Since its inception the School has had a strong interest in the territory that comprised the former Yugoslavia and the Serbian and Croatian languages have been taught here since 1919. The Library's collection on former Yugoslavia was developed with the help of gifts from the Yugoslav government between the wars, a policy continued by the government of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Disruption to regular book supply caused by war and sanctions during the 1990s is now a thing of the past. Exchanges with libraries there, and, above all, a regular purchasing policy, have resulted in a wide-ranging collection covering the history and politics, economics and social sciences of the region, as well as their culture, languages and literatures.
Books on Yugoslavia and the successor states are shelved on the Lower Ground Floor of the Library. The classification scheme used to arrange the books on the shelves has been devised to reflect the complex relationship between states in the region. There is a general section for works on the state of Yugoslavia or for works whose geographical scope covers more than one of the succeeding republics (Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia). The general section is followed by individual classes for each of these republics and also for Kosovo and Vojvodina. Bibliographical records for most of the collection are to be found in the on-line catalogue.
The majority of the works purchased are in English or in the languages of the area, with occasional acquisitions in other European languages. The Library subscribes to daily newspapers (e.g. Politika, Borba, Oslobođenje, Delo, Vjesnik, Feral Tribune) as well as to scholarly serial publications originating from or pertaining to the area.
Thanks to the bequest of Sir Arthur Evans, the Library has a distinguished group of books published before 1800 relating to Dalmatia and Bosnia as well as later works on those areas. Among historical sources are Monumenta spectantia historiam Slavorum meridionalium, Zagreb, 1868- and Diplomatički zbornik Kraljevine Hrvatske, Dalmacije i Slavonije, 15 vols., Zagreb, 1874-1934.