Is there a solution for the imprisoned books of the City Library in North Mitrovica?

"Anyone who goes to a library is no one’s enemy." The words of poet Nenad Radenkovic may yet reach those who have imprisoned 40,000 books of the "Vuk Karadzic" City Library in North Mitrovica. Perhaps there is a way to open the iron doors?

Written by: Dusica Radeka Djordjevic

The authorities in Pristina have banned Serbs in Kosovo from using the dinar, shut down Serbian-system social welfare centers, the pension insurance fund offices, sports halls... Now the City Library in North Mitrovica is next.

Most of its users are children – primary and secondary school students, as well as university students who rely on it for academic literature.

For the past twenty or so days, bars have been installed on the entrance of the library and a padlock placed. The building that the library has used since 2014 has been taken over by the Kosovo Privatization Agency.

Although the director of the institution, Nikola Elezovic, stated at the time that he was told he would soon be able to collect the books, this has yet to happen.

School libraries will soon go on “break,” and the City Library’s books remain inaccessible. Until when? And who is responsible now?

Political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu believes the issue of the closed "Vuk Karadzic" library will be resolved once a new mayor is elected in the municipality of North Mitrovica in the upcoming local elections scheduled for October 12.

In his opinion, there is no point in discussing the matter within the dialogue framework, as it falls under the mayor's jurisdiction.

"The new mayor will resolve it immediately after being elected. At that time, the issue of the sports hall and other institutions in northern Kosovo will also be addressed. We hope such problems will not occur again," Spahiu told Kosovo Online.

The closure of the City Library in North Mitrovica is seen by Nenad Radenkovic, an academic sculptor and poet, as a major blow – but also a warning.

"It sends a clear message that there is no place here for us and our children. It’s a sad and uncivilized act, here in the heart of Europe," Radenkovic told Kosovo Online.

He adds that it is illogical and entirely unnatural to so suddenly deny access to books to so many readers, especially children and library members. He fears that other Serbian libraries in Kosovo could face a similar fate.

"I didn’t expect something like this. I thought it would come only toward the end of the implementation of some broader plan. What is most dangerous for a people is the gradual removal of the very ground beneath their feet. I emphasize here the abolition of language, identity, the Cyrillic script—these are the things that hold us together. A people is a people as long as it has its language. Without that foundational identity, it becomes headless," notes Radenkovic, who is this year’s recipient of the Branko Copic Foundation Award.

Given that he has the opportunity to travel through the southern part of Kosovo, this artist says he was moved when he saw Albanian children training with their coaches, while at the same time the sports halls in North Mitrovica are locked.

"I can somehow accept everything else—even all forms of majorization—but I cannot accept a blow directed at children, whether through the library or through sports. A solution must be found, because it is not enough to merely exist. Everything that constitutes the cultural 'superstructure' of the Serbian people—literature, readers, creators, visual artists, musical talents—is under attack in this way," warns Radenkovic.

He believes this is an issue that should be resolved through the Belgrade–Pristina dialogue but that, until a solution is reached at that level, a temporary arrangement must be found.

"Anyone who goes regularly to a library is not anyone’s enemy, so I don’t see a reason why a transitional solution cannot be found to allow our librarians and their management to return to their workplace until the dialogue yields concrete results," says Radenkovic.

The closure of the City Library in North Mitrovica has been described by the Association of Writers of Serbia as an act of violence and another in a series of attempts to erase Serbian cultural heritage. The Association appealed to international organizations in Kosovo to begin exercising their authority impartially in order to, as stated, “prevent acts of open institutional terror committed by the temporary Kosovo institutions against Serbs and other non-Albanians in the southern Serbian province.”

The Serbian Ministry of Culture called the closure of the library an act of barbarism.

“As in all previous historical episodes orchestrated by those who burned and banned books, the fact remains that Kosovo will not become a state through violence, the theft of territory, and the persecution of Serbs—nor can cultural heritage be created through the usurpation of another's culture,” the Ministry stated following the closure, adding that it would continue to dedicatedly protect Serbian cultural heritage.