A public forum dedicated to the formation of the new Library and the changes brought by the recently adopted Law on Amendments to the Law on Library Activities was organized by our Library on Tuesday, the 16th December 2025, in the “Miličko Miketić” [Milichko Mikketich] library hall.
The forum lasted for almost two hours, significantly longer than planned, which testifies to the great interest of the participants and the importance of the topic that brought together representatives of the library profession, management bodies and users of the Library.
In the introductory part, in the order announced, the panelists spoke: Božidar Denda [Bozhidar Dairnda], MSc, director of the Library, Ivana Krstajić [Ivana Kerstych], head of the Department of General Affairs, Vesna Radulović [Vesna Radulovich], legal advisor and Ana Đurović [Ana Jurovich], librarian. The conversation was energetically, skillfully and impressively moderated by librarian Hana Dubak [Hanah Doobak].
In the presentations, it was explained in detail how the new legal provisions affect the change in the name, status and authority of the Library, as well as what obligations and opportunities arise from it. It was especially emphasized that in the coming period, the Library will face a serious institutional transformation, demanding additional organizational tasks and additional responsibility, but also a significant improvement of its position in the system of culture and information.
A special segment of the forum was dedicated to the presentation of Ivana Krstajić [Ivana Kerstych], head of the Department of General Affairs, who presented the draft programme for marking the 20th anniversary of the Library, planned for next year. The proposed programme includes around fifteen individual contents, among which are several exhibitions, theater performances, literary programmes, forums and round tables, as well as a series of thematic and educational workshops. Although it was judged to be an extremely demanding and ambitious programme framework, it was pointed out that the Library shows a clear readiness and organizational maturity to, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, successfully implement this very extensive and complex programme and present its two decades of work in a worthy and visible way.
During the forum, participants discussed a significant expansion of the Library’s user base, which until now had been largely limited to persons with visual impairments. It was announced that in the future the Library will develop services and contents for several different groups of users who need accessible formats, which represents an important step towards a more open and inclusive role of this institution.
In this context, the new responsibilities of the Library, which are defined by Article 7a of the Law on Library Activities, were pointed out. It was pointed out that these novelties open a number of important issues for the future work of the Library, while it was agreed that certain aspects – such as the registry office, deposits and mandatory copies, as well as other practical solutions – will be discussed in more detail in the coming period.
At the end of the meeting, it was assessed that the recently adopted Law on Amendments to the Law on Library Activities represents an important step forward in the public positioning of the Library and a clear signal that a new phase of its development is beginning. Extended legal powers are not only interpreted as a formal change of status, but as an obligation to further develop the Library into a modern, open and responsible institution, capable of responding to the complex needs of its users and society as a whole.
It was emphasized that a large and serious effort lies ahead – organizational, staffing, and programatic – but also that there is strong professional, expert, and user potential to ensure that this transformation is carried out successfully.