NUK - Slovenia’s national library and the library of the University of Ljubljana

The Gateway to Knowledge

Established in 1774, the National and University Library (NUL) is an institution of considerable age and tradition. Located in the immediate vicinity of the university, it is housed in an imposing building (1941) designed by architect Joze Plecnik that is considered a monument of national importance. There are 240 seats available in its reading rooms. The library is state-supported and boasts one of the most outstanding collections of Slovene and international literature in the country. It is the only library with archival responsibilities.

NUL acts as Slovenia’s national library and as the library of the University of Ljubljana, performs functions such as interlibrary loans, document supply, and reference center at the national level, and is the leading research library in the country due to its rich and antique collection. Its main activities and services include the collection, cataloguing, conservation, and access to documents submitted under legal deposit; the collection of manuscripts important to Slovene culture and science; maintaining a representative collection of foreign literature covering all branches of human knowledge; the creation and publication of Slovenia’s current and retrospective national bibliography (NUL contributes records to the OCLC international bibliographic catalogue); serving as the national referral center, thus taking part in the international exchange of information; cooperation with national and other major libraries abroad; and the enhancement of research, development, and education in the library and information field together with advisory and supervisory services for the national library network. NUL’s large and multifaceted collections and other activities also support university education and research.

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NUL’s collections comprise 2,300,000 volumes. Special collections (manuscripts, music, maps & charts) have long been established and contain several hundred modern and ancient manuscripts (e.g., the Codex Suprasliensis), 508 early printed books, and cartographic and pictorial items. Government and official publications, sound recordings, reports, proceedings, dissertations, etc., are collected as well. A great many library materials are available for loan, but some categories must be consulted in situ.

Computerized data processing began at NUL in 1988. Its computer database now contains several hundred thousand records created on the basis of legal deposit intake, purchase, exchange, and gifts. The database covers all types of publications and, to a lesser extent, journal articles as well. Library users can access information using online facilities. NUL acts as a gateway providing access to other online catalogues and commercial databases, both national and international, and subscribes to almost one hundred databases on CD-ROM’s that have been networked.

In addition, NUL regularly publishes a wide range of periodicals.