News

One of the ten nominees who received most votes in the competition “The Deed of the Year 2018”, organised by the Tartu City Government and the newspaper Tartu Postimees, was the completion of the UT Library renovation. The Letters of Honour were given to the nominees yesterday, on 27 December. Tartu’s Deed of the Year was selected already for the 21st time. There were twenty-three different events, achievements and undertakings nominated as the candidates of this competition.

The traditional Night Library will open its doors for the winter exam session already on the second day of the new year. After several years, the Night Library is again organised with the support of the UT Student Council.

On Wednesday, 12 December a Christmas Fair will take place in the 1-st floor lobby of the UT Library. The fair will be open from 11 until 16 and you can buy jewellery, ceramics, linen products, herb teas, different food products. Everyone is welcome! Additional information: Katriin Kaljovee Director's Personal Assistant UT Library [email protected] 737 5727

The University of Tartu Library Calendar for 2019 introduces the parrots as they are featured in François Levaillant’s book Histoire naturelle des perroquets (The Natural History of Parrots). The author of the book, François Levaillant (1753–1824), was the first scholar to study the birds of Africa. He was among the first to describe, in addition to the appearance of the birds also their behaviour and habitats and he illustrated his books with masterful colour tables.

From Monday, 03 December, copies from the collections of dissertations, Estica-materials, journals and older memorial collections can again be requested. These collections were packed for the renovation period and were therefore not accessible since the summer of 2016.

On Friday, 30 November, the exhibition of doctoral theses, defended in 2018, was opened in the UT Library to celebrate the 99th anniversary of the Estonian national university. At the ceremonial meeting, held in the UT Assembly Hall on 1 December, 113 scholars who have defended their doctoral dissertations during the year were awarded their degrees. Dissertations of these new doctors are exhibited in the 2nd floor hall of the library – 9 of them were written in Estonian, 99 in English, 3 in Russian, 1 in Spanish and 1 in French.

The opening hours of UT Library in December: 17-18 Dec – open 9-18 19-20 Dec - open 9-21 21 Dec - open 9-18 22-26 Dec – closed 27-28 Dec – open 9-21 29-31 Dec and 01 Jan – closed

Dear readers! On Saturday, 1 December, the UT Library is closed due to the 99th anniversary of the national university.

On Monday, 12 November Tartu Observatory will give 260 older books that have so far been in its library over to the UT Library. “Holding conditions in the newly renovated library are definitely better than in our building,” Maret Veldre, the librarian of Tartu Observatory explained the need for rehousing the books. “Some of our books are even now in a bad need of restoration and the UT library has this competence. Also, as the ink won’t remain on the paper forever, manuscripts should be digitised. This work can also be done at the library by specialists.”

On Thursday, 8 November, the artist Kaire Nurk will open an exhibition of her paintings “Bivalent” in the second floor lobby of the UT Library. “Bivalent” brings together the paintings the artist made during her Master’s studies at the University of Tartu and the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2015-2017, and the works she had created as a professional artist before starting her studies.

On Friday, 09 November the representatives of the Rotalia Foundation USA gave a cheque on 100 000 US dollars as a gift to the UT Library. The gift was received by Kristjan Vassil, the UT Vice Rector of Research and Liisi Lembinen, the UT Library Acting Director. The donated sum will be used for purchasing additional technological equipment to expand the list of services offered to the readers.

Stalin Digital Archive is open for trial until 8 December 2018. Stalin Digital Archive contains a selection of documents, which covers Stalin's personal biography, his work in government, and his conduct of foreign affairs (1889-1952). Access to the archive is possible via UT computer network. Please send your feedback to [email protected]

Journal Science Robotics is open for trial until 4 January 2019. It is multidisciplinary, covering the traditional disciplines of robotics, as well as emerging trends such as advanced materials and bio-inspired designs; it covers all scales, from very large systems to micro/nano robots. Access to the journal is possible via UT computer network. Please send your feedback to [email protected]

On Tuesday, 7 November, the portrait exhibition of Konrad Mägi Atelier artists will be opened on the third floor of the University of Tartu Library. The exhibition shows 55 portraits, depicting cultural figures related with Tartu.

Students of medicine can now learn human anatomy and the structure of human brain and neuron with the help of 3D models. The detachable models of brain and neuron can be borrowed for in-house use at the service desk of the third-floor reading rooms. The model of human skeleton and posters explaining the anatomy of human body can be found near the shelves of medical books in the first reading room.

Thursday, 1 November will be a Fine Free Day at the UT Library. Overdue books can be returned without paying the fine on this day. “The renovation period was a complicated time for us as well as for the readers, so it could have happened that people forgot to return the borrowed books,” said Olga Einasto, Head of the UT Library Service Department. “Thursday is a good day to return them, as we do not ask you to pay the fine on this day.”

The 3rd floor of UT Library will be open on November 1. On the 3rd floor there is also located the Counselling Centre, where students can have advice regarding organisation of studies, career and psychological counselling. The counsellors are inviting the students for a visit on November 1 at 10-16. The advisors at the centre help students think about their studies and careers and draw up a personal development plan to enhance their skills and knowledge.

The open stacks on the first floor and reading rooms, Music Department and private work rooms on the third floor will be opened for the readers on Thursday, 1 November. “Although the renovation deadline would have been at the beginning of 2019, we are very pleased with the fact that the construction company finished the work already by the end of August,” said Liisi Lembinen, the UT Library Acting Director.“The full opening of the library can now take place earlier than we dared to expect at the beginning of this year.”

Visible Body and VisualDx trial for University of Tartu

Using of the e-catalogue ESTER in mobile devices is now much more convenient. The mobile-friendly e-catalogue now adapts to the size of the computer tab or mobile phone screen. The display is slightly different in the upright or horizontal position of the phone.