more than 10,500 items.
• Books: the database includes books from 1830 until today. It provides free access to some of the most important works of the Slovenian authors, such as Ivan Cankar's Erotika, Nina, Hlapci; Dragotin Kette's Poezije; Josip Murn's Pesmi in romance. For the admirers of poetic realism, the collection includes Janko Kersnik and his work Kmetske slike. A treasure of special kind is the first translation of the libretto of Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin, published as a separate edition.
• Posters: the collection includes advertising, promotional, film and war posters and also political posters by well-known authors, such as Maksim Gaspari and Ive Šubic. All together, there are almost 4,000 posters available.
• Sheet music: in more than 1,000 records, there are works of the Ipavec family, Danilo Fajgelj, Risto Savin, Stanko Premrl, Emil Adamič, Slavko Osterc, Marij Kogoj. The arrangements of the Slovenian folk songs and the songs from the turning points in the Slovene history and one of the first arrangements of Prešeren's Zdravica (Slovenian national anthem) are also included in this database.
• Higher education publications: offers free access to complete scientific research works of various domains, ranging from natural, social to library sciences.
• Maps: the selection of old maps provides access to the famous Peter Kozler's map Zemljovid slovenske dežele in pokrajin, Valvasor's maps of Carniola, and all the others, including Sebastian Münster, who pictured the Slovenian ethnical territory as it was in the 16th century. In addition, the Maps database also includes old plans of the capital of Ljubljana (from 1820 to 1920).
• Sound recordings: it consists of the recordings of solo singers and ensembles dating from the beginning of the 20th century, including a wide range of folk songs.

See also

• National and University Library of Slovenia
• European Library

References

• Article in Slovene language in newspaper Dnevnik
• Article in Slovene language in newspaper Dnevnik
• YouTube video
• Article in Slovene language in newspaper Delo
• Article in Slovene language

External links

• The Digital Library of Slovenia
• National Library of Slovenia