The issue of the return of the National and University Libraries of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the City Hall is again in focus. A new online petition gathered the academic community, but also revived the debate about the symbolic significance of the return of books to their pre-war space.
“Culture in general cannot be destroyed by fire and smoke, or by any force. What those who try to do it by force, anywhere in the world, in the long term, achieve is actually to create a globally recognizable symbol of resistance”, said the head of the Department for International Relations and Projects of NUBBiH Aiša Telalović.
The burning of the City Hall in August 1992 was remembered as one of the strongest symbols of culturocide in Europe. The fire that consumed the funds of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina at that time was never extinguished for many. Three decades later, 12 years since the renovation – the doors of the Town Hall are still closed to books.
“The National Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the most important institutions of this country. It is one of the symbols of statehood, and this means that our attitude towards it also expresses our attitude or our awareness towards the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I think it is the duty of those whose responsibility it is to return it to the City Hall”, emphasized Esad Duraković, a regular member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The petition of academician Duraković and journalist Faruk Vela was signed by hundreds of citizens. However, while some see the City Hall as the only home worthy of a national treasure, others question its functionality. Writers Mile Stojić and Semezdin Mehmedinović offered different perspectives.
“The town hall cannot meet the modern needs of the national library, because it does not have underground vaults for storing rare manuscripts, nor modern technology that enables computer download of books. In addition, this building is easy to hit in case of possible aggression. I think it would be better to merge the National Library with the University Library, whose modern building is currently being completed,” said Stojić.
Opposite him, Semezdin Mehmedinović claims that the memory of the city cannot be displaced, and that the technical shortcomings are solvable, unlike the loss of identity:
“The shortcomings of the building – in the sense of building an archive – are incomparably more financially solvable than the construction of a new library. If in Sarajevo – and nothing has been done about it for thirty years, and it won’t be in the next 300 – if, I say, the Washington Congressional Library is built, it cannot replace the City Hall.”
The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina reminds that the most valuable collections were saved from the flames by its employees and the citizens of Sarajevo. This is precisely why the return of books is not only a technical issue, but an essential issue of society’s relationship with its own memory. The dilemma remains: does culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina have an institutional place that goes beyond symbolism?
