“Let’s Look up to Serbia“: libraries and librarians in documents of the Socialist Union of the Working People of Yugoslavia

Abstract

After the end of the Second World War and the formation of the socialist society, the issue of general education – the so-called public education, became extremely important. Libraries played a significant role in that activity. In the 1950s, the library profession in Yugoslavia underwent a process of reorganization. It was a consequence of decentralization that followed the breakup with the USSR. The focus in solving practical librarianship issues was transferred to a specific political organization, the Socialist Union of the Working People of Yugoslavia. Within this organization, discussions were held on the most important issues of the library profession – relations with publishers, financial situation, education of librarians and the creation of a network of libraries in Yugoslavia. The culmination of all this was the passing of the federal Law on Libraries.