Academic library

An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution which serves two complementary purposes to support the school's curriculum, and to support the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic libraries there are internationally. An academic and research portal maintained by UNESCO links to 3,785 libraries. According to the National Center for Education Statistics there are an estimated 3,700 academic libraries in the United States. The support of teaching and learning requires material for class readings and for student papers. In the past, the material for class readings, intended to supplement lectures as prescribed by the instructor, has been called reserves. In the period before electronic resources became available, the reserves were supplied as actual books or as photocopies of appropriate journal articles.

Academic libraries must determine a focus for collection development since comprehensive collections are not feasible. Librarians do this by identifying the needs of the faculty and student body, as well as the mission and academic programs of the college or university. When there are particular areas of specialization in academic libraries these are often referred to as niche collections. These collections are often the basis of a special collection department and may include original papers, artwork, and artifacts written or created by a single author or about a specific subject.

National and University Library

The National and University Library (French: Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire; abbreviated BNU) is a public library in Strasbourg, France. It is located on Place de la République, the former Kaiserplatz, and faces the Palais du Rhin.

History

After the destruction of the municipal library and the city's archives by Prussian artillery during the Siege of Strasbourg, the German Empire founded the BNU on 19 June 1872. The task of arranging its collections was given to historian and professor, Rodolphe Reuss.

It became the regional library for the Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine, as, according to German tradition, every region should have at least one library. It was also an Academic library.

The collections grew quickly, thanks principally to donations from all across Europe and the United States. But, even in spite of these generous donations, many priceless manuscripts, such as the Hortus Deliciarum had been destroyed and could never be replaced.

The present-day building, which is a work of architects August Hartel and Skjold Neckelmann, was opened in 1895.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina (ⁱ/ˈbɒzniə ənd ˌhɛərtsəɡoʊˈviːnə, -ˌhɜːrt-, -ɡə-/ or /ˌhɜːrtsəˈɡɒvᵻnə/;Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian Latin script: Bosna i Hercegovina, Bosnian and Serbian Cyrillic script: Боснa и Херцеговина; pronounced [bôsna i xěrt͡seɡoʋina]), sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or Bosnia & Herzegovina, abbreviated BiH or B&H, and in short often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west, and south; Serbia to the east; Montenegro to the southeast; and the Adriatic Sea to the south, with a coastline about 20 kilometres (12 miles) long surrounding the city of Neum. In the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a geographically larger region and has a moderate continental climate, bookended by hot summers and cold and snowy winters. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography.