NSK presents “Zbirka Novak – Mappae Croaticae”, a monograph thematising one of Croatia’s most valuable cartographic collections
On 28 February 2018, the National and University Library in Zagreb hosted the presentation of Zbirka Novak – Mappae Croaticae, the Library’s monograph thematising The Novak Collection, a treasure chest holding priceless cartographic heritage preserved as part of the Library’s Map Collection.
The presentation was opened by Director General of the National and University Library in Zagreb Tatijana Petrić, after which the monograph was presented by one of its consulting editors, professor at the Faculty of Geodesy at the University of Zagreb Miljenko Lapaine, who talked about the years of cooperation with Drago Novak, whose name the Collection is bearing and who, as its founder and original owner, assembled its entire inestimable content as a result of his passion for maps of Croatia and its regions. The monograph’s other consulting editor, professor at the Department of Geography at the Zagreb Faculty of Science Borna Fuerst-Bjeliš, emphasised that The Novak Collection is one of the most important collections of old maps of Croatia’s regions.
Dubravka Mlinarić, one of the authors of the monograph and research associate at the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies in Zagreb, talked about the decades during which doctor Novak was compiling the Collection, always clearly indicating his wish for its content to be made available to as wide a circle of people as possible. Mira Miletić Drder, the monograph’s other author and also Head of the NSK Map Collection, which The Novak Collection is preserved as part of, presented in greater detail the wealth of as valuable as varied resources added to the Library’s collections after the Collection was donated to the Library, for which generous deed Ms Miletić Drder expressed gratitude on the Library’s behalf to Ms Zlata Novak, who so readily acted upon her late husband’s wishes. Taking the fulfilment of doctor Novak’s wishes further, the Library digitised all resources included in his collection which are now available to the public as part of the Library’s Digital Collections portal.
The monograph was published by the National and University Library in Zagreb with financial support from the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education and Ministry of Culture. It offers insight into the research interests based on which doctor Novak built his cartographic collection and brings a selection of the representative examples of valuable old maps contained in it. The Novak Collection was donated to the National and University Library in Zagreb in 2012, upon doctor Novak’s death and in accordance with his wishes, becoming part of the Library’s Map Collection, the largest heritage collection of cartographic material in Croatia.
