Philobiblon
Philobiblon
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CULTURE, BOOKS, SOCIETY: AXIOLOGICAL OPENINGS AND CLOSURES
Vasile FRATEANU, Towards a Relational Axiology
Andrei MARGA, Europe and European Characteristics
Adrian MARINO, Cultural Isolationism, Lights and Shadows
Petru ILUT,
Two Main Paradigms
in the Approach to Ethnification: Cultural-Attitude and Rational
Choice
Camil MURESANU,
Images of
Transylvania in Literary Periodicals Between the Two World
Wars
Karoly VERESS,
Pitfalls
of a Cultural Paradigm
LIBRARIANSHIP : A CHANGING PROFESSION IN A TRANSITIONAL SOCIETY
Nastasia FODOREAN: To Be a Librarian ...
Robert DAVIES, Traian BRAD,
Adriana KIRALY: The Customer Is Our Master: What We
Know Now, How We Can Serve Him Better
Sally WOOD-LAMONT, Ioana
ROBU: Self-Financing Services in Libraries: A Method of
Increasing Limited Library Budgets in Post-Communist Romania ?
VARIA: THE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OF THE LIBRARY
Silvia DUMITRU: 17th and 18th Century Religious Books (Exhibition)
Ionut COSTEA: The Mircea
Carp Donation. Preliminary to a Research
MISCELLANEOUS
Alin-Mihai GHERMAN: An Adventure in the World of the Library
Stelian MANDRUT: A Bibliography of Local History
Nastasia FODOREAN:
The Periodical
Acribia
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TOWARDS A RELATIONAL AXIOLOGY
Vasile FRATEANU
The author proposes a new - connective
or relational - model of understanding axiology. Axiology can be formed
in an authentic manner if it accepts to have permanent reference to the
world of man and his experience. Then it has to take into account
other branches of philosophy: ontology, gnoseology, the philosophy of language,
the philosophy of conscience etc. Axiological research proper must start
from the evaluative utterances; these and not the isolated words represent
the basic units of all axiological thought. However, these utterances themselves
have a relational nature as they combine descriptive and prescriptive aspects.
The "axiological predicate" has the same structure: it is formed as an
"ontological-evaluative symbol" in every value-judgement.
EUROPE AND EUROPEAN CHARACTERISTICS
Andrei MARGA
Preparing for European unification requires
a conceptual clearing-up. From the point of view of unification Europeanness
must be judged according to institutions and culture, not by the geography
and history of Europe. However, the institutions are objectifications of
culture, therefore the dissensions concerning affiliation with Europe belong
to the field of culture. In the author's opinion European cultural specificity
consists of the following facts: a) it activates the behaviour characterized
by economic rationality, allowing for the estimation of profitable results;
b) it is a culture of effective administration supported by law; c) it
promotes personal liberty conceived as the autonomy of the individual;
d) it is a culture of systematic research and of transforming reality according
to the individual objective; e) at the same time it is a spiritual culture
capable of the thoughtful use of traditions.
CULTURAL ISOLATIONISM, LIGHTS AND SHADOWS
Adrian MARINO
Ethnocentrism, xenophobia and cultural
chauvinism can get unbridled in many ways. Ignoring cultural relations
and dialogue is a sign of anachronism today. The author presents cultural
"insularity" from the point of view of the obstacles that hinder its controlling.
These obstacles are: a) irreducible and intolerant peculiarity and ethnicism;
b) isolationism reverted to a political and cultural program; c) a psychological
background characterized by typical complexes (victimization, local patriotism,
etc.); d) the formation of local hierarchies promoting a "parochial" cultural
system; e) the inorganic cultivation of cultural universalism versus multi-
culturalism.
TWO MAIN PARADIGMS IN THE APPROACH TO ETHNIFICATION:
CULTURAL-ATTITUDE AND RATIONAL CHOICE
Petru ILUS
The sociological study of the recrudescence
of nationalism in ex-communist countries must be initiated from the perspective
of ethnification. The theories of ethnification are structured according
to the paradigms: cultural-attitude which operates mainly within the preponderently
irrational elements of ethnification and rational choice which focuses
on the calculation of costs and profits. The main intention of the present
study is to show the relation between the paradigms is complex and nuanced.
