LIBRARIES
The academic libraries network in Romania supports the teaching and research
programmes in universities. With the most important documentary base in Romania,
about 24 million volumes, this network provides the appropriate means for the
academic learning and research process. The national network branches go down
to the department level. These libraries, using permanent communication, ensure
the national and international exchange of publications. The international
cooperation has increased during the past few years, when the process of updating
the Romanian academic system in accordance with the standards of the European
Union was initiated. Among the libraries with the most complex international
exchange relationships we can specify the following:
·
the "Lucian Blaga" Central Academic Library in Cluj, which has 1652
partners in 72 countries; · the Central Academic Library in Bucharest,
with 1016 partners in 74 countries; · the "Mihai Eminescu"
Central Academic Library in Iasi (870 partners in 68 countries); ·
the "Eugen Todoran" Central Academic Library in Timisoara (402 partners
in 54 countries).
A special place in the academic libraries network belongs to the Central Academic
Library in Bucharest. Founded in 1891 and inaugurated on March 14th, 1895, it
offers 110 years of prestige and cultural-scientific continuity in the academic
area of Bucharest.
Initially created in accordance with a dominant humanistic trend, the document
collections of this library have nowadays an encyclopedic value, which corresponds
to a multidisciplinary structure.
The documents archive development depends on the profile of its specific users,
interested in further academic education and scientific research. Severely damaged
during the 1989 Anti-Communist Revolution, the Central Academic Library in Bucharest
was entirely rebuilt from 1990 to 2001. After
its renovation, the Central Academic Library was endowed with (among many facilities)
modern reading rooms , thematic collections, access to Internet, data bases and
electronic checking for the access at the document sources. The new building,
with six floors, has 385 seats for reading. These, together with many other improvements,
made the Central Academic Library one of the most modern libraries in Europe.
Nowadays,
there exists a programme of digitization, in cooperation with specialized firms
of world recognition, so that, in a few years' time, the entire book patrimony
will be transferred on electronic format. All
these means of upgrading transformed this space, dedicated to elevated knowledge,
into a modern working tool, indispensable for any person that thirsts for intellectual
evolution. |