UNIVERSITY OF LIBRARY STUDIES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
Presentation
The University of Library and Information Technology (UNIBIT) is a state university, transformed on the 29th of October 2010 by a resolution of the National Assembly and is the successor of the Specialized Higher School of Library Science and Information Technologies, voted by the National Assembly in 2004 by the College of Library Studies and the Librarianship and Information Technologies College (KIBT), the College of Library Studies (FBI).
UNIBIT teaches Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral programs for educational and scientific degrees with accreditation.
UNIBIT has modern facilities for the preparation of its students. The specially designed building includes a solemn hall; specialized seminar cabinets; audiences; a “John Atanasov” Computer Laboratory with modern computer halls with local networks and with constant access to the Internet, where modern information and communication technologies are studied; a Library and Information Center with a reading room for 150 people, with a specialized library collection of over 52000 library units and a bookstore for 80 000 documents; IP Point- Information and Consulting Center for Intellectual Property; a Career Center for Supporting the Professional Development of Students; a Training and Demonstration Museum Collection “Spirituality and Leadership”; a phonetic cabinet; teaching staff and administrative staff; a meeting room; a modern gym; tennis courts and a cafeteria.
Built and developed for 60 years, UNIBIT aims at satisfying the needs of over 2000 students and 150 staff members. Specialized training seminars and cabinets have resourceful learning funds, with a significant portion of them being bibliographic a rarity.
The duration of full-time and part-time studies at the UNIBIT, concerning the Bachelors degree is four years. Along with the knowledge of the main specialty, students receive good preparation in information and communication technologies, in English and Russian; they also have the opportunity for good sports training.
Unibit’s Masters degrees are offered in regular and part-time, some programs might be studied over distance, with a duration of three semesters.
Unibit also has PhD (Doctoral) programs, where students have the chance to develop their practical skills at prestigious institutions, organizations and companies.
Graduates of Unibit can work in libraries, publishing houses, book-training companies, the state administration, the IT- sector, information centers and offices, archives, museums, galleries and other cultural institutions.
Unibit has a standard Erasmus university charter that allows students to study abroad under the Lifelong Learning Program.
Unibit is actively involved in international professional affairs, international cooperation on bilateral agreements with similar institutions in Russia, Germany, France, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey ect. The university is a member of IFLA, the International Federation of Library Associations; LIBER, the Association of European Scientific and Academic Libraries, ICOM, the International Council of Museums, the National Technical Committee for Archival, Library, Information and Publishing (TC 16), The Union Library and Information Workers (SIBIR) and others.
A museum collection of Bulgarian spirituality was established at the university in 2005. The idea of its creation is dedicated to the need to preserve the self-awareness of todays digital society. The exhibition has brought together both the culture and the sense of time- from Nikolay Haytov to Stefan Danailov- an intertwining selection of art and traditions, personalities and achievements. So far there are documents and objects of 11 Bulgarian intellectuals (Anton Donchev, Lyubomir Levchev, Nikolay Haytov, Yordan Radichkov, Angel Balevski, Vezhdi Rashidov, Boyana Dimitrova, Stefan Danailov, Ivo Papazov, Kremena Zotova, Hristo Drumev).