IMAGES OF TRANSYLVANIA IN LITERARY PERIODICALS
BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS
Camil MURESANU
Cultural life in Transylvania gained
momentum in the period between 1933-1940. Together with the gradual synchronization
with Western culture there was a friendly emulation between Romanian, Hungarian
and German (Saxon) periodicals characterized by the urbanity of morals
and manners in most literary debates. These aspects are narrated by Romanian
periodicals (Tara Bârsei; Blajul; Gând Românesc etc.),
Hungarian periodicals (Erdélyi Helikon) and German ones (Klingsor
etc.).
PITFALLS OF A CULTURAL PARADIGM
VERESS Károly
The study analyses the connections between
minority being and minority culture in Hungarian life in Romania.
It begins with the hypothesis that the peculiar image of culture that emerged
during decades of deprivation of minority rights distorted the real functions
of culture and its institutions in society as well as the intellectuals'
image of themselves and their image of culture. This image of culture,
which has become a cultural paradigm, is linked to the specific interpretation
where minority being is considered to be a deficient and distinct category
which inflicts moral duties on those living a minority existence. It endows
culture with a distinct value-creating role from the point of view of survival.
This interpretation of existence has been gradually infiltrated into culture
and is being continuously procreated by its self-reproductive mechanisms.
Therefore it continues to exist alongside the image of culture, even after
the events of December 1989, although it does not reflect the real needs
and endeavours of minority individuals and has become an obstacle to the
development of the new processes. This contradiction which has evolved
can now only be overcome by the development of a vigorous civil society.
TO BE A LIBRARIAN ...
Nastasia FODOREAN
The study reveals the fact that computers
are an integral part of librarianship today. It also attempts to prove
that the use of modern techniques can only be really fruitful if the librarian
is doubly competent: having an expertise in librarianship and in addition
technical skills. This has led to the founding of the College of Librarianship
in Cluj, which was also motivated by the existence of a Bibliological School
in Cluj between the two world wars.
THE CUSTOMER IS OUR MASTER : WHAT WE KNOW
NOW, HOW WE CAN SERVE HIM
BETTER
Robert DAVIES, Traian BRAD and Adriana
KIRÁLY
The main objectives and most significant
findings of the user/nonuser survey designed and conducted at the "Octavian
Goga" Cluj County Library are presented, the survey being one of the principal
tasks of the Public Libraries Development Project under the European Union
PHARE Partnership Programme. In order to support the library management's
intention to improve existing services and to initiate new ones,a
study of the following was made: 1) the users'/nonusers' characteristics
and main reasons for visiting/not visiting the public library; 2) the degree
of using the available library services and the customers' level of satisfaction
with these services, and especially 3) the public's needs for new services.
The most important conclusion reached is that, although the main reason
for library visiting is the use of books (particularly borrowing) and that
the overall level of satisfaction with library available services and environment
is registered as good, the users'/nonusers' interest for new library services
appear significant. The principal proposals were: an audiocassette,
videocassette and CD lending service, a European Union Information service
and the most important a Community Information Service. The main information
priorities of the latter were: social/welfare assistance, medical/health
care, employment, retraining/improving professional performance and leisure/recreation.
SELF-FINANCING SERVICES IN LIBRARIES: A METHOD
OF INCREASING LIMITED
LIBRARY BUDGETS IN POST-COMMUNIST ROMANIA?
Sally WOOD-LAMONT, Ioana ROBU
This paper reports the self-financing
experience of the Cluj Medical Library, Romania. The recurrent library
budget given by the University covers mostly book and periodical acquisitions:
other expenses, such as equipment, consumables can only be partially (i.e.
10-50%) covered from this budget, the rest must be borne by the library
itself.
In order to continue improvements, the
library budget had to be increased by self-financing schemes, therefore
a conscious decision was made to introduce fees for additional library
services given. The influence of old mentalities are discussed as well
as the implications and the results of the scheme.