Second Weekend

This weekend's group presentations were very good. I particularly enjoyed the two on collaboration. I was aware of some of the projects that were discussed, but hadn't realized that they were the product of collaborations. The presentation on digital preservation was also fascinating, especially the information on the Internet Archive. I had no idea that projects like this existed. I found the Friday evening lecture and discussion time was also nice to have. As always, it was good to have the opportunity to discuss readings face to face.

E-Government, Outreach, Etc.

e-Government

Croatia has an extensive e-government program, which began in 2003. It is a high priority within the country, and is seen as an integral part of forming an information society. It is coordinated and monitored by the Central State Administrative Office for e-Croatia. Projects in all areas are underway, including: eTax, eCustoms, eJustice, eHealthcare, eEducation and eCulture. As part of this initiative, they are working to expand broadband internet access throughout the country. The number of broadband internet connections is steadily increasing, and from 2008 to 2009 it went up by 57.6% (E-Croatia, 2006).

Education

One of the current education initiatives in Croatia is their participation in the Bologna Process. This European education initiative has 47 participating countries, and Croatia has been a full member since 2001. The aim is to standardize the bachelor -master-doctorate degree process, and develop a common degree framework. This will make it easier for graduates to move from one program to another, regardless of country, without losing their current qualifications.

Since 2004, Croatia has also been working on creating a learning environment, and teaching methods that will include students with special needs in the regular education program (Mirošević, 2007).

Health

The Croatian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is undertaking a reform effort that began in 2009. This was primarily due to a budget deficit, which has been curbed by increasing revenue and decentralizing the health system. Their goal is to improve the quality of health care, provide equal access to health services, and better manage the national waiting list that exists for some services. One of the first steps toward this last goal was the centralized ordering of treatments, which will eliminate the order duplication that was happening before (Health care, 2010).

The World Health Organization recommends that Croatia work on, "Strengthening the core health system functions, scaling up health promotion and disease prevention, fostering environmental safety, and strengthening surveillance, prevention, and control of communicable diseases" (World Health Organization, 2007).

Environment

The Croatian Environment Agency was established in 2002. It has a role in the monitoring and collecting of data on water, air and soil quality, as well as endangered species and habitats. It was created in part to strengthen the infrastructure needed to support environmental policies, but also in order to conform to the environmental protection framework of the EU (Croatian environment, 2005).

Agriculture

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development is also working on changes that need to be made in order to duplicate the framework required by the EU. One of these measures has been the adoption of the Food Act, with its approach to food safety and quality (Kraljičković, 2009).

References:

(n.d.). About the Bologna Process. Retrieve from http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeronderwijs/bologna/

(2005). Croatian environment agency. Retrieved from http://www.azo.hr/Default.aspx?sec=275

(2006). E-Croatia program. Retrieved from http://www.e-croatia.hr/

(2010). Health care. Retrieved from http://www.mzss.hr/zdravstvo_i_socijalna_skrb/zdravstvo

Kraljičković, J. (2009). Croatian agriculture. Retrieved from http://www.mps.hr/UserDocsImages/publikacije/brošura%20-%20Croatian%20Agriculture%20-%20Cho.pdf

Mirošević, J. K. (2007). Inclusive education in Croatia. Retrieved from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Inclusive_Education/Reports/sinaia_07/croatia_inclusion_07.pdf

World Health Organization. (2007). Country cooperation strategy at a glance. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_hrv_en.pdf

Croatian Public Libraries

According to the IFLA 2007 report, there are 199 public libraries in Croatia, with 314 branches. Eleven of these are bookmobiles (bibliobus). There are 8 central libraries for minorities, 94 academic libraries, 116 special libraries and 1,264 school libraries.

In 2007, internet access was available at 81-100% of university libraries, research libraries and school libraries and 61-80% of public libraries.

Public libraries are not free institutions as they are in the United States. At the Zadar Public Library, the annual membership fee is around $20. In Zadar, they also have a limit of six items per checkout, and overdue fees are about 10 cents a day. Although public libraries vary by area, many offer a variety of materials to checkout, with books, movies, music and magazines being among the most common. Programs for all ages are offered throughout the year. In Zadar, many of these involve partnerships with local organizations and individuals.

My observation of the academic libraries that we visited in Zadar was that they are severely short of both space and money. Both the Zadar University Libraryand the Research Library/Archive have closed stacks due to lack of space. Electronic catalogs are only available for items from the last 20-30 years, and card catalogs are used for the rest. This is primarily due to budget and staff restrictions. Both the university libraries and the public libraries allow inter-library loan within the country, however there are some difficulties, primarily due to the lack of comprehensive online catalogs.

