International professional conference “Official publications and government information in the libraries of the Republic of Croatia” held
The International professional conference Official publications and government information in the libraries of the Republic of Croatia was held at the Pula City Library and Reading Room on 24 and 25 May 2102. Some 60 Croatian and foreign librarians and library professionals from public, school, academic, university and specialized libraries participated in the Conference and discussed the legal standing of books and the related library practices in the Republic of Croatia and in some of the EU member states.
The Conference was jointly organized by the National and University Library in Zagreb and the Pula City Library and Reading Room, and supported by the Croatian Ministry of Culture, City of Pula and County of Istria. The Conference was opened by the welcome speeches given by Nela Načinović, Director of the Pula City Library and Reading Room, Dunja Seiter-Šverko, Director General of the National and University Library in Zagreb, Vinko Knez, Assistant Director at the Administrative Department for social activities of the City of Pula, and Miodrag Čerina, Head of the Cabinet of the Istrian Region President. The participants in the Conference were also addressed by Katja Matković-Mikulčić on behalf of the Croatian Library Association.
The objectives of the Conference were to:
- expand librarians’ knowledge on official publications,
- improve library services related to the resources and accessibility of official publications,
- assist librarians in the promotion of the intellectual initiative in enforcing high standards of librarianship and in preparing library users for living and working in a community which conforms to European and world standards, i.e. in their promotion of the values associated with political culture,
- stimulate the development of libraries into information centres, where members of local communities may get both a general insight into official publications and government information as well as specific information about individual regions of the Republic of Croatia, and
- encourage the strengthening of political culture through the network of libraries, innovations and the ability to recognize official publications, with the ultimate aim of raising awareness of their significance for every individual and the entire community.
Apart from the official part of the programme, which will be documented through the publication of the conference proceedings, the organizers prepared an interesting and dynamic programme of follow-up activities, of which we would like to single out a sight-seeing tour of Vodnjan, a visit to its Relics Collection and to the desiccated, i.e. mummified remains of saints which are preserved at the Vodnjan Church of St. Blaise, a visit to the Museum and Gallery Centre Sacred Hearts (“Sveta srca”) of the Archaeological Museum of Istria in Pula and seeing the exhibition “The past for the future”.
All presentations and lectures given at the Conference, as well as conclusions, will be made available on the website of the Conference.
