KNJIŽNICA FRANJEVAČKOG SAMOSTANA U SINJU
LIBRARY OF THE FRANCISCAN MONASTERY IN SINJ

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the Library of the Franciscan Monastery in Sinj as yet another cultural heritage institution which not only represents the heritage value of the Franciscan Monastery in Sinj, the town of Sinj and the Cetina River region, but also the wider Croatian public. The paper analyses the needs and the circumstances in which the library was established and developed, the reasons behind the development and the impact it has had on the region. Was the only purpose of the library to provide support to pastoral and liturgical activities? The library is the part of a large group of heritage institutions throughout the Republic of Croatia where valuable library material, incunabula, manuscripts and the latest book editions are kept. These institutions face the same issues and challenges as many other libraries of the same type. The monastery library holds diverse library material. It is home to over eighty thousand books, a collection of incunabula, around four hundred and fifty periodical publications, the Croatica Collection, music collections, maps and atlases which are mostly used for educational purposes as well as a large number of manuscripts and archive material. The overview of the history of inception and establishment of the library in 1687 and the connection with the monastery is based on written sources about the library and those found in the library, on the examination of in-situ material (in-house material) as well as on the information that the late friar Josip Ante Soldo, a long-time librarian, and friar Mirko Marić, the current manager of the library, obtained by word-of-mouth. The lack of storage space, which is indeed below the prescribed standards valid in the 20th century, required the material (mostly books) to be stored in boxes which made the numerous material unavailable. Individual Franciscan monks are responsible for the preservation of the rich library holdings for three centuries because they took care of the library and procured the material depending on the circumstances and needs. Thus, they have contributed to the preservation of the partly damaged but valuable library heritage to this day. The Franciscan monks of Sinj played an important role in the development of culture and education in Sinj and the Cetina River region. During the Croatian National Revival, in 1854, they opened the first grammar school in Croatian language in Dalmatia. In 1867, together with other supporters of the Revival movement, they opened the Public Reading Room of Cetina Region within the premises of the monastery which had no connection to the monastery library. The literature which deals with the history and the material of the Library of the Franciscan Monastery in Sinj is scarce. The largest number of data was collected upon the examination of the holdings, various book indexes, catalogues and manuscripts kept in the library.

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