Field Research at the Ady Endre City Library (Ady Endre Városi Könyvtár) in Baja on 15–16 June 2026 as Part of the ReDiP Project Activities

Members of the project team, Associate Professor Lidija Bakota, PhD, and Associate Professor Vjekoslav Galzina, PhD, conducted field research at the Ady Endre City Library in Baja on 15 and 16 June 2026.

The aim of the research was to examine the library’s collection of old books, with a particular focus on textbooks dating from the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century. The researchers were introduced to the richness of the library’s holdings by Ildikó Filákovity, librarian responsible for national minorities, who also presented the local history of Baja and its important role in the cultural and educational life of Croats in southern Hungary.

The examined materials confirmed the significance of Baja as one of the most important cultural and educational centres of Croats north of present-day Croatia’s borders during the nineteenth century. The identified textbooks and other educational publications provide valuable insight into the history of the education of Croatian communities outside Croatia and will make a significant contribution to further research, enriching existing knowledge of Croatian educational heritage in southern Hungary.