Dzīves un darba gājums

6. DU resources and financing

6.1. Library

The DU library fund is 326863; it comprises: books – 281367, periodicals – 29469, sheet music publications – 15729, other publications – 298 (Appendix DU-16).

To improve the DU library work new technologies are used:

• 
  Internet;
  
• 
  electronic catalogue ALISE (Advanced Library Information Service);
  
• 
  an automated readers’ service system; since 2002 a joint project of DU and Latgale Central libraries “The integration of Daugavpils regional public libraries and the DU library into VVBI has been launched. Within the framework of the project the library has joined the system of “Single reader’s card”, thus since December 2002, readers can use funds and services of 13 Latvia’s bigger libraries;
  
• 
  a complete electronic text data basis EBSCO Publishing (it comprises 8 data bases: Academic Search Elite, Business Source Premier, Master FILE Priemer, Newspaper Source, ERIC, Business Wire News, MEDLINE, Health Source – Consumer Edition, Agrikola).
  

6.2. Lecture rooms, laboratories, study-rooms

The DU teaching process is organized in 4 buildings:

• 
  13,Vienibas iela (Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Natural sciences and Mathematics),
  
• 
  1, Parades iela (Faculty of Natural sciences and Mathematics, Faculty of Education and Management, Faculty of Social sciences),
  
• 
  1/3, Saules iela (Faculty of Music and Arts),
  
• 
  1, Kandavas iela (Sport Complex).
  

Field practice is carried out in Agrobiological laboratory “Namejs” and in a teaching basis “Ilgas”. There are premises in each building to ensure a teaching process: lecture rooms, laboratories and study rooms for small group work and big lecture rooms for delivering lectures to numerous groups. A survey on lecture rooms, laboratories and study rooms is given in Appendix DU-17.

6.3. Use of computers, audio and video equipment

In recent years the number and the intensity of the use of computers and audio-visual aids during the study process have considerably grown. The indicators showing the information intensity level are given in Appendix DU-18. The number of audio-visual equipment is sufficient to supply all lecture rooms and study rooms with this equipment. The computer equipment needed for the study process is placed mainly in computer classes. Part of computers is in the chairs and specialized laboratories.

6.4. Information assurance

The Information Technology Centre (ITC) has an important role in providing information assurance for studies and research (Appendix DU-18).

ITC is responsible for Internet connection and provides other Internet services to university students and staff, to Daugavpils city and region schools and higher education institutions and the residents of the city. DU is connected to Internet by a 10 Mb/s full duplex line with the biggest Latvian Internet Service – Latnet.

The university has its own website www.dau.lv, which holds information about study possibilities, research novelties, conferences, students’ activities and current events in the university life.

The ITC is also responsible for the participation in the realization of the system for providing Latvia’s education with information (LIIS), for the development of the DU information system (DUIS) as well as for training the DU staff to use this system.

6.5. Assurance of students’ social life and recreation

DU admission regulations state that all students who have arrived in Daugavpils from other places in Latvia should be provided with a place in a university hotel for the whole period of studies. The dwelling space in the hotels is big enough to meet the students’ demand. In 5 university hotels there live 1038 students. There are about 10 square meters per student (the space also includes premises for common use and other hotel premises). At present, students who live in our hotels pay less than students of other higher education institutions. Hotels have premises for personal hygiene, showers and kitchens. However, it is necessary to modernize a heating system in the hotels. A perspective schedule for repair work has been made up; unfortunately, this is entailed with big capital investments which DU lacks at present. DU is the only Latvia’s higher education establishment, which provides all student families with separate rooms in the university hotels. All the necessary conditions have been created in the hotels so that the students could also have their meals there. There are premises for recreation there either. The hotel at 6, Sporta iela is connected to Internet, and the computer net in the hotel is served by the students, who are in the study programme “Programmer”.

There is a Health Centre in DU. To restrict the morbidity rate, anti-epidemic measures are taken and vaccination is carried out. Students can receive free medical injection courses. To give the first or emergency aid the health centre has the necessary medicine and medical instruments purchased for the state budget means. The students who live in the university hotels have regular medical check-ups. The dental services are also available at the health centre.

The Council of Students and the Student Club are responsible for the recreation of students. The traditional activities of the university students are celebrating the anniversary of the adoption of DU Constitution (Satversme), Aristotle festivity, “freshers” ball, fancy-ball, the celebration of International Students’ day, competitions – “Students”, “One against three”, dance-group “Laima” concert etc.

The main task of the Sport Club is the involvement of students into various sport activities by organizing different competitions and mass sport activities. The most favourite kinds of sport at the university are table tennis, volley-boll, swimming and track and field athletics. Traditional activities are: “Aerobics for All”, “DU Grand Prize”. The selected teams of the university participate and achieve good results not only in the competitions organized by Latvia universities but also in the International student sports and games (Appendix DU-19).