The National and University Library in Zagreb: New Building, Old Problems

Reference Type Journal Article
Year of Publication
1997
Contributors Author: T. Aparac-Gazivoda
Journal
Alexandria
Volume
9
Issue
3
Pagination
185-199
Language
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Region
Library Type
Chronological Period
Abstract
The National and University Library in Zagreb serves both as the National Library of Croatia and the central library of the University of Zagreb. Its foundations were the library of the Jesuit Collegium, dating back at least as far as 1610; other important collections were added. The library was not officially opened to the public until 1819, when it contained some 10,000 items. In the 1830s it was renamed the National Academic Library and became entitled to legal deposit, and when the University of Zagreb opened in 1874 it was the logical basis for the future university library and acquired its first professional Librarian. A new building was opened in 1913. Decentralization of the university's collections began to occur in the 1920s,with the consequence that the NUL is today somewhat isolated from the university. When Croatia joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, the library had to be reorganized according to new laws. Little attempt has been made to separate the library's two functions, and when plans were made at the beginning of the 1970s for a new building, it was designed as a combined library. The building was officially opened in 1995. Many problems remain to be solved, including inadequate finances and staff, automation, management, organization as a dual-function library, and the library's national role. The recently established Croatian LIS Institute, which is housed in the building, is expected to study these problems