Digitization of Heritage Librarian Funds: Our Necessity and Obligation

A collaboration with the Institute for the Culture of Vojvodina Croats and the Saint Michael’s Franciscan Monastery in Subotica during the months of July and August of 2015 has resulted in a practicum for the senior students of the University Interdisciplinary Graduate Study Program in Librarianship. The students have opened a gateway to one of the richest heritage librarian funds, and the four weeks of their life with the books and socialization in a multicultural and multiethnic city, which is twinned with their hometown of Osijek, have produced valuable experiences, as well as a successfully initiated and professional processing of library materials. Established are the possibilities for an acquaintance with the valuable (monumental) library collections and the acquisition of a hands-on librarian habituation subsequent to a theoretical universitarian instruction, whereby a pathway has been paved for the next generations to become a part of this unique cultural initiative. By virtue of the prospective assets allocated by this international project, it could be possible to devise a follow-up to this endeavor. Thus, in addition to an academic knowledge, the students would repeatedly have an opportunity to be practically involved in the conservation, processing, and valorization of the heritage librarian funds