The Croatian National Library

The Croatian National Library is located in the country’s capital, Zagreb, and also acts as the central library for the University of Zagreb. The library began as part of a Jesuit Gymnasium (a type of grammar school) in 1606. In 1669, Adam Baltazar Krcelic donated a collection of books and manuscripts to the library, with the understanding that they be made available to the public.

In 1874, when the University in Zagreb opened, the library was renamed the University Library, to reflect its role in the school. At this time, the collection was combined with that of the National Museum.

A new building was constructed in 1913. It was designed to hold 500,000 volumes (the collection then stood at 110,000 volumes). A year later, the books contained in Metropolitana, the Archiepiscopal library, were added to the collection. Upon the completion of the current library facility, the old building was donated to the National Archives. Despite the fact that there is a special secured area in the new building available for the Metropolitana collection, they have opted to remain in the older building.

Construction on the current building began in 1988. The library's website mentions that the new building is similar to English libraries, with open access to the materials, and an open design that brings the outdoors in. Construction of the library took place while the country was fighting a civil war. Although many materials of historical and cultural value were removed to a remote location for safekeeping, the library itself remained open, and only closed for one day during the war.

The new building opened in 1995, as part of the celebration of the fifth anniversary of Croatian independence. The collection now includes more than 2.5 million books and other materials. As the national library, they are committed to preserving the written and printed Croatian cultural heritage. As part of this mission, they collect copies of all books written by Croats (regardless of language in which they are written), all books printed in the Croatian language, and books written about Croatia and Croats. Their special collections include manuscripts and old books, music and maps. In 2007 they had 19,372 members, who made 320,000 visits to the library.

References:

Miletic-Vejzovic, L. (1994). The national and university library in Zagreb: The goal is known - how can it be attained? Special Libraries, 85, 104-112.

(2005). About the library. Retrieved from http://www.nsk.hr/

(2007). National and university library, Zagreb. Retrieved from http://www.cerl.org/web/en/resources/hpb/content/national_and_university_library_zagreb

Communications & Infrastructure

Croatia's communications network is well developed. According to the CIA World Factbook, 40% percent of the population has access to a fixed phone line, and there are more cell phones than there are people living in the country. More than 90% of the phone lines have been converted from analog to digital. Internet access has increased significantly over the last 10 years. In 2000, only 6.8% of the population were internet users, while current estimates range from 40%-50%. As a point of comparison, in 2000, 44% of the U.S. population had internet access, while the number currently stands at 72%.

Although this is where Croatia currently stands, this is primarily due to the rebuilding that has taken place over the last 15 years. The war of independence, which they fought from 1991 to 1995, took a heavy toll on the economy and infrastructure. In 1997, with the war behind them, and basic governmental restructuring in place, Croatia began to focus more at international involvement. In a 1997 interview, the Croatian Ambassador to the U.S. said that their hope was to get other countries interested in investing in infrastructure projects. They intended to focus on tourism in particular, but knew that they needed to work on basic infrastructure first, "especially the development of road and highway systems" (Agnihotri).

Loans from such organizations such as World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development helped the country with roads, railroads, electricity and more. World Bank has continued to support Croatia in such activities as restructuring and modernizing Rijeka Port, reducing the response time of emergency medical services and computerizing the cadastre and land registry offices, while the EBRD is currently working on environmental infrastructure and energy efficiency, with a focus on renewable energy projects.


References

Agnihotri, N. (1997). Croatia: Politics & growth. Presidents & Prime Ministers. 6(6), 11-15.

Central Intelligence Agency. (2009). Croatia. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/hr.html

(2009). Croatia. Retrieved from http://www.ebrd.com/pubs/factsh/country/croatia.pdf

(2010). Croatia. Retrieved from http://go.worldbank.org/NTDIRV42F0