National Library of Serbia
Encyclopedia
The National Library of Serbia (NLS) (Serbian
: Народна библиотека Србије / Narodna biblioteka Srbije) is the national library
of Serbia
, located in the city of Belgrade
, (Vračar
municipality).
During World War I, the Library building and collections were damaged by bombing, so the remaining holdings were moved from Belgrade
to Niš
and Kragujevac
for their protection. After the War, and according to the National Library Act and the Press Law, both from 1919, the Library became the central state Library and obtained the right to acquire an obligatory copy from all over the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
.
The bombing in the World War II completely destroyed the Library building along with a book collection of 500.000 volumes, a collection of 1424 Cyrillic manuscripts and charters, a collection of maps and prints of 1,500 items, collections of 4,000 journals as well as 1,800 newspaper titles, its rich archives of Turkish documents about Serbia and the complete correspondence of distinguished figures of the cultural and political history of Serbia and all holdings lists and catalogs.
After the liberation of Belgrade
in 1944, under the changed social conditions, there was a period of intensive reconstruction of the lost collections and rapid development of the Library.
After the devoted work of the Library staff, the Library again opened its doors to the public in 1947. In 1954, on the 150th anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising
, the construction of a new building for the National Library was allowed, and the new Library building (Architect: Ivo Kurtović),was opened with a special ceremony on 6 April 1973.
Nowadays, the National Library of Serbia is a modern national library. Its goals are: incorporation into the world’s information flows, recognition within the world’s family of national libraries, as well as becoming an information resource and drive for the development of Serbian society.
Since 2001 the Chief Executive of the National Library of Serbia has been Sreten Ugričić.
Special collections contain: old and rare books containing printed books in 18th and 19th century in languages of ex-Yu as well as foreign books up to 1700, bibliophile and miniature editions, literary and other manuscripts and archival documents, cartographic materials, printed music material and phonograms, photographic documents, engravings and picture material, placards and information materials, memorial libraries and legacies.
Manuscript collection includes: handwritten books from 12th to 18th century, mostly Serbian and small numbers of Bulgarian, Macedonian and Russian editions, incunabula
and old Serbian printed books from 1494 to 1638, prints from old Serbian carved tablets from 16th to 18th century, microfilms of South Slavonic Cyrillic manuscript
s.
of the National Library of Serbia contains about 600.000 scanned pages in about 70 different collections (Cyrillic manuscripts, old and rare books, books, Serbian children's digital library, newspapers and magazines, cartographic materials, engravings and art material, photographic materials, posters and documentary material, printed music and sound records, catalogs and bibliographies, miscellaneous). NLS also participates in the World Digital Library
.
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
: Народна библиотека Србије / Narodna biblioteka Srbije) is the national library
National library
A national library is a library specifically established by the government of a country to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books...
of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, located in the city of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, (Vračar
Vracar
Vračar is an urban neighborhood and one of 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade. With an area of only , it is the smallest of all Belgrade's municipalities, but also the most densely populated. Vračar is one of the three municipalities that constitute the central area of the...
municipality).
History
The establishment of the Library is connected to an historical event in February 1832, when Dimitrije Davidović, publisher of the first Serbian newspaper, sent a letter about establishing a national library in honour of Prince Miloš Obrenović. The same year in November, Prince Miloš ordered the Legal Deposit of copies in the National Library.During World War I, the Library building and collections were damaged by bombing, so the remaining holdings were moved from Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
to Niš
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
and Kragujevac
Kragujevac
Kragujevac is the fourth largest city in Serbia, the main city of the Šumadija region and the administrative centre of Šumadija District. It is situated on the banks of the Lepenica River...
for their protection. After the War, and according to the National Library Act and the Press Law, both from 1919, the Library became the central state Library and obtained the right to acquire an obligatory copy from all over the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
.
The bombing in the World War II completely destroyed the Library building along with a book collection of 500.000 volumes, a collection of 1424 Cyrillic manuscripts and charters, a collection of maps and prints of 1,500 items, collections of 4,000 journals as well as 1,800 newspaper titles, its rich archives of Turkish documents about Serbia and the complete correspondence of distinguished figures of the cultural and political history of Serbia and all holdings lists and catalogs.
After the liberation of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
in 1944, under the changed social conditions, there was a period of intensive reconstruction of the lost collections and rapid development of the Library.
After the devoted work of the Library staff, the Library again opened its doors to the public in 1947. In 1954, on the 150th anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising
First Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising was the first stage of the Serbian Revolution , the successful wars of independence that lasted for 9 years and approximately 9 months , during which Serbia perceived itself as an independent state for the first time after more than three centuries of Ottoman rule and...
, the construction of a new building for the National Library was allowed, and the new Library building (Architect: Ivo Kurtović),was opened with a special ceremony on 6 April 1973.
Nowadays, the National Library of Serbia is a modern national library. Its goals are: incorporation into the world’s information flows, recognition within the world’s family of national libraries, as well as becoming an information resource and drive for the development of Serbian society.
Since 2001 the Chief Executive of the National Library of Serbia has been Sreten Ugričić.
Collections
General collection includes: books printed after 1868 in Serbian and other ex-Yu languages and books printed after 1700 in foreign languages, periodicals from Serbia, ex-Yu and abroad, bibliographies, encyclopedias, lexicons, catalogs, dictionaries, directories in classical and electronic form, organized in an open access reference stock.Special collections contain: old and rare books containing printed books in 18th and 19th century in languages of ex-Yu as well as foreign books up to 1700, bibliophile and miniature editions, literary and other manuscripts and archival documents, cartographic materials, printed music material and phonograms, photographic documents, engravings and picture material, placards and information materials, memorial libraries and legacies.
Manuscript collection includes: handwritten books from 12th to 18th century, mostly Serbian and small numbers of Bulgarian, Macedonian and Russian editions, incunabula
Incunabulum
Incunable, or sometimes incunabulum is a book, pamphlet, or broadside, that was printed — not handwritten — before the year 1501 in Europe...
and old Serbian printed books from 1494 to 1638, prints from old Serbian carved tablets from 16th to 18th century, microfilms of South Slavonic Cyrillic manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s.
Digital NLS
Digital libraryDigital library
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
of the National Library of Serbia contains about 600.000 scanned pages in about 70 different collections (Cyrillic manuscripts, old and rare books, books, Serbian children's digital library, newspapers and magazines, cartographic materials, engravings and art material, photographic materials, posters and documentary material, printed music and sound records, catalogs and bibliographies, miscellaneous). NLS also participates in the World Digital Library
World Digital Library
The World Digital Library is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress.The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet, provide...
.