Although libraries have not statistically recorded a decrease in regular users in the last few years, Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot boast of reading habits and we can say that only 30 percent of citizens (not including schoolchildren and students) enjoy reading books, and they read an average of ten books a year , they stated from the Association of Librarians of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Unlike neighboring countries such as Croatia and Slovenia, which invest significantly in the promotion of reading, here there is no plan for such a thing, but it is implemented occasionally, and this is mainly done by libraries, although, in my opinion, it is also the task of educational institutions “Only 30 percent of citizens read an average of ten books a year, and of course, there are passionate book lovers, followed by scientific workers and researchers whose average is much higher,” said Nina Bunjevac Salkić from the Association of Librarians of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She emphasized that children read as much as their family, kindergarten or school encourage them to love books.
“In libraries, we try to create a pleasant atmosphere for little ones, and through games, workshops, visiting authors for children and other creative programs to make books and reading attractive, but this is not enough by itself, and we always invite parents and the community as a whole to join us. join in our efforts.
Children, according to our surveys, but also according to reports from the children’s departments, like to choose the titles themselves, follow the latest children’s literature and have a rather negative attitude towards part of the reading program. They will be more occupied with the world of fantasy, exciting, adapted to it horror stories, they like encyclopedic editions for children through which they get to know the areas they are interested in. All in all, with a little patience, they become ‘bookish’ connoisseurs and satisfy their curiosity by searching the library shelves,” said Bunjevac Salkić.
She points out that reading is the foundation of building a knowledge society.
“If we know that all our knowledge comes from reading, then it is simple to conclude that reading is the foundation of building a society of knowledge. Not striving for such a society condemns us in advance to fall behind, not only in culture, but in all segments of work and action. What a lifelong learning, what kind of personal and collective development are we talking about if we don’t know a book, if we can’t read functionally? Promoting reading is the job of the community even without the state’s decision to continuously carry out campaigns that encourage reading, and if educational institutions, the media and all other social structures, the libraries themselves, which do not have much support at any level anyway, will not be able to fix this situation,” said Bunjevac Salkić.
The problems facing the Association of Librarians of FBiH are, as she says, twofold.
“The structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina has put this basic (so the law says) cultural institution in a difficult position – entity and county divisions, different ways of financing, without a relevant state ministry on the one hand, and general lethargy in society, lack of recognition of the resources offered by libraries in local communities (of course, with honorable exceptions), to the extent that even educational institutions do not understand the importance of the library in their work, on the other hand – all this puts the library profession in an unenviable position. But, we librarians will not give up on offering society the most and the best we can, we will not give up on growing and already more and more colleagues are also information specialists and we are ready to face all challenges, including those brought by novelties such as artificial intelligence. We strive to be visible and recognizable in the society in which we operate and we believe that society, if it wants to move forward, will have to look for adequate interlocutors in librarians,” said Bunjevac Salkić.
On the other hand, the National and University Library (NUB) of Bosnia and Herzegovina is mostly used by scientific researchers and students, over 80 percent, while the remaining 20 percent are students, retirees and long-time lovers of books and reading or, as it were, ordinary citizens, said the head of the Services sector of NUB BiH Adelaida Grabovica.
According to statistical data, professional literature is used the most in this library, namely literature from the social, applied sciences, philosophy and psychology, followed by periodicals, newspapers and magazines.
This library keeps in its collection the most complete collection of old and current periodicals since the appearance of the first BiH magazines. magazines and newspapers to this day, of exceptional importance for scientific researchers. Finally, a much smaller percentage includes the so-called beautiful literature, which includes fiction, poetry, children’s books and readings, and the like.
“Regarding the influence of modern information technologies and social networks on reading culture, I would say that it does not significantly affect library users and reading. This question, first of all, requires certain clarifications. Modern information technologies and social networks can have both positive and negative effects to the culture of reading. We are aware of the rapid development of information technologies, their development is unquestionable and unstoppable. In this kind of digital environment, the reader encounters countless information that may or may not be correct. Therefore, the reader must be information literate in order to recognize the relevant information,” said Grabovica.
She adds that information technology with its tools can certainly facilitate reading through faster and easier access to reading, but by no means have a negative effect on it.
“With tools such as the digitization of the collection, the offer of access to scientific databases, online catalogs, not to positively influence the culture of reading, but with its tools and possibilities, information technologies bring new generations to libraries to whom it is much closer and more intimate. Yes, new generations of readers are using new information technologies, but let’s not forget that every source of such information is the written word, which in some way has been transferred to another form. Therefore, libraries must follow this development and offer their users a digitized collection, scientific databases and an online catalog, which NUB BiH provides to its users”. said Grabovica.
In her opinion, reading in BiH is at a satisfactory level.
“People use libraries and their holdings, physically or through information technologies, the choice is theirs,” says Grabovica, Fena news agency writes.