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.

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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

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More than 3.2 million digitized pages newspaper available in the Royal Library of Belgium

In 2006 – in the context of the plan for digitizing the heritage of the federal scientific institutions – the Royal Library of Belgium received the instruction to digitize a representative selection 19^th and 20^th century Belgian newspapers (cost price: 4,5 million euro).

No less than 3.2 million pages from 70 Belgian newspapers from the years 1831-1950 are, starting from now,  digitally available.

The benefits of digitizing newspapers are on one hand preservation: newspapers are published on very vulnerable paper. Once digitized there is no more need to manipulate the newspapers that much. On the other hand it becomes much easier to search in the newspapers, thanks to the OCR-technology (‘optical character recognition’).

The newspapers were chosen for their creation date, language, place of publication, ideological and philosophical orientation. 3.2 million pages seems to be a lot, but it is only 5% of the total number of newspapers of the Royal Library. Because of copyright, you only can consult the newspapers in a  special room in the Library.

Source: http://www.faronet.be/nieuws/koninklijke-bibliotheek-stelt-meer-dan-32-miljoen-gedigitaliseerde-krantenpagina%E2%80%99s-online-bes

Source photo: http://www.brusselsmuseums.be/nl/musea/11-koninklijke-bibliotheek-van-belgië

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Wanted: New Head University Library

The KU Leuven is looking for a Library Director to succeed the present Chief Librarian, Professor M. W. Collier, who retires in the summer of 2012. The KU Leuven Library is a large and complex organisation including campus libraries, faculty libraries, electronic library services, archives and art collections. The job of Library Director provides the challenge of combining the management of important traditional and heritage collections with an ultra modern approach to e-resources and digitalisation of library materials. The Library’s IT division LIBIS provides a wide range of services to a network of institutions throughout Belgium and beyond. KU Leuven has also a network of University Colleges offering academic and professional programmes. The libraries of these Colleges form part of the wider network of the University Library. Moreover, the Library participates in a range of Flemish, Belgian and international co-operative activities.

 More information can be found here.

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Renovation works started

Today (28.06.2012) we have set the first step in the implementation of the planned renovation works at the Central Library. These works will definitely last until the autumn of 2013.

Some of those works will fully pass you. Others do have an impact on you and our service to you (as a customer).

Today the new 1600 kg weighing transformer was delivered. Which is intended for our new high-voltage cabin, the backbone for all subsequent electricity works. That is why the Binnenhof from today onwards (until 13/7) will be a yard zone and thus prohibited for unauthorized persons like you and me.

On Saturdays June 30th and July 7th there will be worked hard to swap the old transformer (of early 1950s; still 600 kg heavier than the new one) for the new one. During those 2 Saturdays our building will be totally without electricity. In the intervening week everything should continue to work.

In August 2012 the real renovation works will start in the stackrooms wing. They include:

-          Making the spaces fire safe via new fire doors

-          The replacement of the lighting, more energy efficient

-          The replacement of the (obsolete) electricity network (early 1950s)

-          The extension of the data network

These works are tackled floor per floor. There is counted on six weeks for each floor. And there are 10 floors. We work from bottom to top.

During these 6 weeks each floor is a yard zone and therefore a prohibited area for library staff. Books and magazines stacked on this floor cannot be delivered. To protect against dust and crushed stone the collections will be shielded.

This will be communicated clear and timely to the customers. The relevant items will be displayed in the catalogue as temporary-not-requestable.

There are concrete plans to replace the current reception desk  - in the course of 2013 – into a (larger) reception centre on the ground floor. As a customer you will walk inwards through the desk area.

Finally, in the course of 2013, the Carillon tower will be developed into a tourist attraction, by the city of Leuven. They expect a multiple of the current number of tourists (10,000 per year) for this building.

All these works will undoubtedly cause annoyance. We try to minimize the nuisance. We are committed to inform you as soon as we have the necessary information.

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Opening hours summer 2012

On Saturday 30th of June the summer regime starts in the Central Library. This means that the library is open, only on weekdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m..

The new academic year starts on Monday September 24th. From then on the library will remain open until 8 p.m. (monday-thursday), until 5 p.m. (friday) and until 1 p.m. (saturday).

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Job opportunity : Head of Central Library

The Central Library (CB) is one of two heritage libraries of the University Library (UB) of the KU Leuven, consisting of 11 libraries and two central services.

 The CB is located in a beautiful, legally protected building on the Ladeuzeplein and is the storage library for the humanities and social sciences libraries (with the exception of the Maurits Sabbe library of the Faculty of theology, the other heritage library).

In addition, special collections such as the Tabularium (preciosa and historical bibliography) and the East Asian library are housed in the CB.

The CB further plays an important role in the appearance of the KU Leuven, by receiving ambassadors, heads of State and other public figures.

In the framework of the heritage policy, the CB is involved in different digitisation projects, in collaboration with the Flanders Heritage Library.

Applications can  be send until 5th of July 2012. More information available on  http://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/vacatures_atp/bibliotheek.html

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10.000 titles from Royal library available via Google

More than 10.000 titles from the catalogue of the Royal library of the Netherlands have been made available via Google Books. It takes only one click to access the full digital text for free. These 10.000 books are the first visible results of the agreement between the Royal library and Google to digitize more than 160.000 public domain books from the Royal library collection. Mainly Dutch 18^th and 19^th century publications on historical, juridical and social topics have been made online available for international research.

Source: Royal library of the Netherlands

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Blokkeninleuven in CB summer 2012

Following timetable applies here from Saturday 26^th of May until Friday 29^th of June

• from Monday to Friday: the Central Library remains open from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m., along with almost all KU Leuven libraries
• every Saturday and Sunday and Whit Monday (28.05) open from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., along with RBIB (Law) and CBA (Science)

Outside the ordinary opening hours (Mon-Thurs 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat 10 p.m.-1 p.m.) there is no service (e.g. information work, registrations, stack requests, borrowings).

During the regular opening hours, the Ladeuzezaal will be kept free for non-studying customers.

Outside those ordinary opening hours the CB-building only acts as a study space.

The occupation of the libraries, can always be checked via www.blokkeninleuven.be

We have asked library staff for extra attention during this period to lower their voice while talking in our reading rooms.

We keep tourists out as much as possible.

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Copyright versus copywrong

The Belgian Association for Documentation organizes on Thursday 31 May 2012 a seminar on the different aspects of copyright; the strategy of the European Commission to promote the creativity and to answer the digital challenge, an overview of recent developments in copyright law to a number of specific topics such as new applications through the Internet, some issues around heritage collections, a solution for orphan works, what special requirements are there for databases and finally the position of European publishers.

More info on http://www.abd-bvd.be/inforum/inforum_2012_nl.html (Dutch) or http://www.abd-bvd.be/inforum/inforum_2012_fr.html (French)

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