The “Vuk Karadžić” City Library in North Mitrovica was officially closed yesterday, becoming the latest Serbian-run institution to shut its doors in northern Kosovo.
The building was sealed by the Kosovo Privatization Agency, with iron grates drawn and official agency stickers marking the closure. KoSSev reporters confirmed the situation on site.
According to library director Nikola Elezović, the institution’s collection of 40,000 books remains inside the premises but will be made available for retrieval.
“They told me to get in touch and that I’d be allowed to collect the books. I plan to do so next week,” Elezović told KoSSev in a brief phone call.
Along with the book collection, the library’s reader archives and administrative records also remain inside the now-sealed building.
Agency Changes Locks on Multiple Properties
While there has been no official confirmation regarding whether Kosovo Police assisted in the library closure, Deputy Regional Commander Veton Elshani stated that officers helped the Kosovo Privatization Agency inspect locks on several facilities yesterday. He could not confirm if the City Library was among them.
A Gradual Dissolution
On Vidovdan in 2022, Petar Petković ceremonially opened the building on the city’s hilltop, and a few months later, the then-Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, inaugurated the Multimedia Center, which was intended to house cultural institutions: the city library, a museum, and a cultural center.
However, by late 2024 and early 2025, those institutions had quietly ceased operations, leaving the once-promising complex largely abandoned.
Wave of Closures Continues
The library’s closure is part of a broader trend in the region, where Serbian-run institutions are increasingly being shuttered. In less than a week, eight buildings housing at least 11 Serbian services have been closed. Since 2012, at least 73 Serbian institutions in majority-Serb areas of Kosovo have been shut down, according to available data.
Unlike previous takeovers, the closure of the City Library has so far drawn no public reaction from either Serbian or Kosovo authorities.
Meanwhile, Kosovo Police have reportedly begun issuing verbal warnings at border crossings that Serbian-issued identity cards for towns in Kosovo will soon be deemed invalid.
The latest developments come as officials from Belgrade and Pristina convene with the EU’s foreign policy chief to discuss the ongoing political dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
