Institute’s Reference Library

The goal of the Information Documentation and Communication Unit is to handle general documentation as well as to publish books, brochures, magazines, newspapers, CD and other publications. Also, it cooperates with research, educational, information and documentation centers in the country and abroad. For this very reason we have made several significant steps this year.

The Cultural Institute of Vojvodina's Slovaks has been enriched with a reference library in order to contribute to the daily activities of its employees as well as to create a base for the researchers of the Slovak culture in Vojvodina and this ethnic community in general.

In the process of composing this library we bore in mind its two basic purposes: the practical one and the archival one. This was the reason we chose two types of publications. On one hand there are books which are used on daily basis due to their practical value, and on the other hand, we have collected publications which represent highly valuable works of art produced by the Slovaks living in this area. It is important to keep collecting such works of art and store them in one place.

The goals and tasks of the library are to provide sources and service through different media which will meet the needs of scientists, experts, artists and general public conducting research, contribute to their education and help their search for specific information about the Slovak minority in Vojvodina.

Photo: Vladimír Lenhart

Typology wise, this library is a specialised library which bases its activities on following acts: Librarianship Act (Official Gazette 34/1944), IFLA/ UNESCO Guidelines for Specialised Libraries and the Draft of Guidelines for Specialised Libraries in Serbia adopted by the Serbian Library Association. Electronic recording of data is done using TnT Bibliotekar Plus program and they are saved in the inventories.

So far, the library has collected over  thousand  books which include dictionaries, encyclopaedias, linguistic handbooks, literary works of Slovak writers from Vojvodina, works of literary critics, literary theoreticians, as well as books about art and music, history of culture, biographies, collections, and so on.

Except for monographic publications which form the base of our library, we collect and store the serials as well as other types of publications such as: multimedia sources, catalogues, leaflets and so on. It is of extreme importance to systematically collect magazines: „Nový život“, „Dolnozemský Slovák“, „Národný calendar”, a weekly magazine „Hlas ľudu“ and other newspapers.

Photo: Vladimír Lenhart

One of the most significant functions this library will perform in future is systematic documentation and preservation of the Slovak culture in Vojvodina. This will be accomplished by collecting and storing catalogues of art exhibitions, festival programs, plays and leaflets of various exhibitions organized by the Slovak minority in Serbia. So far, these materials have not been systematically stored (unlike books and magazines).They are valuable source of information for future researchers.

Approximately 50 catalogues have been entered into our database. In order to be able to realise its mission, the Institute’s library will have to form permanent cooperation with all the relevant institutions and organisations as well as local self-governments of the areas where Slovaks are improving their cultural life.

To perform even better in future and provide better service, the library will first and foremost need better librarian software which will allow more detailed processing. This will include cataloguing as well as professional subject classification to improve the quality of its use. A reading room and a PC for the users are also much needed.

Even though this is a specialised library, all interested can use it every day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Zdenka Valent Belić