RADOVIĆ: IMPRESSIVE NUMBER OF DOWNLOADS OF PDF VERSION OF BOOKS ON SERBIAN SUFFERING

BELGRADE, APRIL 16 /SRNA/ - In just a few days since the Forgotten Roots Foundation made available on its website PDF editions of publications documenting the horrific suffering of the Serbian people during World War II, more than 3,000 users have downloaded them, the founder of the Foundation Dragan Radović told SRNA.

“The number of downloads is impressive. From April 10 to 14, the book 'Korana ko Rana' was downloaded 1,521 times, the collection of documents 'Zanesovići' 927 times, and the collection 'Stari Brod' 582 times. The decision to make these books available in this way has proven to be an excellent move,” Radović said. He pointed out as especially important the fact that these books are now available on some of the world’s largest digital libraries, such as "Scribd" and "Open Library," because as long as the internet exists, the books will be preserved. “As a researcher, I struggle to access certain books today because many are no longer available, especially older editions. This is a way for anyone to access, print the desired title, and have their copy,” Radović said. He emphasized that making the editions available online has not diminished the demand for printed copies. “This has proven to be a great move. The Foundation’s goal is not profit - the price is symbolic anyway. What matters is that these books reach as many people as possible, so more people can learn the truth about the suffering of the Serbian people. My biggest criticism of state institutions that work on such projects is that they often publish a book, print a small number of copies, and then no one can access it or even knows it exists,” Radović said. Radović added that the Foundation has ten new titles nearly completed, which will be printed in the near future. “We will be publishing collections of documents on the suffering of Serbs during the Second World War, especially photo-monographs featuring images from the exhumations carried out in 1991 in Livno, Kupres, and Glamoč, as well as other photo-monographs and testimonies from survivors of Kozara. Almost everything is ready for print. These editions will also be made freely available in digital format,” Radović announced. He added that the Foundation is also preparing a compilation of testimonies that were not used in the film "Garavice," and noted that the premiere of the documentary film "Korićka Jama" is expected this fall.