"Many predicted the end of the written word and books, however, we see the trend that is present in Europe, libraries undergoing transformation as cultural institutions and beginning to offer services that citizens need in today's digital age, and I think that this new library in Vinkovci is, in that sense, an example from which others will learn that everything can and should be found in a library of the 21st century," said Obuljen Koržinek.
She also said that the library in Vinkovci exceeded all her expectations. "We built it with national funds and with it we took a big step in the Croatian book industry," she said, adding that a number of libraries were opened during her mandate, in cities and small towns.
Commenting on translators, she said it is a profession that is perhaps the least noticed in the entire spectrum of people and disciplines in the field of books. She stressed that they nurture the translation profession, which is particularly difficult to maintain in small language countries.
"Therefore, we must especially invest in translators and the translation profession", said the minister, saying that it is especially necessary to recognise the value when the original is translated from a smaller language into Croatian, given that very often in modern publishing, it is translated from a third language, and a lot gets lost in the translation.