Access to libraries for students Association

For the students of Association KU Leuven there is a significant change on access regulations from 26^th of December 2012 onwards.

Students of the Association still have free access to the libraries of the KU Leuven but those who have not yet applied for a library card on Wednesday 26^th of December 2012, pay a day card (€ 2.5 + 5 € deposit). This rule also applies to KU Leuven students.

This action runs until the end of the exam period, Friday 1^st of February 2013.

So come as soon as possible – before 23/12/2012 – to our desks for requesting a free library card. KHL-students can also apply for this card in their own KHL-libraries.

Flandrica.be online

On November 15th, the Central Library hosted the launching of Flandrica.be, the new portal website of the Flanders Heritage Library and its six partner libraries. In this online heritage library, the visitor can browse through the most important pieces of each library collection. You can stumble across beautifully illustrated medieval manuscripts, old prints of Plantijn, but also old cookery books, lyrics and catechisms.

Inspired by international examples like Europeana, Flandrica.be is the portal for – at this moment – more than 400 books, manuscripts, newspapers and other documents from the six partner libraries: Heritage Library Hendrik Conscience, University Library Antwerp, Public Library Bruges, University Library Ghent, Provincial Library Limburg and University Library Leuven.

For KU Leuven, Flandrica.be displays documents from the Central Library, Maurits Sabbe Library, University Archive and Campusbibliotheek Arenberg: masterpieces such as the Bible of Anjou, but also documents that vividly depict the university history of Louvain and the cultural life of the city and region.

Source: News KU Leuven

The Dutch Cultural Coalition for Digital Durability (CCDD) presents her strategic program

The Dutch Cultural Coalition for Digital Durability points the problem of preserving digital cultural data for the future. The CCDD instigates the Dutch heritage institutions to reflect about the organization of digital durability in the cultural sector.

The key element is awareness. This awareness is not only necessary outside the Dutch heritage institutions, but also inside them. Therefore the CCDD’s Strategic Program accents the responsibilities of the heritage institutions. For many institutions in the Netherlands it is not self-evident to pay attention in their policies to the strategic value of ICT, digitizing, digital support and digital accessibility. The CCDD wants to change that. To finance the digital durability co-operation between the institutions is necessary.

The co-operation should result in an e-depot and related services.

The CCDD’s Strategic Program has been published in a magazine and is also digitally available in pdf.

Source: Faro

Source photo: Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek

Enrollment for the post academic course ‘Library and Information Sciences’

Until October 1^st anyone who is interested can enroll for the post academic course ‘Library and Information Sciences’ (LIS) at the University of Antwerp. This one year course is the ideal preparation if you are interested in a job in a (heritage) library, documentation centre or any other information organization.

The courses are on Tuesdays and Fridays. It is also possible to follow the courses during two years or to choose for just one of the courses.

You can find more information on the website.

Source: Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek

Source photo: idem

British Library accused of sordid theft

The head of the British Publishers Association has accused the British Library and the Open Rights Group of sordid theft. According to Richard Mollet, these organizations – who call it free speech – are in fact stealing intellectual property. Search engines, internet providers and research organizations are doing the same as well. Because of this practice writing no longer provides a sufficient income for authors.

Part of Mollets’ statement is a reaction on a publication (pdf) of the British Library concerning the copying of scientific articles for data mining-purposes by – for example – medical researchers.  British copyright laws do not currently allow collecting great numbers of data to study them.

The British government is organizing a large-scale open access-campaign for scientific research. The governments’ intention is to make all the scientific research that has been financed by taxes freely available for everyone. Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, has been hired as advisor for a national British open access policy.

Source: Informatie Professional

Source photo: Library Student Journal

The Encyclopaedia Brittanica is gone (the paper version)

Almost two and a half centuries after the first edition, he Encyclopaedia Brittanica stops with the paper version of the famous encyclopaedia. The Brittanica is the oldest still existing English encyclopaedia. The first edition, only three volumes, was published in 1768. Digital version exist since 1994, when for the first time an edition on CD-ROM came out.

With a price of 1400 dollar, the paper edition had become a luxury product. On line encyclopaedia’s are faster, more current, portable and cheaper. An annual subscription on the online version costs $70.

The most recent paper edition in our Central Library is the one from 2005. Since a few years the University Library offers in her LIMO-catalogue the online version of the Britannica Academic edition.

Source: Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek

Source photo: Britannica

Cranevelt letters

The Cranevelt letters are one of the most important manuscript collections in the Central Library. They contain the correspondence of humanist Frans Cranevelt of Bruges with Erasmus, Juan Luis Vives and Thomas Morus, among others. In 1928 Henry de Vocht published the first part of the Cranevelt letters. The second part was published in 1992-1995 by Josef Ijsewijn et al., with the support of the Koning Boudewijnstichting (who donated the letters to the KU Leuven). During the last year all the Cranevelt letters were catalogued in Limo and digitized.  From now on you can find the entire letter collection online. In Limo you enter ‘Craneveltbrieven’ or ‘correspondence of Cranevelt’ as search terms. Then you access the letters by clicking on the tab ‘View online’ (within the Libis network) or via tab ‘Details’ and ‘Online version in Lias’ (outside the campus network).