Slovenia unveils portal for publishers and digital preservation

Slovenia’s National and University Library, known as NUK, presented eKnjiga, a digital environment that brings together key publishing procedures and supports the long-term preservation of the country’s written heritage.

The portal allows publishers to manage requests for cataloguing-in-publication data, obtain publication identifiers, submit legal-deposit copies, and manage bibliographic and digital information through a single system. Previously, these procedures were handled through separate systems, making publishers’ work more administratively demanding. eKnjiga is intended to improve the transparency and efficiency of managing information about publications issued in Slovenia.

The portal supports ONIX, an international standard for exchanging information about books and other publications. It enables publishers, distributors, booksellers, and libraries to share standardised metadata, such as titles, authors, formats, publishers, and publication dates.

A digital original is the final digital file containing the complete text of a publication and prepared for printing. Preserving this file allows the library to retain a higher-quality version of the work instead of having to digitise a printed copy in the future.

NUK also redesigned its website and introduced a digital assistant to help users find information about the library’s services. The project was developed in cooperation with publishers, distributors, and booksellers. The system also enables the submission of online publications and digital originals for preservation and possible inclusion in the Digital Library of Slovenia.

Maja Jug Hartman, president of the Association of Slovene Publishers (Društvo slovenskih založnikov, DSZ), described the unified system as a long-awaited development for the sector. She noted, however, that its practical use would reveal which features still needed improvement. The total value of the eKnjiga project is approximately 359,000 euros, of which 315,000 euros came from Slovenia’s Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The project began in July 2025 and forms part of e-Culture, Slovenia’s wider programme for the digital transformation of its cultural sector. It is financed through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, with funding from Slovenia and the European Union’s NextGenerationEU programme. Other institutions participating in the wider e-Culture platform include the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, the Slovenian Theatre Institute, and the Slovenian Film Centre.

The presentation of eKnjiga coincided with the 20th anniversary of Slovenia’s Legal Deposit Act. Adopted in 2006, the law regulates the collection, preservation, and use of legal-deposit publications, covering printed materials as well as electronic and online publications. NUK serves as Slovenia’s national legal-deposit institution.

Under the legislation, publishers submit copies of their publications so that Slovenia’s published heritage can be recorded, preserved, and made available for research. Access to digital materials remains subject to copyright and other applicable access conditions.

During the presentation, representatives of libraries and the publishing sector also discussed the need to update the legislation to reflect digital originals and new technologies used in contemporary publishing.

eKnjiga expands Slovenia’s existing infrastructure for preserving written heritage. NUK has operated the Digital Library of Slovenia, dLib.si, since November 2005. The platform provides access to digitised books, periodicals, manuscripts, photographs, maps, music, and other materials from Slovenian collections.

Under the separate National Project for the Digitisation of Slovenica, which covers the period from 2021 to 2030, NUK plans to digitise more than 101 million pages, representing almost 332,000 items. The digitised materials are expected to be published through dLib.si.

Main image: National and University Library of Slovenia (NUK)