Kako je sve počelo
How It All Began
Moja priča sa Malim princom nije počela u osnovnoj školi, kada je on bio samo deo obavezne lektire. Prava veza se rodila znatno kasnije, 1996. godine, tokom studija u studentskom domu „Košutnjak“. Tada sam dobila primerak od svoje tadašnje cimerke, a današnje kume i „sestre“ Svetlane. Od tog trenutka, to je postala moja omiljena knjiga koja me je pratila na svim mojim putovanjima.
Preokret se dogodio 2008. godine na letovanju u Turskoj. Dok sam po ko zna koji put čitala svoj primerak na plaži, poverila sam rođaki Danieli jednu misao: „Ovu knjigu znam skoro napamet. Mogla bih da kupim primerak na francuskom, čisto da malo obnovim jezik koji sam zaboravila.“
Tog novembra 2008. godine, dobila sam prvi primerak na francuskom jeziku. Ta dva izdanja, na srpskom i francuskom, dugo su stajala usamljena. Iako sam u glavi imala želju da ih imam na još više jezika, ideja je čekala pravi trenutak. Sve se promenilo tokom jedne posete Segedinu. U tamošnjoj knjižari, potražila sam Malog princa na mađarskom, a izašla sam sa izdanjima na mađarskom, španskom i rumunskom jeziku.
Od tog dana, sve ostalo je istorija koja danas broji preko 460 primeraka na više od 330 jezika i dijalekata.
My story with The Little Prince did not begin in primary school, when it was simply part of the required reading list. The real bond was formed much later, in 1996, during my student years at the “Košutnjak” residence hall. That was when I received a copy from my then roommate, and today my godmother and “sister,” Svetlana. From that moment on, it became my favorite book and accompanied me on all my travels.
The turning point came in 2008 during a summer holiday in Turkey. While reading my copy on the beach for the countless time, I shared a thought with my cousin Daniela: “I know this book almost by heart. I could buy a copy in French, just to revive the language I have forgotten.”
In November 2008, I received my first French edition. Those two books, one in Serbian and one in French, stood alone for a long time. Although I already wished to have the book in more languages, the idea was waiting for the right moment. Everything changed during a visit to Szeged. In a local bookstore, I looked for The Little Prince in Hungarian and left with editions in Hungarian, Spanish, and Romanian.
From that day on, everything else became history, a history that today numbers more than 460 copies in over 330 languages and dialects.
O kolekciji
About the Collection
Ono što je počelo kao lična potraga za jednim francuskim izdanjem, preraslo je u sistematičnu kolekciju koja danas broji preko 469 knjiga. Moja misija nije samo sakupljanje brojeva, već dokumentovanje neverovatne lingvističke raznolikosti kojom svet progovara kroz reči Sent Egziperija. Kolekcija danas obuhvata izdanja na više od 338 svetskih jezika i dijalekata.
Ova riznica je, pre svega, svedočanstvo o divnim ljudima i prijateljstvima. Mnoge knjige na mojim policama stigle su kao darovi dragih prijatelja koji su „Malog princa“ tražili na svojim putovanjima širom sveta. Posebnu zahvalnost dugujem Vladimiru (Mrkiju), Milošu (Aždaji), Vladi, Draganu, Radmili, Dejani, Oliveri, Mariji, Filipu, Dušanu, Tamari, Dragani, Nadi, kao i Mireli koja mi je nesebično poslala svoj dragoceni primerak čak sa Farskih ostrva. Zahvaljujući njima, moja polica danas miriše na Japan, Maltu, Zanzibar, Grčku i ceo naš region.
Drugi, jednako važan deo kolekcije, čine knjige do kojih sam došla putem razmene sa drugim kolekcionarima. Kontakti sa ljudima kao što su Jen, Mertxe, Jean-Mark, Alfons, Elena, Kastaneda, Melih, Gerhard, Melisa, Laura, Slavek, Martina, Evelina, Kuncoro, Ilyas, Viviana, Adela, Juan Carlos, Maria, Mary, Ferenc, Ananya, Saosoong, Supoj, Christoforos, Jose, Mark, Jordi, kao i mnogi drugi prijatelji, prerasli su u stalnu komunikaciju i zajedničku misiju. Bez truda svih ovih prijatelja da pronađu retka izdanja iz Indonezije, Meksika, Španije, Litvanije ili Švajcarske, moja kolekcija danas ne bi bila ovako bogata i živa.
What began as a personal search for a single French edition grew into a systematic collection that now includes more than 469 books. My mission is not simply to collect numbers, but to document the remarkable linguistic diversity through which the world speaks in the words of Saint-Exupéry. Today, the collection includes editions in more than 338 world languages and dialects.
Above all, this treasury stands as a testimony to wonderful people and friendships. Many of the books on my shelves arrived as gifts from dear friends who searched for The Little Prince during their travels around the world. I owe special thanks to Vladimir (Mrki), Miloš (Aždaja), Vlada, Dragan, Radmila, Dejana, Olivera, Marija, Filip, Dušan, Tamara, Dragana, Nada, as well as Mirela, who generously sent me her precious copy all the way from the Faroe Islands. Thanks to them, my shelf now carries the scent of Japan, Malta, Zanzibar, Greece, and the entire region.
Another equally important part of the collection consists of books I obtained through exchange with fellow collectors. Contacts with people such as Jen, Mertxe, Jean-Mark, Alfons, Elena, Kastaneda, Melih, Gerhard, Melisa, Laura, Slavek, Martina, Evelina, Kuncoro, Ilyas, Viviana, Adela, Juan Carlos, Maria, Mary, Ferenc, Ananya, Saosoong, Supoj, Christoforos, Jose, Mark, Jordi, and many other friends have grown into lasting communication and a shared mission. Without their efforts to find rare editions from Indonesia, Mexico, Spain, Lithuania, and Switzerland, my collection would not be as rich and vibrant as it is today.
Čuvar digitalne biblioteke
Guardian of the Digital Library
Posebno mesto u ovoj priči, i u svakom koraku razvoja moje zbirke, zauzima moj prijatelj CHUPCKO. On nije bio samo inicijator odlaska u Segedin, gde je sve zapravo i počelo, već je neko čiji se "prstići" nalaze u skoro svakom delu ove kolekcije. CHUPCKO mi je otvorio vrata sveta digitalne razmene, pronašavši grupe i ljude sa istom strašću, što je pokrenulo moje prve međunarodne razmene.
Mnoge dragocene primerke, od Zanzibara i Japana do Malte, doneli su mi upravo njegovi prijatelji i kolege koje je on nesebično animirao da mi pomognu. Uz to, on je idejni tvorac i tehnički stub sajta koji upravo gledate; on me je naučio kako da beležim svaki novi primerak i pomaže mi da ova digitalna biblioteka raste i ostane organizovana.
A special place in this story, and in every step of the development of my collection, belongs to my friend CHUPCKO. He was not only the person who initiated the trip to Szeged, where everything truly began, but also someone whose “fingerprints” can be found in almost every part of this collection. CHUPCKO opened the door for me to the world of digital exchange by finding groups and people with the same passion, which started my first international exchanges.
Many precious copies, from Zanzibar and Japan to Malta, reached me through his friends and colleagues whom he generously encouraged to help me. He is also the creative mind and the technical backbone of the site you are looking at now; he taught me how to document each new copy and continues to help this digital library grow and stay organized.