Physical Collections

The Center for Bosnian Studies is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to materials that document the history and culture of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Bosnian diaspora. The Center preserves rare books, manuscripts, letters, artifacts, and ephemera that are at risk of being lost or whose contexts and significance are at risk of being forgotten. Some items that typify the scope and purpose of the collection include:

  • Knjiga Fotografija [Book of Photographs] – the two-volume Book of Belongings depicts personal items found in mass graves;
  • Letters written in concentration camps;
  • Programs and flyers from political and cultural events in St. Louis;
  • Scholarly, journalistic, and popular publications about Bosnia that are difficult to find in the U.S.

The Center’s archival collection also includes complete or nearly complete runs of Dijaspora Bošnjačka (2004-2009), PlimaMagazin (1997-2000), and SabaH (1997-2014).

In addition to a large circulating collection of secondary sources, highlights include:

  • The Sarajevo Haggadah — facsimile ms in Hebrew with piyutim and prayers
  • Nevenka Mitra Collection — scrapbooks and recordings
  • Sarajevo Survival Guide — how to survive in an urban environment under impossible conditions
  • Ni Krivi Ni Dužni: Knjiga Nestalih Općine Prijedor — Book of the Missing
  • Bosnian Propaganda Collection — flyers and leaflets distributed in Bosnia during (and after) the war
  • 100 Godina Bošnjaka u Americi — a centennial of Bosniaks in America
  • Collection of Currency Notes from Yugoslavia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina — dinara dated between 1978 and 1994
  • Missing Persons on the Territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina — names of the missing published by the International Committee of the Red Cross
  • Postcard Collection — images from Trio Sarajevo
  • Bosnia Country Handbook — a collaborative effort from organizations within the US Department of Defense
  • Superman Deadly Legacy — Roman and Cyrillic versions of DC's Serbo-Croatian comic book

You can view the complete list HERE.

Acquisition, digitization, and cataloguing of items in the collection are ongoing. If you have items you would like to contribute, please contact the Center.