Closure of NUB BiH - collapse of Bosnian literacy

By: Prof. Dr. Vahidin Preljević

When employees of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced a few weeks ago that they would suspend work due to the impossible conditions in which they operate, exactly on the 32nd anniversary of the burning of the City Hall, no one from the authorities reacted much. Ministers at the cantonal and federal levels, just to blunt the media effect, shifted the blame to each other, offering no solution; some demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of NUB BiH, others attacked employees who have not received their salaries for five months and who perform their important work in a building threatened with power disconnection; still others cynically welcomed the destruction of this institution, as it is part of their political agenda in which it is desirable for this country to lose the cornerstone of its self-understanding.

Besides, it was approaching the Sarajevo Film Festival, which for many politicians eager to be photographed on the red carpet is obviously the pinnacle of culture, just as for some of them "pyramid research" in Visoko is probably the most important scientific project, and for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the head of one of the ruling parties, detaining singer Severina, a citizen of another country, at the Serbian border is more important than closing one of the fundamental, and to use a popular term, "state-building" institutions of this country. It is indeed "state-building" in the literal sense of the word, because without it, the cultural specificity, and thus the identity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially of Bosniaks, is doomed to disappear.

Suspension of book publishing

Let's be clear: if NUB BiH is indeed closed, even for a short period, no one in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be able to publish a book with a Bosnian identification (ISBN number) during that period, which is issued exclusively by the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina and represents a kind of ID card for every publication in international circles. In fact, Bosnian literacy would cease to exist; some publishers will, of course, perhaps try to switch to the National and University Library of Republika Srpska, the only institution besides NUB BiH that issues an identification number, but which again has no international status, because in external circles, in the international library network, only NUB BiH is recognized.

It is quite certain that this scenario is part of a political agenda, because it would practically mean that no one will be able to publish any publication in the Bosnian language, since the NUB of the smaller entity does not recognize any language other than Serbian. It is possible that HDZ formations, embodied in the notorious federal Minister of Culture, could use this situation to register their own national library. The result of all this would be the deinstitutionalization of the written Bosnian language, the complete destruction of Bosnian-Herzegovinian culture, and the completion of its colonization by Serbia and Croatia. After the political occupation, which is already underway, cultural occupation would follow.

And let's emphasize again, because many do not understand: NUB BiH is not just an ordinary library for borrowing books; it functions as the central archive of Bosnian-Herzegovinian literacy, of all book and serial publications that have been and are being published in our country, and as such, it is a scientific and cultural institution of the first order and zero category. It is the fundamental institution of our cultural memory; without it, we would be cut off from our heritage, torn from our past, but also from our future: it is a kind of central nervous system or circulatory system of our culture. If this institution ceases to operate, our country will culturally return to the pre-modern era of archaic tribal communities.

Arrogant and dilettantish authorities

Few from the previous ruling authorities, who never seriously tried to permanently resolve the status of this institution, can be absolved of responsibility; the problems go deep into the past and are very complex, but the boiling point has been reached under the current authorities, who, it seems, particularly stand out for their arrogance, incompetence, and dilettantism. It will be remembered that during the first term of the current federal Prime Minister, the National Museum of BiH was closed, part of the Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina was burned, and during his second term, NUB BiH, which the Chetnik hordes from the surrounding hills could not extinguish even after setting it on fire in the City Hall, suspended its activities. This is a terrible symbolic burden that these authorities should reflect upon.

There would be plenty of solutions if there were political will: lawyers I consulted explained to me that the founding, or even management structures, do not need to be changed to ensure stable financing of NUB BiH. In addition to FBiH, municipalities, cities, and cantons can legally participate in a budget sufficient for the normal functioning of this (and other endangered) institutions, and the costs of their basic needs (all together) do not exceed 4-5 million marks annually (the Municipality of Centar alone has at least ten times the budget).

Neither Dodik nor Čović are standing in the way, but we ourselves are the obstacle, or rather those political factors who call themselves Bosnian-Herzegovinian oriented, and who must finally understand, regardless of their level of government, that caring for the basic institutions of our existence is their sacred duty, not a matter of goodwill or charity.

This is competence, to use a word they often use as a cover, for all of them. What is needed, I repeat, is only will, and that fundamental will for the state, which separates historical from non-historical communities, and a little courage to make a step forward, then some coordination, a desire for agreement, and organizational skills – all of which this government, unfortunately, clearly lacks.

But, above all that, a consciousness higher than the egomaniacal urge for self-presentation of most of our political class is needed. They will quickly understand what this desperate move by NUB BiH employees means (whatever anyone thinks of it): because in FBiH, without an ISBN, no book will be publishable anymore (which perhaps does not concern our officials so much), but neither will any law in the Official Gazette. Then let them pose for pictures, on a red carpet or a carpet of another color.