A New Life for an Old Book

The international scientific conference "A New Life for an Old Book" was held on May 27, 2023, at the University Library "Svetozar Marković" in Belgrade. The conference was attended by distinguished guests and experts from both domestic and international backgrounds, who spoke about the significance and place of books in contemporary society, as well as the need to highlight the negative impacts they face and to promote positive changes.

The program included three thematically rich sessions dedicated to different aspects of the book. The institutional life of the book was presented by experts from various institutions who discussed collections of old and rare books, as well as related programs and projects. The public and private life of the book was addressed by renowned experts discussing important topics related to book printing in general and old and rare books specifically. Finally, the future of the book was explored through theoretical considerations and projects aimed at examining its comprehensive role in the future.

As part of the conference, an exhibition of old and rare books from the collections of the University Library "Svetozar Marković" and the Library of the Institute for Public Policy was organized, featuring some books displayed to the public for the first time. Among the books that guests had the opportunity to see were: the Oktoih prvoglasnik from 1494, the first Cyrillic book among the South Slavs, the First Reader for Serbian Elementary Schools from 1867, the Katihisis mali from 1776, the Prayer Book from 1539, the Mesecoslov from 1719, the oldest Serbian copperplate-engraved book, the first edition of The Mountain Wreath, Slobodijada from 1854, which belonged to the library of Joca Vujić, and many other books declared as cultural assets of exceptional importance.