Having opened its doors in 1898, the Library of the Slovenian School Museum is a special library that holds books on schooling and education, as well as on educational and general history. In 2004, the library was completely renovated, and its archives have grown considerably to over 50,000 items. The library is open every weekday from 9 am to 1 pm. If you are interested in the history of education in Slovenia, we will be happy to welcome you.
The library’s archive consists of textbooks for all subjects and all types of schools in the Slovenian ethnic territory, pedagogical and professional publications, youth magazines and literature used in schools, as well as publications dealing with school and educational issues. We also collect books from teachers’ and professors’ libraries, auxiliary textbooks for specific subjects, and historical and other journals needed to study schooling and education.
In addition, we also collect works written by Slovenian educators. The oldest book in our library is a textbook, classified as an incunabulum, a term used to describe a book printed before the 16th century. The textbook, published in 1468, is entitled Rudimenta grammatices, i.e., Fundamentals of Grammar.
The publications in our library are acquired through purchases, donations, legal deposits, and exchanges. We pay special attention to curricula, school laws and school yearbooks, teachers’ directories, annual reports of schools, calendars, and above, all textbooks used in schools in the past.
All the publications we hold can be used in the reading room. Visitors so far include many university professors and students, as well as other researchers collecting data on education in Slovenia, studying issues of education and teaching, and searching for material for professional examinations and further education. There are also many older visitors who come to our library to relive their school memories. These are conjured up when they open a reading book or a reader they used in the early years of primary school.
Our library often hosts events not quite of its type. Several times a year, opening receptions of museum exhibitions are held there, and judging by the number of visitors in recent years, even this, the largest space in the museum, is becoming too small. The library also often becomes a venue for meetings of the museum staff, the museum council, the editorial board of the School Chronicle, meetings of branch schools and other groups connected with either museum or school activities.
Collection Policy
