TEHRAN – A memorandum of understanding was signed on Monday in Tehran between the Iran Public Libraries Foundation and Gazi Husrev-bey Library, a major collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Gazi Husrev-bey Library is a public library in Sarajevo, founded in 1537 by the Ottomans, and is part of a larger complex with Gazi Husrev-beg Medresa.

Gazi Husrev-bey Library director Osman Lavic led a cultural delegation on a visit to Tehran and signed the MOU in a meeting with Baqer Mirabdollahi, a deputy director of the foundation.

Based on the MOU both sides agreed to provide opportunities for groups of their experts to visit libraries of the two countries.

The MOU also allows both sides to mutually use sources available in the libraries and other public libraries of Iran and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In addition, both sides agreed to share electronic versions of the rare books and manuscripts preserved by the foundations and libraries.

According to the agreement, the foundation and the library agreed to provide access to their specialized bibliographies in different subject areas for the experts of the two countries. 

“The Gazi Husrev-bey Library preserves about 10,000 Persian, Arabic and Turkish volumes,” Lavic said in the meeting.

“These are a great legacy we received from our ancestors and we must do our best to protect them; the library holds 600 rare Persian manuscripts,” he added.   

“The library publishes a number of its rare manuscripts every year and it is expected that the MOU will help improve the process of publication,” Lavic said.

Gazi Husrev-beg was born around 1480 in Serez (Greece), where his father Ferhad-beg, a native of Trebinje, was governor.

His mother was the daughter of Sultan Bayezid II. He grew up and was brought up in the imperial court. Before coming to Bosnia, he was the governor of Smederevo sandjak, and he held the position of Bosnian sandjakbeg three times: 1521–1525, 1526–1534, and 1536–1541. 

Due to the buildings, he built in Sarajevo and the endowments he left to support his legacies, Gazi Husrev-beg is the largest and most important legatee in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Photo: Iran Public Libraries Foundation deputy director Baqer Mirabdollahi and Gazi Husrev-bey Library director Osman Lavic shake hands after signing an MOU in Tehran on May 8, 2023. (Iran Public Libraries Foundation)

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