Lyon: Cultural institutions belong to all peoples in BiH

The Foundation for the Protection of Historical Heritage was founded in January 2014, and its founder is historian James Lyon, who began the digitization process in BiH archives three years ago of rare and old documents from the 14th century, sultan's firmans, documents from the time of the Habsburgs, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and rare documents in Bosnian Cyrillic, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

- The Foundation was established to expand the project, and we first started digitizing materials from the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in January of this year. After the attack on the Presidency of BiH building and the recent floods where many documents were lost, we accelerated the process. We found space, renovated it, and our experts are working in three shifts, twelve hours a day – says Lyon.

He also commented on the attitude of political elites towards the cultural and historical treasure of BiH, saying that they behave carelessly, and for the past 100 years, this material has been systematically destroyed. According to him, the goal is for the digitization process to take root in all cultural institutions in BiH.

- Starting August 11, the project is expanding to the Historical Museum and the newspaper Oslobođenje, starting from the first issue that came out on August 30, 1943. A large number of volunteers and donors are involved in the project. I don't mean monetary donations, but donations of work, knowledge, material, and time. Otherwise, the donated equipment is extremely expensive. People from BiH and other countries have recognized the project and want to do something for BiH because history is both the present and the future – emphasized Lyon, who came to BiH in 1980 and was delighted by what he saw.

Nadina Grebović-Lendo, coordinator for the digitization project of the National and University Library of BiH, said that technology is needed by librarians but is often unavailable due to its cost.

- This is an important project for BiH. The donation from the Foundation will improve the existing digitization process. It enables a more intensive process of digitizing the documentary heritage of the National and University Library of BiH. In terms of library work, the first phase involves converting paper into digital form. In the next period, we will work on establishing digital collections to facilitate access for all interested parties, and old periodicals are of great importance – stated Grebović-Lendo.

Lyon said that the cultural institutions of BiH do not belong to just one people, but to all peoples.

- During the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, their experts collected the best materials from all peoples, and that is in these institutions. We must preserve that heritage – said Lyon.

Although representatives of the Historical Museum of BiH could not attend today's presentation, the letter from director Elma Hašimbegović states that this process will protect museum material, facilitate access to documents, and offer a higher quality presentation, writes Patria.