Libraries have a centuries-old tradition. They are among the oldest service providers in the fields of culture, education and science. Within the framework of the Slovenian legislation, public libraries:

• collect, process, store and provide access to library material,
• design and develop library catalogues, databases and other information resources,
• teach and promote information literacy,
• participate in lifelong learning,
• organize special activities for children, young people and adults to promote reading culture,
• organize special activities for children, young people and adults with special needs, and organize cultural events related to their interests,
• collect, process, store and provide access to local history sources,
• promote and safeguard cultural heritage.

Reading culture and reading literacy

Reading culture and reading literacy are the key factors for human development, creativity and spending quality leisure time. Therefore, one of the fundamental tasks of public libraries is to strive to develop them as an aesthetic, ethical, cognitive, therapeutic and relaxing experience.

In public libraries, we actively support reading culture and literacy through a wide range of activities and services. We run numerous programmes to develop reading and communication skills. We promote reading through a wide variety of projects and engage in intergenerational and intercultural networking. We produce recommended lists of resources, organise literary events and reading clubs and participate in a National Month of Reading Together.

Knowledge acquisition

Lifelong education and learning have become essential agents in the development of individuals and society. Public libraries closely follow the learning needs in their local communities, promote positive attitudes towards learning and encourage critical thinking. In all Slovenian public libraries, we support knowledge acquisition by developing and offering a wide range of activities and services for all user groups, including numerous free biblio-pedagogical events for preschool and school children and courses on using high-quality e-resources purchased or created specifically for our users.

Information literacy training

Public libraries are actively involved, either alone or in partnership with external partners, in organising and delivering information and computer literacy training sessions, encouraging people to learn, providing advice and support, and referring users to other relevant training providers. Through online media, they provide access to training recordings, learning modules, guides to information resources and training courses.

When designing education programmes for library users, public libraries consider their needs, interests, preferences, abilities and levels of information literacy. They pay particular attention to users’ level of reading literacy, which is still the most significant component of information literacy.

Public libraries are the starting point for training in using other types of libraries, museums, galleries, expert systems and various databases as sources of information.

Social integration

Public libraries are vital social hubs that serve all community members regardless of race, nationality, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, language, disabilities, social status, nature of employment or level of education.

They aim to help all citizens, especially vulnerable groups, to improve their quality of life and to participate in society as equally as possible.

Most public libraries are wheelchair accessible for people with mobility needs. For blind and partially sighted people, there are especially marked resources in different formats, including tactile picture books and audio material. Event spaces are fitted with hearing loops so that deaf and hard-of-hearing people can attend events. Easy to read materials are available for those who experience literacy difficulties. Most libraries offer either free or low-cost membership to disabled and unemployed people. Libraries cooperate with disability organizations, social work centres, centres for the education, training and rehabilitation of people with disabilities, etc.

The autochthonous Italian and Hungarian national communities live in Slovenia, and the neighbouring countries are home to Slovenian communities. In public libraries in border areas, we cater for all of them by providing materials and services in the minority languages and by organising bilingual events. We pay a lot of attention to the Roma community and foreigners, including immigrants or refugees. We strive to promote intergenerational and intercultural inclusion, so that all users, both members and non-members, feel safe and accepted in all libraries.

Local history studies

The Slovenian public libraries collect, process, store and provide access to local history sources. The local history collections include items that relate to the library’s local area or have been created in that area, or items that have been written/compiled by a local author. Local history sources are often organised in special collections, including collections of rare prints, manuscripts, pictures, legacies, etc.

In public libraries, we present our local history material and services through biblio-pedagogical activities, events, exhibitions, publications, etc. Special attention is paid to digitisation. The conversion from analogue to digital form makes materials and collections accessible to a wider population, while at the same time, ensures more permanent preservation of older and rare materials, which are significantly less exposed to further wear and tear and damage.

We also publish the local history content on web portals: the Kamra – local history web portal, the Digital Library of Slovenia – dLib.si and the Faces of Slovenian Region.

Community inclusion

Public libraries are proactive agents of community development, focusing on identifying and anticipating the local community needs. They enable citizens to acquire new knowledge, skills and competencies, and to exercise their rights (civic, social, consumer, etc.). They support the aims and objectives of all organisations in the community. They strive to realise the potential of all community stakeholders, facilitate personal development and the progress of profit and not-for-profit organisations. They aim to raise social cohesion and promote equity of service provision by enhancing the opportunity of access to help users to overcome disadvantages and gaps.

Outreach services

For those users who want to read but cannot, for whatever reason, come to the library, outreach librarians go out to communities to provide public library services outside the library’s physical space.

Mobile libraries bring library collections to more remote places without libraries. There are 14 mobile libraries that visit 674 cities, towns and villages and make stops at 821 locations in Slovenia and abroad. Mobiles also make library material and information accessible to vulnerable groups, stopping at various care homes, work centres and hospitals, and deliver materials to users’ homes (e.g. the housebound). In cooperation with health and social care institutions, they arrange temporary deposit collections in convenient locations. They also play a social role, and by visiting fellow citizens abroad, they play a significant role in uniting all Slovenians into a single cultural space.