Trg Republike Hrvatske 14
Zagreb, Croatia
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History of the Library of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb
1906
The seminar at the Faculty of Law was reorganised by a government order; the Seminar Library was formally established as a separate organisational unit, thereby renovating the faculty library; the Head elected by the Council of Professors serves as the head of the Seminar and the Seminar Library (the first Head was Fran Milobar)
1914/1918
The Library and Faculty were evacuated to Upper Town due to war circumstances and the needs of the army; after the war, the Library returned to the west wing of the university building
1926
Beginning of the creation of library catalogues (alphabetical, professional systematic and inventory catalogues)
1928/1934
The Library was finally located in its present premises in the eastern wing of the university building; the first librarian in the Library was employed (1933); the start of the production of the subject catalogue; another librarian was employed; the beginning of borrowing textbooks to students; opening of the first reading room (1934)
1950
The Library becomes a depositary for the United Nations publications
1953
Re-opening of the Student Reading Room
1959
The new Statute of the Faculty changes the name of the Library to the Bibliotheque, and the function of the Head of the Library
1968/1969
Integration of the Faculty and Higher School of Administration; part of the library collection of the School included in the Library’s holdings; within the Library, a documentation service was established
1971
Beginning of compiling the collection of books placed in special treasuries
1990
Computerisation of the Library, computer processing of library materials, acquisition of electronic information sources and databases (CELEX)
2001/2002
Library holdings available on the Internet at http://knjiznica.pravo.hr; the beginning of the implementation of Information Literacy Program for law students
2004
Faculty secures access to LexisNexis legal database
2008/2009
In the winter semester, the EU i – information centre for European law is officially opened; the Centre publishes the EUROPA info and EUROPA Biblio newsletters
2011/2012
The program of preventive protection of the oldest and most valuable library materials (Rara collection) was launched
2012/2013
The Library becomes a member of the European Research Libraries Network LIBER
2013/2014
The Third Generation Library Catalogue with Advanced Search Options (VERO) was developed and became available on the Library’s website: http://knjiznica.pravo.hr/cgi-bin/wero.cgi; an information literacy program for law students called “Academic Writing” was launched; the European Documentation Centre (EDC) was officially opened in a newly renovated and modern doctoral reading room
2014/2015
The third generation library catalogue with integrated EBSCO Discovery service was developed
2015/2016
Rara Collection was inscribed in the Register of Cultural Heritage
2016/2017
The Library became a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
Rara Collection
Since its establishment in 1906, the Library of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb has kept and developed a rich collection of books and periodicals, and recently it has made available a wide range of digital information sources available. Its users are the Faculty’s and wider academic community, jurists and researchers in the fields of social sciences and humanities.
The Library has always paid special attention to the collection of old legal books by Croatian and foreign authors, teaching aids made by teachers of the Faculty since its foundation (1776) and rare printed books in the field of social sciences and humanities (particularly in the field of law, history, linguistics and philosophy), with a small number of theological books.
In accordance with its mission of the heritage institution, respecting international norms and applicable legislation at the national level, the Library systematically takes care of the Rare Collection (Rara), which consists of forty-nine units of the oldest printed materials from the 16th century (Cinquecentine) and the 17th century (Seicentine), as well as more than a hundred books from the 18th and the first half of the 19th century.
With the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, the Library continuously implements protection programmes and restoration and conservation works on the oldest, most valuable and most endangered books. So far, conservation-restoration works have been carried out on more than ten books from the Collection.
In its digitisation program, the Library has so far digitised three originals from the Collection:
a) one of the most important works in the field of classical canon law from the Middle Ages Gregorii Noni Pontificis maximi Decretales epistolae, vetuitis exemplaribus…. (1528.),
b) Praxis et theoricae criminelis: Tomus primus, parttis secundae. Venetiis (1607), the work of Prosperus Farinacius, a leading criminal justice thinker from the 16th century, represents the compendium of jurisprudence in the period between 1581 and 1614, and was created as a result of Farinacius’ great ambition to summarise everything written on criminal law in the form of a handbook for courts, and
c) the oldest textbook on legal theory in the Croatian i.e. Kajkavian language: Domin Petruševečki, Imbrih. Predznanya Pracz szamoszvojneh vugerzkeh Domin Imbriha…Vu Zagreb: Z-Novoszelzkemi szlovami (1818).
The Rare Collection of the Library of the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb is inscribed into the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia.
