The Jankovic sisters’ legacy in the National library of Serbia

Sisters Ljubica (1894-1974) and Danica (1868-1960) Jankovic were very prominent figures in the cultural and scholarly life of Belgrade, Serbia (Yugoslavia in their time). Their work, primarily ethno-coreological, was considered to be very important by experts worldwide. After the death of Ljubica (the last member of this family) in 1976 and until the present, the sisters’ legacy (manuscripts, letters, fieldwork data etc.) is kept in the National library of Serbia. In addition to the materials left by the sisters, the legacy also contains manuscripts by other family members, some of whom were also prominent scholars, including their uncle, Prof. Tihomir R. Djordjevic (1868-1944), one of the founding fathers of Serbian ethnology. Unfortunately, the legacy is still not open to the public. This year, however, work on classifying this important archival material has begun, and, once completed in 2016, it will become available to the public at large. This paper briefly describes the project, and the legacy itself. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. ON177027