Institute of Musicology of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade holds an archive with a comprehensive collection of manuscripts, copies and rare editions of Serbian music. The collection also contains textual documents, photographs and objects important for the national musical history.
The collection holds four types of documents: written music, writings, medals and other artifacts, and photographs. The written music documents consist of the autographs and copies of Serbian art music compositions, early and rare editions of the Serbian art music, and collections of written folk and church music. Some of the autographs and the copies contain notes on the margins, relevant for historical research. The writings are very heterogeneous. There are school manuals, articles on music theory, notes from lectures on European and Serbian music history, press clipping on Serbian musicians and their tours in other countries, etc. These writings provide information on the life, education and career of Serbian musicians. The archives also contain personal documents – certificates of births and deaths, diplomas of secondary schools and universities, registration forms, orders of appointments, etc. A very valuable part of the Institute’s archive is a collection of over 200 photographs.
Part of the archive is also the collection of legacies, including the legacies of Vaclav Vedral, Jovan Bandur, Božidar Joksimović , Petar Konjović, Svetomir Nastasijević , Stevan Hristić, Petar Krstić, Stana Đurić Klajn, Radomir Petrović, Ljubomir Bošnjaković, Velimir Spernjak, Svetolik Pašćan and Mihailo Vukdragović.