(“Come and experience your own story through the tastes, smells, culture, tradition and nature of Viškovo”)

(motto : Tourist Office of the Viškovo Municipality)

Public library Halubajska zora Viškovo was founded as a professional institution in 1999. The first reading room Halubajska zora was founded in 1904. The Second World War interrupted its work, but after 50 years, in 1992, Matrix Croatica in Viškovo opened it again under the name Halubajska Zora Public Library.

Nowadays, the library operates in a municipality that is the largest and youngest in Croatia with a population of 39-years-olds. At a distance of 3 km the library has a branch and a central library division. The 180 m2 central library office was opened in 2003 and has several functional units: an informative-check in/out counter, an open access area for adult users, a children's and adolescent section with a playing corner for children, a reading room and a study area . In 2008, the Central Library Division expanded to a space that became a separate newspaper and magazine reading room, and in 2009, it was also enriched with a new library service - the bookcheckout, for the personal members' check out of books, which is the only one among libraries in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, and almost unique at the level of Croatia. In the same year, the www.halubajska-zora.hr website was launched with news from the the library and the e-catalogue of the library fund.

Moreover, a good cooperation with associations from our municipality such as the Tourist Office, kindergartens, elementary schools was established.

The good accessibility of libraries at both locations and thus, the recognizability of its activities to the wider public is evidenced by the fact that the library has nearly 2000 members, while 18 years ago, the members were only 90.

Library activities are largely provided by the founder, the municipality of Viškovo, and the acquisition of library materials is mostly funded by the Ministry of Culture. From the initial library fund of 821 books, today the fund comprises of nearly 50.000 books.

The municipality of Viškovo, the founder of the library, sets aside a quarter of the budget for children and young people, who are also the most numerous library members, so most of the activities in the library are focused on meeting the needs of the youngest members. Throughout the years, many activities such as art workshops, talk shows, the creation of free time for children and adults are organized in the library, especially in the summer months. Furthermore, theater performances, literary evenings, art exhibitions and many other educational contents are organized regularly.

The Library, situated in a municipality with more than 15.000 inhabitants, has become a place to be visited because of education, entertainment, exhibitions and literary evenings. Areas of special interest are related to the expansion of library services and the satisfaction of all current and potential prospective users and members.

At the beginning of 2015, due to modern streams in the library sciences, the Halubajska zora Public Library started to use the new ZaKi library program, and became visible in a network with over 300 libraries at the level of Croatia. The Library has become an increasingly indispensable place for encounters, entertainments and education for all people, young and old.