The 482nd Anniversary of Gazi Husrev-bey's Library Celebrated

On 15 January 2019, the Gazi Husrev-bey's Library celebrated its 482nd anniversary with a special ceremony and promotion of the book “The Lexicon of the Bosniak Ulema.”
At the ceremony beginning, following the recital of a short passage from the Qur'an and moderator’s address, the Library director, Mr. Osman Lavić made a speech. He presented the work, achievements and results in 2018, emphasizing the promotion of the GHB Monograph in the country and the region, as well as the results that the digital Gazi Husrev-bey's library had during the first year of its functioning. The director also announced new projects for the coming period and said several introductory sentences about the process of creating the Lexicon.
In the ceremony’s central part, the promotion of the book "The Lexicon of Bosniak Ulema" by Ahmed Mehmedović, Gazi Husrev-bey's Library retired employee, was organized in order to present to public the generations of Bosniak alims, who for centuries shaped and lived Islamic culture and learning in their own way, a project launched by the Library administration fifteen years ago. The promoters were academician Rešid Hafizović, Prof. Dr. Ismet Bušatlić and Lexicon author Ahmed Mehmedović.
Academic Rešid Hafizović, professor at the Faculty of Islamic Sciences in Sarajevo, started the promotion and spoke about Lexicon from the aspect of defining concepts of knowledge, lexicography and scientific culture with a religious prefix. Afterwards, Prof. Dr. Bušatlić talked about lexicography with Muslim people in Islamic civilization and in Bosnia, and then he said something more about the “Lexicon of Bosniak Ulema”. Finally, the author Ahmed Mehmedović, former curator in Gazi Husrev -bey's Library, described his experience of working on the Lexicon.

At the end, the prominent individuals and organizations for donating to the work of the Library, enriching its funds with books, documents, or museum exhibits, as well as other forms of support received gratitude plaquettes.
They are:
1. The "Hayrat Vakfi" Foundation from the Republic of Turkey, which has its representative office in Sarajevo, has been holding an Osman language course for the staff of the Library and other related institutions for a year already.
2. The company "Techsoup Balkans and Agency Mašta" from Sarajevo, which donated a Microsoft program in the amount of EUR 31,000.00 for the needs of the Gazi Husrev-beg library's information system.
3. The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in November 2018 donated 104 valuable titles of monographic publications to the Gazi Husrev-beg Library.
4. Mr. Hajrudin Dino Pekarić from Tuzla, author of school textbooks and BH publicist. He donated his private library with a lot of books related to religion, history, politics and many other topics to the Gazi Husrev-beg Library.
5. Late Prof. Dr. Safet Halilović, professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo and prominent BH. a politician, left his family to donate to Gazi Husrev-bey's library a very valuable private collection with more than 3,000 titles.
From the ranks of our former or current employees who have improved their work and made a great contribution to the work of the Library, this year we have identified the following:
6. Ahmed Mehmedović, author of the "Lexicon of Bosniak Ulema Lexicon", and also a retired employee of the Library, who through his work and engagement contributed greatly to the work of this institution.
7. Prof. Em. Dr. Omer Nakičević. Professor Nakicevic is well known in our academic, cultural and overall social public. He was an employee of the Gazi Husrev-bey's Library. In addition to working on the manuscript catalog, Professor Nakičević made a great contribution in finding better solutions and ways to speed up and improve handwriting processing.
In the end, the address was delivered by Reisu-l-ulema Husein Ef. Kavazović, who expressed satisfaction with the publication of such an important work.
The ceremony was attended by numerous distinguished guests, representatives of the Islamic Community in BiH, and representatives from the academic community and wider cultural and social life, and in the musical part of the program Armin Muzaferija performed, which performed two songs.