Croatian libraries face the same problems found in libraries around the world. Budget restrictions do not allow for expansion of buildings and staff, leading to cramped quarters and a lack of the necessary staff to increase electronic access to information. However, plans are in the works, and when the recession ends, several libraries hope to be able to relieve some of these problems.

References:

(2007). Croatia. Retrieved from http://archive.ifla.org/faife/report/41%20IFLA-FAIFE%202007%20CR%20-%20Croatia.pdf

Library Association Conferences

The Croatian Library Association will be hosting four conferences this year: LIDA, TIE, the IFLA Metropolitan Libraries Conference and the Spring School of School Librarians.

LIDA is Libraries in the Digital Age, an annual conference first held in 2000 in Dubrovnik, which focuses on the position of libraries in the digital world. After nine years in Zagreb, this year's conference will be held in Zadar.

TIE is the Text Encoding Initiative Consortium, which is holding its annual conference in Zadar this year. Although this year's program is still to be determined, they are accepting papers regarding digital texts and language resources.

IFLA's Metropolitan Libraries section will hold its annual conference in Zagreb this year. Their theme is Metropolitan Libraries: Enduring Values and Excellence.

The Spring School of School Librarians is an annual event held in Zagreb. This year their focus is on school librarians involvement in school curriculum, especially concerning the leisure time of students.

In addition to these conferences, the CLA will be participating in five other conferences around the world.

National Library Association

The Croatian Library Association (Hrvatsko Knjižničarsko Društvo) was established in 1940, and is currently made up of 16 regional library associations. Membership is voluntary and is on an individual or corporate basis. Prior to the establishment of the Croatian Library Association, Croatian Librarians were professionally connected to the Yugoslav Library Assocation, founded in 1930.

In 1949, the CLA established their professional journal, and they are now responsible for the publication of most library literature in the country, including the translation and publication of international standards and guidelines. The association's code of ethics was adopted in 1992, one year after Croatia obtained independence. The Croatian Library Association is a member of the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations. It is also a member of the International Federation of Library Associations.

References:

Zivkovic, D. (2002). History. Retrieved from http://www.hkdrustvo.hr/en/

March 5th-6th Weekend Reflection

I enjoyed our discussion this weekend about e-government. Although I didn't know this particular term for it, I've given this issue some thought, especially in regards to patrons at our library who need to file for unemployment, apply for government assistance or file their income taxes. There are several things to consider when dealing with e-government. First, the citizens must be aware that the information is online. Second, citizens must have the technological capabilities to access the information. Third, the information must be organized in such a way that it can be easily found.

I am curious to do some research, and see how much the government in Croatia puts online. It may be a bit difficult to find specifics, due to the language barrier, but it would be interesting to see how their government is making use of technology.

The Croatian National Library

The Croatian National Library is located in the country’s capital, Zagreb, and also acts as the central library for the University of Zagreb. The library began as part of a Jesuit Gymnasium (a type of grammar school) in 1606. In 1669, Adam Baltazar Krcelic donated a collection of books and manuscripts to the library, with the understanding that they be made available to the public.

In 1874, when the University in Zagreb opened, the library was renamed the University Library, to reflect its role in the school. At this time, the collection was combined with that of the National Museum.

A new building was constructed in 1913. It was designed to hold 500,000 volumes (the collection then stood at 110,000 volumes). A year later, the books contained in Metropolitana, the Archiepiscopal library, were added to the collection. Upon the completion of the current library facility, the old building was donated to the National Archives. Despite the fact that there is a special secured area in the new building available for the Metropolitana collection, they have opted to remain in the older building.

Construction on the current building began in 1988. The library's website mentions that the new building is similar to English libraries, with open access to the materials, and an open design that brings the outdoors in. Construction of the library took place while the country was fighting a civil war. Although many materials of historical and cultural value were removed to a remote location for safekeeping, the library itself remained open, and only closed for one day during the war.

The new building opened in 1995, as part of the celebration of the fifth anniversary of Croatian independence. The collection now includes more than 2.5 million books and other materials. As the national library, they are committed to preserving the written and printed Croatian cultural heritage. As part of this mission, they collect copies of all books written by Croats (regardless of language in which they are written), all books printed in the Croatian language, and books written about Croatia and Croats. Their special collections include manuscripts and old books, music and maps. In 2007 they had 19,372 members, who made 320,000 visits to the library.

References:

Miletic-Vejzovic, L. (1994). The national and university library in Zagreb: The goal is known - how can it be attained? Special Libraries, 85, 104-112.

(2005). About the library. Retrieved from http://www.nsk.hr/

(2007). National and university library, Zagreb. Retrieved from http://www.cerl.org/web/en/resources/hpb/content/national_and_university_library_zagreb