Croatian Library of the Year 2023: Celebrating Excellence at the Centre for Scientific Information of the Ruđer Bošković Institute

The Centre for Scientific Information of the Ruđer Bošković Institute received the Croatian "Library of the Year" recognition for 2023 at the formal assembly of the Croatian Library Association held at the National and University Library in Zagreb. This award is an important confirmation of the Centre's many years of hard work and its role in improving library science, services, and information systems. It shows that our efforts have made a positive impact not only in Croatia but also in the international scientific and academic community.

The assembly opened with welcoming speeches by the Director General of the National and University Library in Zagreb, Ivanka Stričević, PhD, the President of the Zagreb Library Association, Dorja Mučnjak, the President of the Croatian Library Association, Jasenka Pleško, and on behalf of the Minister of Culture and Media, State Secretary Ivica Poljičak, PhD.

In his expression of gratitude upon receiving the award, Bojan Macan, PhD, the Head of the Centre for Scientific Information, highlighted the library's innovative services and its role in promoting open science. He credited the success to the dedicated team, thanked past and present colleagues, especially Jadranka Stojanovski, PhD, and Alen Vodopijevec, for their pivotal contributions to the library's achievements. 

Addressing the guests, Dr Ivanka Jerić, Assistant Director of the Ruđer Bošković Institute, offered sincere congratulations to all the employees of the Centre for Scientific Information for their excellent results. She also expressed gratitude for recognizing and rewarding the valuable work of the Centre’s employees.

Established in 1950, the Library of the Ruđer Bošković Institute, now known as the Centre for Scientific Information, has played a pivotal role since its inception. Operating in two locations, Zagreb and Rovinj (as part of the Centre for Marine Research), the library has been instrumental in supporting the Institute's scientists across various activities, including ensuring the accessibility of scientific information, organising information, and developing various information systems. The collections housed within the library span across all scientific disciplines that are the subject of research for the Institute's researchers, including physics, mathematics, electronics, chemistry, biology, medicine, computer science, and environmental science.

The Centre’s role in promoting open science at institutional and national levels is particularly noteworthy through the establishment of infrastructure such as the institutional repository FULIR, the research data repository FULIR Data, cloud data storage service MojOblak, participation in the development of the national infrastructure for digital repositories - Dabar, the Portal of Croatian scientific and professional journals - Hrčak, as well as through education and support for scientists in implementing open science. The Centre has long surpassed the boundaries of a traditional institutional library, developing numerous information services and providing user support to the broader academic and research community. Services such as the Croatian Scientific Bibliography (CROSBI), the Database of Project Activities in Science and Higher Education (POIROT), and a database of scientific instruments developed by the Centre (Šestar), have laid the foundations for the new Information System of Science in Croatia – CroRIS. The Centre also maintains a strong international presence, actively engaging in European projects and participating in international associations. Notably, it is a member of the European Association of Aquatic Sciences Libraries and Information Centres (EURASLIC) and the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC). The Centre's involvement extends to various projects such as PATTERN, NI4OS-Europe, OpenAIRE Advance, OpenAIRE 2020, OpenAIREplus, and FOSTER.

This recognition acknowledges our contribution to fostering creativity, innovation, and improving the quality of work. We are proud of the perseverance, quality, and creativity we provide through specific services and programs to our users and the community in which we operate. 

We would like to express our gratitude to the Committee for awarding us the 'Library of the Year' recognition, and we consider it a great honour. This recognition motivates us to continue our work with dedication and enthusiasm.