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The paper is a report on the state of school libraries in 2022 prepared on the basis of data on school libraries in the so-called Škol report, which was completed by every school and academic library of Slovak Republic. The results of the survey include data on the number of schools and school libraries, their library holdings, number of users and loans, educational and cultural events, technological equipment, staff and management. The analysis indicates that despite an ongoing interest in experiential education, school libraries continue to be significantly underfunded, which affects the expansion of their holdin- gs and informatization. The paper offers proposals to increase the quality of school libraries, including a detailed timeline created by the National Institute of Education and Youth, the goal of which is to support the literacy of elemen- tary and secondary school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2024 it will be 190 years since several of the leading figures of national and cultural life in Slovakia came together to establish the Society of Slovak Language and Literature Lovers (Spolok milovníkov reči a literatúry slovenskej). The paper traces the functioning of the society in the various periods that shaped it in many ways. When Ján Kollár and Martin Hamuljak founded it, the aim was to raise awareness of Slovaks’ native language and promote the activity of the Bernolák group and leaders of the so called “Czechoslovak orientation”. One of the most important outcomes of their work was publishing of the Zora almanac from 1835, although its run ceased in 1840 for financial reasons. The society’s activities began to decline in the 1840s and it was wound up in 1850. The society’s activities made an evident contribution to Slovak literary life and laid important foundations for the following generation around Štúr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is a review of the collection of texts, The Power of the Printed Word (Sila tlačeného slova) written and edited by PhDr. Anna Jónásová concerning the life and work of the renaissance intellectual Peter Bornemisza during his time in Slovakia. The collection includes translations of texts written by experts on Bornemisza’s life alongside extracts from Bornemisza’s own writings, including his book The Devil’s temptations (Diabolské pokušenia). It also includes reproductions of Bornemisza’s prints and manuscripts, including decorative initials in the introduction of every chapter. Bornemisza is described as an organiser of protestant clerical life, a powerful preacher and a creative writer. The reviewer highlights the careful treatment of historical documents, the accuracy of the translations and the selection of texts, which bring Slovak readers closer to a less familiar figure with an outstanding influence on the Slovak population at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jaroslav Hašek (1883 -- 1923), one of the most distinctive personalities of Czech literature, became known mainly because of the creation of the Dobrý vojak Švejk (Good Soldier Švejk). On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth and within the framework of the Museum of Czech Literature project in Prague, an overview of publications devoted to his life and work -- Bibliografie Jaroslava Haška (Bibliography of Jaroslav Hašek) -- was created. The bibliography entitled Jaroslav Hašek na Slovensku (Jaroslav Hašek in Slovakia), containing records of his life and work in the Slovak press from 1921 -- 1980, is a significant publication. The authors of the paper, this time on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Hašek's death, present a personal bibliography of the writer for the years 1981 -- 2020. Based on an extensive overview of the publications, it is clear that Hašek was a personality whose message is, even today, applicable in many ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultural portals of libraries inform, educate and cultivate the thinking of society via the promotion of cultural heritage and by focusing on the regional specificities of European nations. Portals, as electronic information resources, generally contribute to the enrichment of the libraries' collections and their advantages consist of the constant availability, unlimited searching and updated information. The paper presents a thematic overview of Slovak and Czech cultural portals with a focus on the cultural heritage. The author analyses two portals (Ludovakultura.sk and Lidovakultura.cz) in greater detail, focusing on their aesthetic and content specifics, mission and institutional attachment, followed by a recommendations summary and conclusions for library and information practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slovak National Library (SNL) is one of the most important educational and cultural institutions in Slovakia with a national as well as international outreach. Therefore, the effectiveness of its digital services is crucial in terms of its relevance and credibility for users. As a result, the SNL management proceeded to reevaluation of the current state of its website which does not meet the requirements for its usability. The aim of the paper is to describe the process of user research to prevent problems that users encounter when interacting with the website. In addition to presenting the preparatory phases and research methodology, the author summarizes the most important findings and recommendations which she proposes to apply and then verify their effectiveness via continuous research. That is to say, constant review of the website's usability cannot be carried out in isolation and without contact with real users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We rank knowledge management and the cultural and creative industries among the basic elements of the present. The intellectual capital of talented and creative workers requiring knowledge of the creative class helps in economic growth at both the local and national levels. Adequate knowledge management and transformation into creative ideas increases the competitiveness of companies and territories. The increasing interest in these areas is caused by the demand for relevant literature in solving the issue, as evidenced by the number of specialized papers in the Central Registry of Theses and Dissertations (available at: www.crzp.sk). The paper contains a set of analyses based on the comparison of results obtained from online catalogues in Slovakia and the Czech Republic in order to obtain the number of publications in library collections and identify the monographs published between 2019 and 2021 which are deposited in the collections of libraries in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the life and work of Michal Kováč-Adamov, the historian, bibliographer, theatrologist and playwright. Author summarizes his life milestones and most important activities, which significantly influenced every area of his interest. Apart from his publishing and pedagogical activities, he was an advocate of civic and democratic principles and has supported many reform trends which were at that time not in line with normalization tendencies in society. He served as the custodian of Matica Slovenská, but also as the deputy of Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic, which in many ways complicated his professional as well as private life. Michal Kováč-Adamov is considered as an important personality of the Martin city and Slovak culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

St. Adalbert Association was founded in Trnava in 1870, primarily for the purpose of publishing books with Catholic themes. In the same year, construction of its library began, which was soon enriched with other books, thanks to several important personalities, including Andrej Radlinský, Andrej Kmeť, Ján Palárik and Štefan Moyzes. At the end of the 1880s, the library began cataloging books followed by international cooperation in the books exchange. Today, its collections consist of 65,000 books from various scientific fields written in several languages. The aim of the paper is to inform readers about the history and activities of the Library of the St. Adalbert Association, which has greatly contributed to the development of education in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the Czech exile Joachim Seelinger, and the content and publishing of his work Exilium Auxilium. It brings new information about Seelinger's exile diary and partially about his life and work. It reveals the publishing background of Seelinger's personal diary, which was published by a series of reprints and was also related to Slovakia, Czechia, Poland and Germany. It draws attention to the bibliographic unregistered first edition of this diary and to the existence of paratext copying by the producers of its reprints. The paper is based on the content analysis of the Seelinger's diary by the de visu method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the expansion of the user-oriented approach, the attention to the exclusive orientation on the functionality of the system itself has no longer been paid. Users with specific information needs and user requirements, to which system developers were forced to respond, became more and more important. In addition, the diffusion of information and communication technologies into the individual's daily life has led to the consideration of diverse user groups, including children, whose limited information and digital competences oft en prevent the effective use of information systems aimed primarily at the adult user. Therefore, the concept of user experience and participatory design, based on the real needs and requirements of potential users, comes to the fore among experts dealing with the usability of web interfaces of Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) systems. The paper deals with previous findings in the field of the information behaviour of children while interacting with online library catalogues and with the consideration degree of the resulting criteria in designing OPAC systems used in Slovakia. It also maps previous efforts to apply participatory design linking the requirements and expectations of child users with the design and functioning of library information systems, while evaluating the potential of participatory design in relation to the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]