Description: The first libraries in Korčula were established in the15th and 16th centuries. They were mostly connected with churches and monasteries. Also some aristocratic families of Korčula had their own libraries, notably the families Arneri, Kapor and Žilković. An important monastery library was that on the islet of Badija off Korčula within the Franciscan monastery dating from the 14th century. It was especially active in the first half of the 20th century when the monastery had its own grammar school where most knowledgeable teachers were teaching. Its holdings, which included precious manuscripts, codes, incunabula, etc., mostly in Greek, Latin and Italian, were transferred to the library of Brothers Minor in Dubrovnik in the 1950’s. The largest and most valuable library of Korčula at the very beginnings of librarianship was one belonging to the Živković family. It contained, according to the inventory list of 1547, around 300 volumes. That was the second in size Renaissance library in Dalmatia. As a comparison, it can be noted that the Zagreb cathedral library contained, at the beginning of the 15th century, 173 volumes only. The Town Library of Korčula today continues the tradition of this unique source of literacy and its special edition of the works of young authors of Korčula bears the name ‘’Library Žilković’’. Some of the more significant dates connected with the history of librarianship in Korčula are as follows: - the year 1871 – the time of Croatian national revival, when ‘'Narodna slavjanska čitaonica’’ (National Slavonic Library) was founded in the premise of the Gabrielli House; - the year 1907 – Hrvatska pučka čitaonica (Croatian Folk Library) was founded and was active in the Ismaeli Palace until 1914; - the year 1958 – the library belonging to Radničko sveučilište (Workers’ University) was founded having 500 regular members who could freely borrow books. It disposed with the holdings of 8,800 volumes, mostly fiction. It was housed, together with a reading room, in the previous Dom culture (Home of Culture). -1990 onwards - today’s Town Library was registered in Split on March 13, 1990, as the branch office of the Community Library which also included libraries in Blato, Orebić and Vela Luka. Since 1994, it has been active as the independent Town Library of Korčula. It enlarged its holdings and increased its activities significantly when it was moved to the reconstructed building of Dom kulture Korčula. It is now one of significant cultural centres of the Town of Korčula.