Yesterday (Nov. 26th) the Knesset passed the National Library Law which formally establishes a National Library of Israel.
While the Jewish National and University Library has served as the de facto national library (of the Jewish People since the early 1900s and of the State of Israel since its establishment) it has formally been an administrative unit of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The new law, which goes into force on January first, provides that the Library will first become a semi-independent unit of the Hebrew University, with independent financial systems and fund raising. Subsequently, within a period of three years, the Library will become fully independent. The Library's new name will be "ha-sifriyah ha-le'umit" (The National Library of Israel). It's mandate is to serve as the national library of both Israel and the Jewish People, as well as continuing to be a general humanities research library for both the Hebrew University and other scholars. The Library's funding will now be primarily directly from the State, although the Hebrew University will continue to contribute part of the budget. As a result of this change, the Library's budget is expected to increase significantly, and the planning of a new building, the contribution of Yad Hanadiv Foundation, is underway. The law emphasizes the role of the Library in using technology to make its collections accessible, and specifically authorizes the library to archive and preserve the Israeli Internet domain. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ##################################################################### # Elhanan Adler # # Deputy Director for Information Technology # # Jewish National and University Library # # P.O.B. 39105, Jerusalem 91390, Israel # # Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # Tel.: 972-2-6585005, FAX: 972-2-6511771, Home tel.: 972-2-6515977 # # Mobile tel.: 972-54-6829657 # ##################################################################### Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
