The National Archives of Hungary (Budapest, 2006)

PRESS AND MEDIA ARCHIVES - Hungarian Film Archives by József Bana

1959. Due to the planned increase the number of the books today is more than thirty thousands. In the collection there are 18600 volumes, 3100 scripts 3500 volumes of periodicals and 600 pieces of small publications. The library subscribes to 35 domestic and foreign periodicals. The task of the Library of the Hungarian National Archives as national special library is to collect and preserve all the domestic special material including the material published abroad relating to Hungary. The store of the library includes monographic literature, summary special books, cyclopaedias, dictionaries, name and address stores, bibliographies, filmographies and catalogues, professional educational materials, scripts, manuscripts of not published film scientific and film art studies relating to the special field. In addition it obtains books about general arts, photo arts, aesthetics, cyclopedias, dictionaries. The library is public. Its users are the researchers of the field, professors and students of higher education and also the employees of film making. THE COLLECTION OF THE HUNGARIAN NON FEATURE FILMS From 1945 up to the present Between 1945 and 1980 approximately 5000 documentaries were made. Most of them can be found in our archives. Reference, propaganda and educational films were also made on the order of different industrial branches, ministries. The archives saved their colour nitro films on safety material during the archival renewal programme. Unfortunately in a lot of cases there were no original nitro left. After 1957 the films were made on safety material, their renewal has been going on. Besides documentaries it includes reports, educational and popular-scientific films (under the name of cultural film before the war), educational and propaganda films. The directors shoot on digital carrier after 1980. Because of the cheapness of video technics and dimness of the genres the number of the productions is over 300 yearly. Since introducing the law of depository we should get a copy of each ready work but it's not easy to get them.