Slavica Denić
ORCID 0009-0003-7616-9849
Radio televizija Vojvodine, Romska redakcija
slavica.denic@hotmail.com

doi: 10.5937/cit2547041D
Br. 47 (novembar 2025), str. 41-49

The First Roma Library in Serbia

Abstract

A branch of the City Library in Novi Sad, located in the Šangaj settlement, is named after the famous Roma intellectual Trifun Dimić (1956-2001) - poet, translator, writer, activist. The branch was created in 2010 for the benefit of the settlement where a significant number of the Roma population resides and whose children attend a neighboring elementary school. In this way, the intellectual legacy of the distinguished Roma intellectual is interwoven with the younger generations, thereby fostering cultural advancement and contributing to the broader development of this part of the city. The goal of this study is to present the accomplishments of the Branch “Trifun Dimić” after 15 years of its existence, and to show further possibilities in the work with various users from the Roma community in that settlement. The data for the analysis were collected from the Questionnaire and Annual Report on the Activities of the “Trifun Dimić” Branch of the City Library in Novi Sad for 2024 and from other available sources, of which the interview with Prof. emeritus Svenka Savić, who researches issues of the Roma community at the University of Novi Sad, stands out. The results of the analysis show that the „Trifun Dimić” library has contributed to the improvement of education in the local Roma community over the decades since its inception. The concluding considerations include suggestions for improving the work of the branch, so that it becomes a local center of education and creativity of the Roma.

Keywords:

City Library in Novi Sad, Branch „Trifun Dimić”, Trifun Dimić (1956–2001), Roma community, Romani language, Romology

Submitted: 29th July 2025
Correction to the manuscript: 27th August 2025
Accepted for publication: 9th September 2025

The First Roma Library in Serbia by Slavica Denić is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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