Library's history is a part of history of the Croatian state archives. First data about the library of the CSA known by now, date from the time of I. K. Sakcinski, a historian and one of the founders of Croatian historiography. In 1853, in a letter to the Governor's government he asks for governmental and official periodicals to be send to him. He also asks for permission for the purchase of unpublished work Glosarium diplomaticum by E. Brinckenmeier. Agramer kalender, Zeitschrift für Archiv i Wörterbuch für juridische-politische Terminologie has been also instantly purchased for the newly founded library.

Primary historically-juridical content of the literary holdings has been, in time, enriched with titles from archive science, auxiliary historic sciences, economy and politics. Except for the literature on the Croatian, important share of literature is on German, Latin, Hungarian, Italian, French and English. Due to the interchange, disposal from archive records, donation or purchase from notables (especially historians), library has come into possession of plenteous collections of books and magazines with topics from world history, history of Europe and single countries (Austria-Hungary, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Czech republic, England, USA, France, Russia) and also of the auxiliary historic sciences (historic geography, chronology, paleography, diplomacy, a science of seals, heraldry).

The most comprehensive is the collection of works from Croatian history. It enfolds recent works published in Croatia, a part of works of foreign and Croatian authors published abroad, printed historic sources, historic magazines, text books etc.The collection of archive literature, besides classic text books, manuals and fundmental works from the fields of modern archive theory and praxis, also contains a considerable amount of printed inventories, tutorials, catalogues, registers and other editions of world's and domestic archives, encyclopedias and special manuals, proficient dictoneries (middle ages, theology, ecclesiastical history, economic and juridical history), printed listings of geographical nomenclature, atlases, calendars of events, shematisams (administrative, military, ecclesiastical), lists, local and foreign historic bibliographies and biography and also other relevant current editions. Library also systematicly creats a collection of published historic sources, those middle-aged, as well as sources from newer history, history of the First and Second World War, juridical history, diplomatic history, history of political parties, etc.

There are around 160.000 volumes (90.000 books and 70.000 magazines and binded newspapers, 1.150 foreign and 920 Croatian magazines, and 155 binded newspapers) in the library today. Approximately 770 length meters take up unbound newspapers and books.

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