Periodicals fund

A significant place in the overall fund of Gazi Husrev-bey Library is taken by newspapers. Versatile linguistic representation is an essential asset of the Periodicals fund.

However, dominant among old newspapers are those in oriental languages: Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, and Persian. Of European languages, there are newspapers in Bosnian language written in Arabic lettering (known as Bosančica or Arebica), in Latin lettering or in Cyrillic, as well as in German as the language of Austro-Hungarian Empire that took rule of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time.

The oldest newspaper published in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Ottoman language was Calendar Salname-i vilajet-i Bosna (Yearbook of Bosnian Vilayet). It was the official newspaper of the Vilayet administration published in the period of 1866-1878. It was initiated again in 1882, this time under the title of Bosna ve Hersek vilajeti salanmesi and continued to be printed until 1892 under the auspices of the Provincial Government, and were printed in the State printing house in Sarajevo. The issues of this annual publication are kept in the Periodic fund.

As associates engaged to publish their writings in the newspaper, each in their own areas of interest, were representatives of the first constellation of Bosniak Intellectuals, among whom are the following names: Ibrahim-beg Bašagić, Mehmed Teufik Azabagić, Salih Safvet Bašić, Mustafa Hilmi Muhibić, Salih Sidki Hadžihusejnović-Muvekkit.

Periodicals fund holds the newspaper Gülşeni Saray (Sarajevski cvjetnik), started by Mehmed Šakir Kurtćehajić, one of the first Bosniak journalists. The newspaper was printed bilingually, in both Ottoman Turkish and Bosnian language (in Cyrillic), from 1868 until the death of its founder in 1872.

Among old newspapers in the Periodical fund there are Vatan (1884–1897) and Rehber (1897–1902), printed in Ottoman Turkish language and intended primarily for religious officials, but also interesting to wider population.

The Periodicals fund holds many journals and newspapers, published at the beginning of the 20th century: Behar (Sarajevo, 1900-1911), Musavat (Mostar, 1906-1909), Gajret (Mostar-Sarajevo, 1907-1914; 1921-1922; 1924-1941), Tarik (Sarajevo, 1908-1910), Yeni Musavat (Sarajevo, 1909-1911), Mu’allim (Sarajevo, 1910-1913) and many other.

It is important to mentioned that Periodicals fund collects issues of Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja, that is being published in Sarajevo since 1889.

The Gazi Husrev-bey Library, in addition to the old magazines, collects contemporary ones that are published in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the languages and scripts of its peoples, as well as those published in the Europe and Western countries, in European languages; journals from the Islamic world printed in Arabic, Turkish and Persian languages. Procurement of journals is made by exchanges, subscriptions, and donations.