Science Dissemination Activities 2018 (Działalność Upowszechniająca Naukę - DUN)

Pre-war humanistic periodicals in the Wroclaw University Library - enlargement of the collections from computer catalog for bibliographic descriptions of periodicals from the former City Library and so called German concentration

Project realized in the period from 1.02.2018 to 30.10.2018
with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education - Activities for Dissemination of Science (Decision No. 598/P-DUN/2018) - continuation from 2017.

Wroclaw University Library has the largest post-German collections in the country (both books and periodicals) that has been preserved and protected against war damage, as well as from shipping out and theft. Monographs have already been fully cataloged, while periodicals - not just yet.

Pre-war humanistic periodicals in the Wroclaw University Library that need to be cataloged, originated from three main sources:

former City Library
former University Library
and from other libraries, not only Silesian, secured in Lower Silesia region after the war (so called "German concentration", restricted collections).

Up to 1939, the City Library was the largest city library in Germany. Its collections have survived Second World War and today enrich the humanist collections of the Wroclaw University Library. These collections mainly represent following fields of science: history, social sciences, law, philosophy, pedagogy, art with musicology and history of natural sciences, as well as they document the activities of various organizations and scientific societies (their statistics and reporting on research).

Major parts of the collections from the former University Library were destroyed. Collections that have survived focus mainly on law and religion issues, from different countries, including non-European ones.

Collections from various libraries, not only Silesian, but secured in Lower Silesia region, are multilingual publications from history, literature and art history.

Aim of that project was to catalog 120 titles of pre-war periodicals, create for them bibliographic and items records as well as authority files.

Dissemination of valuable sources for research by digitizing unique local newspapers from the Silesia - Lusatian collection of the Wroclaw University Library

Items selected for digitization:

Considering that a large part of the Silesian and Lusatian press collections were printed in the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries on acid paper, making it available for users in the original form is becoming difficult. Acid paper breaks down and crumbles during usage, resulting in irreversible damages. For this reason, with each passing year number of volumes excluded from circulation is steadily growing. Trying to protect the valuable historical collection of the regional newspapers, the Library is systematically conducting protecting microfilming and scanning. The realization of this task will significantly increase the safety of historic collections, which are regional and Silesian as a whole heritage, by providing access to the content of items without the need for originals to be circulated to the users. On the other hand, the Library is making efforts to acquire funds for making electronic versions of old newspapers more accessible and thus, like with the microfilms, to protect originals. Due to the state of preservation of newspapers and magazines these activities are consider a priority. The whole task fits in with global efforts to create a universal research space by providing quick access to sources for research teams working not only on the region and Silesia as a whole, but also for the broader circles. High-quality digital images will provide the necessary documentation for the unique Silesian-Lusatian press and will increase the digital resources of the University.

Cataloging in the International Database of Musical Sources (RISM), and digital access, enriched with audio-presentation, transcription of music from unique manuscripts of the Wroclaw University Library's collection

Main aim of that project was original cataloging of musical manuscripts of Silesian provenance. Musical collection that was cataloged originates from the former City Library in Wroclaw. Complete records of works have been made available in the International Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (RISM), and musical transcripts along with an acoustic presentation of the work - in the Digital Library of University of Wroclaw and on the MuseScore public website.

The first stage of the work included cataloging of 155 music items not yet included in the International Inventory of Musical Sources RISM (Répertoire International des Sources Musicales), and the next stage was the transcription of 197 musical works, which were included into the WUL's transcription collection at MuseScore website.

Cataloging in the international RISM database and publication of the transcripts including audio presentation allows to familiarize with selected works a wider audience, including those who can't read music notes or navigate in historical musical notation. Unlimited access to the cataloged collections for musical librarians can also be extremely helpful, making it easier to identify anonymous works.

In addition, the freely available collection of music works allowed for the dissemination of the unique, old music culture of Wroclaw and Lower Silesia region. The material presented in the form of scans and transcripts can become the basis for further musicological researches and can be used both for scientific purposes and to complement the concert repertoire of musicians around the world. Transcriptions are also an extension of the existing collection of musical transcriptions of the University Library in Wrocław.

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Science Dissemination Activities 2018 (Działalność Upowszechniająca Naukę - DUN)