In 2000, Ivica Puhalo had an idea.
What if our Croatian heritage in Canada could be preserved by the establishment of a library for Croatian language books, open and accessible to the entire community?
“With the Library, I envisioned a place where we could preserve our culture through the creation of a permanent home for Croatian-language books,” said Puhalo, “However, what was equally important to me was that we had a physical space where we could also offer the community programs, seminars and events.”
As word of a community library spread, offers of help and donations of books by individuals began coming in. By the first unofficial meeting of the new Croatian-Canadian Library and Reading Room in February of that year, the library had found a temporary home inside the soccer club restaurant at 89 Queen Street South in Streetsville, Mississauga. Its collection of books numbered about 300.
“The Library was a great initiative that many of us hoped would eventually plant the seed in the community for something much bigger,” said Srebrenka Bogovic, one of the Library’s first board members and volunteers. “Croatians in Toronto do not have a community center and we hoped that the Library would be the initiative the community needed to help realize this goal.”
The lucky break for the Library’s collection came when Puhalo heard a rumour that the Mississauga Public Library would be discontinuing its Croatian language collection due to lack of readership. He approached them and offered to take the Croatian-language books that were otherwise earmarked for the shredder. With this major acquisition, the small initial collection became a true library.
“In addition to this major donation from the Mississauga Public Library, over the years, people have donated boxes of books to us that, due to their changing personal circumstances, they would have otherwise been forced to throw out,” said Puhalo. “In this way, the Library’s present collection of 6000 titles has grown into the largest collection of publicly-accessible Croatian-books in Canada.”
In 2003, an important step in ensuring the Library’s future survival was secured when Joe Draganjac, a chartered accountant and owner of Draganjac Pressman Accountants, secured charitable status for the Library under registration # 865789317RR0001. Its status as a registered charity made it one of the only active Croatian organizations within the GTA (aside from the churches) with the ability to write charitable tax receipts in return for monetary or in-kind donations.
On June 29, 2005, the Library officially opened its doors in its new and present location. The director of the Croatian Heritage Foundation (Matica Iseljenika) in Zagreb, Nikola Jelencic, precided over the official opening as did Father Ivica Kecerin of the Church of Croatian Martyrs in Mississauga, who performed the blessing. The opening ceremony was further enriched by a cultural program that included violin and piano recitals and a poetry reading by local Croatian talent. Over 100 community members, including the Consul General Mario Livaja and prominent community intellectuals, also attended.
In November 2005, the Library elected its first official board, consisting of Ivica Puhalo (President), Srebrenka Bogovic (Treasurer), Ivo Jolic (Secretary) and board members Miljenko Capar, Susan Vajdic, John Sola, Father Ivica Lozic, Valentina Krcmar, Mario Cosic, Ivica Muhar, S Sanader, Dr. Ivo Hrvoic, Biba Milinkovic and Mirko Bukovac.
Since then, the Library has hosted seminars, computer courses, book readings, film nights, plays and other events in addition to operating in its main function as a lending library. And eight years later, several original board members, including Ivica Puhalo, Ivo Jolic, Miljenko Capar and Srebrenka Bogovic, are still active in the Library in some way, shape or form.
But for all the volunteers who have come and gone, the Library’s one steady constant has been Ivica Puhalo.
“My wife is always chiding me that I spend so much time at the Library, I might as well move in my bed and live here,” chuckles Puhalo.
For his tireless work and initiative in making his dream a reality, Ivica “Mr. Library” Puhalo was made the Library’s honourary lifetime president in 2005. In 2006 the Croatian Canadian Chamber of Commerce also honoured him with its Community Lifetime Achievement Award.
But as Bogovic, a long-time member of theatre group Histerioni and of AMCA (Alma Matris Croatica Alumni) knows from experience, “nothing happens over night. While the younger generation has the right idea of how to go about building and expanding on the foundation the Library has provided, we are still short of realizing the goal of establishing a Croatian community centre in the Toronto area," said Bogovic. "There is a lot of work that needs to be done, and it is up to the community to build on this foundation and prove we are ready to go one step further and realize this goal.”
True to the aspirations of its founding members, the current Library board is working hard to bring new programming and special events to the community. We have established a popular children’s programme of Croatian storytime reading, songs and play to respond to the needs of the younger, Canadian-born generation who want to pass on their Croatian heritage and language to their children.
There are few groups in our community that have the ability to offer information, networking and social opportunities to the mothers, sisters and daughters in our community. To respond to this need, the Library hopes to offer a women's program on with seminars on women’s issues, as well as other activities and events to the women in our community in the coming year.
As the original wave of Croatian immigration to Canada ages, seniors have become a growing segment of our community. The Library hopes by 2010 to offer these native Croatian speakers, in their own language, seminars and programming on a wide range of relevant topics.
We are excited about our future plans and look forward to working with the community to achieve these goals.