Savaria - A Vas Megyei Múzeumok Értesítője 32/2. (2009) (Szombathely, 2009)

SZABÓ Gizella: A MÚZEUMI KÖNYVTÁR TÖRTÉNETE 1949-TŐL NAPJAINKIG

A MÚZEUMI KÖNYVTÁR TÖRTENETE 1949-TŐL NAPJAINKIG SZABÓ Gizella Savaria Múzeum, Könyvtár H-9700 Szombathely, Kisfaludy Sándor u. 9., Hungary e-mail: konyvtar@savariamuseum.hu HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM LIBRARY FROM 1 949 TILL THE PRESENT DAY Following establishment of the town public library and division of the stock, from 1949 the museum library was just run as a reference library of individual museum departments (ethnography, archaeology, history and natural history). The systematic stock extension beginning with the 1962 corporation takeover, therefore, represented an important stage in the formation of the unified and consistently expanded and managed library, this being followed by the consolidation of sections of the stock in the hands of separate library managers and the establishment of a central library. All this began from 1973 at the level of record keeping, and was realised from 1981 with the unification of the book stock stored in the departments in one place and under the supervision of one librarian. The final formation of the central library is linked with the name of the director Gábor BANDI. A modification in the scope of the collection occurred with the opening of the Szombathely Picture Gallery (1895), which involved segregation of the art history material. Location problems were helped by a new room requisitioned under the directorship of Imre GRÁFIK, then by the employment of a fourth room in 1999, as well as the construction of the galleries and shelving system still in existence, at the same time determining the present appearance of the library. The picture is completed by the mechanical storage system established in 1981 at the time of moving in, and construction of the electronic database underway since 2001. Significant sources for extension of the library stock, alongside book purchasing determined by the requirements of current museum researchers, are the growing foreign and domestic publication exchange network (at present we are in contact with around 300 exchange partners), as well as the receipt of donations and bequests. The collection of ethnography researcher Károly GAÁL should be mentioned as the most significant stock acquired in this way. The Revolutionary Museum material, which became part of the library stock following the political changes, is treated as a separate collection in a similar way. The professional duties of the museum library also include the preparation of biographies linked to the exhibitions. There was an opportunity for presentation of the museum book rarities in an exhibition entitled Selections from the books of ecclesiastical origin in the Savaria Museum Library held in 1996, which provided a taster in eight thematic groups of the Premonstratensian, Dominican and Franciscan book collection acquired by the library in 1986. As a restricted public reference library, the museum library in its present form provides a service to researchers in the fields of ethnography, archaeology, natural science, local history, restoration and museology.