Work began to establish the Library of the Provincial (now National) Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina began when the Museum Society was founded in Sarajevo in 1884.  The Library was the first scientific library in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was opened in 1888. When the Museum moved into the newly built complex in 1913, the Library was given its own premises, where it is still housed.

 

The Library of the National Museum is organized as a special scientific library with about 250,000 publications (journals, periodicals, books, newspapers) The book holdings of the Library have been collected systematically for 112 years and cover the fields of archaeology, history, ethnology, folklore, mineralogy, geology, botany, zoology and museology.

 

The old library collections dating back to the Austro-Hungarian period and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia now represent rarities.

 

Thanks to the Museum's publishing activities, the Library has since the very outset established contacts and exchange of publications with scientific institutions and museums from all around the world. Publications are now exchanged with 341 institutions, which receive issues of Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja and Wissenschaftliche Mitteilungen aus Bosnisch-Herzegowinischen Landesmuseums. In addition to exchanges, the Library also sells the Museum's publications.

 

The books held by the National Museum Library may be consulted in the Library's reading room only, from 11:00 to 14:00, Monday to Friday.

 

The Library has the following catalogues:

1. alphabetic - catalogue of sole-copy and duplicate periodicals;

2. author catalogue of sole-copy items and duplicates, and

3. systematic catalogue.

 

Personnel:

Olga Lalević, head librarian
librarian
museum adviser

 

Andrea Dautović
librarian in charge of the exchange, procurement and sale of publications
museum adviser

 

Saliha Nametak
librarian editor of the systematic catalogue

 

Petra Rađen
senior librarian assistant