National Library Awareness Day in BiH: the importance of libraries in building a knowledge society

On the occasion of the National Day of Awareness of Libraries in BiH, a press conference was held at the University of Sarajevo Rectorate on 27 October 2020, at which the goal of this event was to remind citizens of the importance of libraries in building a knowledge society. Partners in the National Library Awareness Day celebration are Universities of Sarajevo, Mostar and the Bihać Cantonal Library.

At the press conference, Prof. Dr. Dušanka Bošković, UNSA Vice Rector for Quality, Doz. Dr. Emina Dedić Bukvić, Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo, Feđa Kulenović, MA, Department of Comparative Literature and Information Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo and M.Sc. Nadina Grebović-Lendo, coordinator of the National Day of Library Awareness in BiH Action Group on behalf of the University of Sarajevo.

Mr. Sc. Nadina Grebović-Lendo reminded that the National Day of Awareness of Libraries in BiH is marked for the fourth year in a row and that there is a significant increase in public interest.
Libraries (public, academic, school, special) - partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina will participate in the promotion of their services on October 30, 2020, offering citizens various educational content (promotions, poetry evenings, round tables, exhibitions, etc.).
"The University of Sarajevo involved more than 40 partner libraries from BiH in this event, which will offer various contents to their user communities on 30 October“ explained MSc Grebović-Lendo, MSc, adding that more than 50 program programs is currently registered. She also reminded that this year's motto of the National Library Awareness Day is “Library without walls,” and that the focus is on primary school students, from first to fourth grade.
"In modern librarianship, the term 'Library without walls' is common because it implies that the library is not a building but a librarian. A librarian is a person who finds information for the user and gives it to him to use regardless of space and property. Such notion of librarian fits  the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The librarian is equally present in both the physical and the virtual space, "said Nadina Grebović-Lendo. 

UNSA Vice Rector for Quality, Prof. Dr. Dušanka Bošković pointed out that this event is an opportunity to remind ourselves of all the charms that libraries provide us from early childhood, and the importance they have in education. 
“This is even more important nowadays, in the context of a pandemic, but especially digitalization and services that we are not even aware of, and which libraries can provide us that our researchers will also have the opportunity to improve the quality of their work through various resources.”
 
Doz. Dr. Emina Dedić the Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo spoke about the importance of the National Day. “To be a school librarian is challenging profession
and requires pedagogical competencies that will respond to the educational needs of young people. Being competent and professional means that we know how to pass on our academic knowledge to younger people” said Doz. Dr. Dedić - Bukvić.

Feđa Kulenović from the UNSA Faculty of Philosophy Department of Comparative Literature and Information Sciences pointed out that today's modern librarian should have computer knowledge and literacy, and that being a librarian no longer means just reading literature.

“We prepare staff not only for school libraries and formal education, but also informally. Nowadays, pandemics, information and disinformation, librarians have an even more important role and deal with media and information literacy” explained Feđa Kulenovic. He believes that librarians should no longer be within institutions where they only store knowledge, but that they should also help others to get that knowledge anywhere, on the street, online...

The completed activities of the University of Sarajevo include a completed art competition for primary school students called My Librarian and online reading by students of the Department of Comparative Literature and Information Science FFUNSA intended for students from first to fourth grade of primary schools.

The celebration of the National Day of Library Awareness in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2020 at the University of Sarajevo is realized as a continuation of activities from the ERASMUS+ project Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) - "Networked Library - Support Services: Modernization of Libraries in the Western Balkans through Staff Development and Reform library services .”