The Serbian Literary Cooperative, the oldest publishing institution of the Serbian people, was established in Belgrade in 1892 by seventeen respectable writers, scientists and scholars, among them Stojan Novaković, writer, scientist and statesman, Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, poet and physician, Ljubomir Stojanović, philologist, Milan Đ. Milićević, academician, Milan Jovanović Batut, physician and scientist, Ljubomir Kovačević, historian, and so on. The objectives of SLC were to print books, with scrutinising and professional approach and interpretation, beneficial for the people and its enlightenment and culture. Thus, the edition “Kolo” was established, every year publishing six or seven books in a variety of fields: literature above all, both Serbian and translated, history, history of art, philology and philosophy.
In 125 years, “Kolo” edition has become a large anthology both of older and more recent, Serbian and world literature and science. Apart from “Kolo”, SLC nurtures another ten collections, among which especially important are the following: “Contemporary”, “Lecturer” and “Entertainer”, but also “Anthologies”, “Theoretical Thought”, “Historical Thought”, “Books for Children and Adults”. The largest scientific and research project implemented by SLC was at the same time the largest publishing undertaking: A History of the Serbian people from the Settlement of Slavs in the Balkans Until 1918 - in ten volumes. In cooperation with the Matica Srpska, SLC published the edition Serbian Literature in 100 Books, and with the Prosveta it published The Old Serbian Literature in 24 books. For 125 years, the SLC books have entered all the homes and libraries where the books are read, both in Serbia and Yugoslavia, and abroad. SLC is also a cooperative of members. The SLC membership is voluntary. From the beginning, the Serbian Literary Cooperative has been gathering together the most prominent men of letters, translators, scientists and artists. SLC is a recipient of many public awards: Medal of St. Sava of the First Order, Vuk Award, etc.
