Presentation held at ALA 2009 annual conference in Chicago, July 10, 2009. Presented at pre-conference "Digitization in Developing Countries", organized by ALA's International Relations Office.

1. Bogdan Trifunovic, M. A.
Digitization Center, Public Library Cacak
DIGITIZATION PROJECTS AMONG
PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN SERBIA:
PROBLEMS, OBSTACLES AND
SUCCESS STORIES

2. Library Network in Serbia
• Two national institutions, National Library of
Serbia (Belgrade) and Library of Matica
srpska (Novi Sad)
• 27 district libraries
• More than 600 public libraries and branches in
total
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 2

3. District Libraries
• District libraires manage library networks in
their districts (smaller public libraries, school
libraries, special libraries)
• Dependant on local governments for financing
• Every district library must have Local History
Collections department, which are the most
important in preserving local cultural heritage -
therefore, LHC are priority for digitization
projects among public libraries
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 3

4. Digitization in Serbia
• Libraries lead digitization activities in Serbia
(very few of museums or archives are
involved)
• National Library of Serbia started their
program of digitization in 2002 - Digital NBS
• Public libraries only recently became active
participants in digital preservation of Serbian
cultural heritage
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 4

5. Digitization in Serbia
• According to one national survey in 2007, 17
of 27 district libraries answered that they are
planning digitization projects, but only two
answered that they have a project which is
already well developed and with some results
• Same survey showed that only 48
professionals (librarians and programers) in
public libraries were capable to deal with
digitization
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 5

6. Digitization in Serbia
• Public Library in Cacak conducted two
surveys in 2009 (online and by email) to
discover digitization trends among memory
institutions in Serbia
• They showed that public libraries made some
steps forward compared to 2007, because
40% said that digitization projects were
started in their institutions
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 6

7. Digitization in Serbia
• Survey by email was targeted directly to the
public libraries (approx. 40 libraries) and 17 of
them responded to survey
• It gave more detailed insight in contemporary
digitization activities among public libraries in
Serbia (what kind of materials were digitized,
what hardware has been used, are there
online digitized materials accessible to users),
but also showed the greatest problems
libraries are facing
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 7

8. Survey results
• 13 of 17 public libraries have collections of
digitized materials and seven of them have
some online material
• Public libraries in Serbia generally are well
equiped with basic hardware to start
digitization (scanners, computers, cameras)
• Almost all digital materials are from LHC
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 8

9. Problems!!!
• General lack of funds
• There is not enough staff capacities to handle
new projects and technologies
• All public libraries are looking for national
directives or guidelines to provide better
practice in the future and collaboration
between institutions
• What standards to use?
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 9

10. Problems!!!
• What software to use?
• How to obtaine enough funds for longer
period, to provide viable projects
• How to deal with copyright and other legal
issues deriving from digitalization (current law
does not treat digital materials)
• NO COOPERATION! NO STRATEGY!
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 10

11. Positive Trends
• First, digital preservation and digitization
recieved significant attention of LIS
professionals in Serbia attending many
conferences, seminars or meetings where
those topics were discussed
• Digitization has started to be equaly treated in
(larger) public libraries with other long ago
established services
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 11

12. Positive Trends
• The Association of Serbian Libraries new web
site has „Digital Libraries“ link placed at the
top level navigation
• City library in Belgrade was the first public
library to buy overhead scanner in 2008
• The project „ Digital Library of Cacak“ has
been voted the best library project in
2006-2009 at the Association of Serbian
Libraries annual meeting in June 2009
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 12

13. Success Stories
• Following examples will show how several
public libraries in Serbia managed to
overcome all problems (budget, staff and
capacity shortages, undefined directives,
copyright issues, etc) to digitaly preserve the
most important parts of local heritage they
hold and provide new services to their patrons
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 13

14. • Public library
Valjevo
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 14

15. • Public Library Ljubovija (eight employes)
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 15

16. • Public Library Kraljevo
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 16

17. • Public Library Krusevac (the oldest collection)
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 17

18. • Public Library Sabac (cooperation with NBS)
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 18

19. • Our Case - Public Library Cacak
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 19

20. Public Library Cacak
Digitization Initiatives
• Started in 2006 without previous practice or
knowledge about digital preservation
• Web galleries of digitized collections were
replaced in January 2008 with a Digital Library
sollution, created with internal forces and
outsource professional, after Greenstone
software were abandoned
• Open source or free solutions (PHP, MySQL)
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 20

21. Public Library Cacak
Digitization Initiatives
• From modest beginnings (one project
developed in 2006 and 2007 with the help of
two grants) Digital Library has arisen in full
scale digital preservation program of LHC
materials
• Creation of Digitization Center in 2008, the
first of its kind among public libraries in Serbia
• Plans to incorporate all local cultural
institutions inside Digital Repository of Local
Heritage
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 21

22. Spreading the Word
• We realized that our environment must be
educated about the importance of digital
preservation (collegues, patrons, decision
makers, local authorities)
• Fund rasing
• Advocating for the cause
• Informing the users about new services
• That's why we started:
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 22

23. • Digitization and Digital Libraries blog
• digital.cacak-dis.rs
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 23

24. • Facebook Group
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 24

25. • Youtube Channel for Digitized Video
Digitization projects among public libraries in Serbia 25

26. Bogdan Trifunovic, btrifunovic@gmail.com
www.cacak-dis.rs digital.cacak-dis.rs
Thank you
Questions?