Knjiznica_3_03.p65

Knjižnica 47(2003)3, 7-33 8 Original scientific article UDC 027.54(497.4) Abstract Central libraries and their special activities were introduced in the first Slovenian Library Act in 1961. After 40 years, in 2001, they were terminated by the new Slove- nian Library Act. Their activities should have promoted the development of librarian- ship and ensured a harmonised and professional functioning and development of the library system and particularly of public libraries. The services included monitoring the libraries, the collection of statistical data, consultations, professional education of library staff, support for the development of libraries and librarianship and prepara- tion of drafts for library legislation. Municipal central (public) libraries, which should have promoted these activities and, at the same time, serve as model libraries, were, at the time of their introduction, advanced organisations. They accelerated the devel- opment of public libraries and of their networks, but they have never implemented demanding tasks, which were specified in the document issued in 1971, the Concep- tion of the development of librarianship in Slovenia and in Librarianship Act 1982. The new library act omits the terms central library services and central library, but their special activities are preserved at the state as well as at the regional level. Key words : central libraries, central library services, public libraries, library informa- tion system, Slovenia 1 Uvod Matične knjižnice in z njimi matično službo za knjižnice je uzakonil Zakon o knjižnicah iz leta 1961, novi Zakon o knjižničarstvu pa jih je po štiridesetih letih delovanja poimensko ukinil. V temo zgodovine so zdrknile tako rekoč neopazno in noben bibliotekarski glas se ni dvignil v njihovo zaščito. Vendar so v času svojega nastanka pomenile pomembno organizacijsko obliko, ki je pospešila predvsem razvoj ljudskih knjižnic in oblikovanje njihove mreže. Zato ne more- mo mimo izjemnega pomena te vrste knjižnic za razvoj slovenskega knjižničnega informacijskega sistema. Po drugi strani pa so bile z njihovo uvedbo ljudske in študijske knjižnice na formalni ravni poenotene, s čimer so bile študijske oziro- ma pokrajinske knjižnice postavljene na stranski tir in z zakonom iz leta 1982 tudi formalno prezrte. Posebne dejavnosti, ki naj bi jih matične knjižnice izvaja- le, so obsegale predvsem svetovanje knjižnicam, spremljanje njihove dejavno- sti, vključno z izvajanjem statističnih raziskav, strokovno izobraževanje knjižničnih delavcev, skrb za razvoj knjižnic in knjižničarske stroke ter pripra- vo strokovnih osnutkov zakonskih predpisov, ki se nanašajo na knjižnice. To pa so naloge, ki naj bi zagotavljale strokovno in organizacijsko usklajeno delovanje in razvoj javnega knjižničnega sistema. Take sistemske naloge niso nujno veza-