From 13 January until 31 January 2007

"MANDALAS"
This special exhibition highlights the originals of hand-painted glass mandalas. From the ancient times, a mandala, which consists of different signs, geometric shapes, symbols and figures, has functioned as a powerful aid to concentration, meditation, a process of self-expression and personal growth, and in all religions, it has been used as a source of spiritual healing

Authors: Gabrijela Železnik, Vanda Omejc
Venue: NUK Exhibition Room 
 

From 7 February until 7 April 2007

JOŽE PLEČNIK
»Plečnik‛s vision of Ljubljana, the Slovenian Athens:
the architect‛s gift to the library«

The exhibition presents a collection of 22 urbanistic and architectural projects for the city of Ljubljana by  architect Jože Plečnik. The architect donated the collection to the University Library in 1943. Namely, Plečnik was very well aware of the fact that quite a few of the ideas he had put on paper didn‛t have much chance to be carried out. Therefore the exhibited projects represent original documents of architect‛s unrestricted imagination. Jože Plečnik projected the ideal of ancient Greek Athens into his time. According to his vision, Ljubljana would have acquired the elements of a »classical« mediterranean town while particular buildings would have displayed extraordinary inventive modernistic paraphrase of past architectural styles executed in modern materials. The exhibition catalogue offers explanatory texts authored by Peter Krečič and Damjan Prelovšek, who positioned the plans within broader context of Plečnik‛s architectural œuvre. The introductory word, authored by the author of the exhibition Veselin Mišković, places the exhibition in a series of his reflexions on how process of making the Slovenian nation is reflected in library materials of the National and University Library, with particular reference to the architect‛s position in the Slovenian national ideology.

Authors: Dr Peter Krečič, Veselin Mišković (NUK), dr Damjan Prelovšek.
Venue: NUK Exhibition Room
Opening hours: Monday - Friday: 10.00 - 18.00, Saturday: 10.00 - 13.00

From 24 April until 19 May 2007

Dr. METOD TURNŠEK

The exhibition will feature the literary opus of this exceptionally creative cultural worker, who spent the major part of his life on the periphery of his homeland – in Carinthia, and in the Trieste and Gorica regions - where he strived to preserve the Slovenian language. His bibliophile pearl Album Slovenije, which was published in Trieste in 1947, is certainly among his most important works. If Turnšek‛s literary works are somehow well-known, his newspaper writings are almost unknown (more than 1.000 articles – published mainly in the neighbouring countries). Author‛s rich correspondence with friends from his homeland, and also with many friends from all over the world, is especially interesting. The exhibition is content related to the book about Metod Turnšek planned to be published in the first half of 2007.

Authors: Dr Milan Dolgan, Dr Rozina Švent (NUK)
Venue: NUK Exhibition Room

From 24 May until 23 June 2007

Dr. BRANKO SUHY, the academic painter

The exhibition aims to display a selection of works painted by the academic painter Branko Suhy, a professor of printmaking at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Author: Dr Branko Suhy, the academic painter
Venue: NUK Exhibition Room

From 28 June until 28 August 2007

THE SLOVENIAN HOLY BIBLE

* Note During the World Biblical Congress in Ljubljana, Slovenia
The Slovenian translations of the Bible - from Trubar to ecumenical editions – will be presented. The exhibition will be divided into four main parts with the main emphasis on the beginnings of Bible translation in the 16th century: Trubar‛s and Dalmatin‛s translations; the first Catholic translations in the 17th and 18th centuries: Čandik, Japelj, Kumerdej and other translators; the Bible in the 19th century: Jakob Zupan, Stritar and the Bible Society; and the modern translations after WWI until the new ecumenical edition (Krašovec, Kocijančič, etc.).

Author: Dr Mihael Glavan
Venue: NUK Exhibition Room and the Main Entrance Hall*

From 4 September until 6 October 2007

THE ROLE OF TRANSLATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE SLOVENIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

The exhibition will coincide with the Congress of the European Society for Translation Studies, which is held every two years with about 350 participants. The exhibition will emphasize the role of translation in the development of the Slovenian language, Slovenian prose, Slovenian drama and Slovenian poetry. It will also indicate how the Slovenian literature is introduced to other cultures through the translations (e.g. the selected translations of Cankar‛s »Hlapec Jernej« - translated not only into the European languages but also into the non-European ones).

Author: Dr Nike Kocijančič Pokorn (Faculty of Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Venue: NUK Exhibition Room

From 25 October until 20 November 2007

JURIJ JAPELJ

In October 2007, we will mark the 200th anniversary of the death of a translator, religious writer and linguist Jurij Japelj (1744 – 1807). In Slovenia, Japelj represents an important link between Classicism and Enlightenment. In particular, his programme of Bible translation should be mentioned. He translated the New Testament with Kumerdej, but was less engaged in the translation of the Old Testament. While serving as the secretary to the Bishop Herberstein, he gradually became Jansenistic-oriented, and in this spirit, he wrote some religious books (Catechism, and books of prayers and sermons). When the Slovenian literature was still in its early stages, he wrote sacred and secular songs in Slovenian and Latin. His translations of the secular German and English literature and his interest in the Slovenian grammar are also of great importance. He was a member of Baron Zois‛ circle, and shortly before his death, he was appointed Bishop of Trieste.
The exhibition will be prepared in cooperation with the Seminary Library and the Archive of the Republic of Slovenia, where a part of Japelj‛s manuscript and library material is also held. For the first time, the material will be displayed together to highlight an important period of the Slovenian cultural development.

Authors: Marijan Rupert, MSc (NUK), Marijan Smolik and Lilijana Žnidaršič Golec
Venue: NUK Exhibition Room

From 26 November 2007 until 8 December 2008

THE FIRST LEGAL DEPOSIT COPIES
IN THE SLOVENIAN TERRITORY

On 2 April, 1807, the first decree on legal deposit was passed in the Austrian Empire, and it was used in all Slovenian countries which were a part of the Empire. In accordance with the decree, booksellers and printers had to deliver a free legal deposit copy of each new publication to public regional libraries, and thus, the public access to the material was provided. The Slovenian written cultural heritage started to be collected in the public libraries in Ljubljana (for Carniola), in Graz (for Styria), in Klagenfurt (for Carinthia), in Gorizia (for Gorizia) and in Trieste (for Istria and Trieste). Only the collection of legal deposit copies of the then Lyceum Library, which is the predecessor of the present-day national library of Slovenia, has been preserved within the borders of the Republic of Slovenia.
The exhibition presents the first legal deposit copies, and the original and translation of the decree which provided the legal deposit, the translation of the regulation from the period of the Illyrian provinces, and the report by Matija Čop confirming the receipt of legal deposit copies from 1834.
During the past two centuries, the legal deposit legislation has often been changed and some of the regulations were in force for a very short period, and the range of material collected as legal deposit was not always the same. Different library reports, which have been preserved in the library, show that in spite the sound legislation the legal deposit has never been carried out without problems. From the very beginning, the librarians had to take care of a regular intake of legal deposit copies as defined by legal provisions, and this is still true today.

Authors: Irena Sešek and Samo Kristan
Venue: NUK Exhibition Room
Opening hours: Monday - Friday: 9.00 - 20.00, Saturday: 9.00 - 14.00

From 13 December 2007 until 2 February 2008

Authors: Veselin Mišković (NUK), Miljenko Licul
Venue: NUK Exhibition Room