Rózsa György (szerk.): The Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1826–1976.

Preface

PREFACE 150 years ago, on 17th March 1826, Count József Teleki donated his family library of 30 000 volumes to the Hungarian Learned Society. With this he established the first scientific institution of the Academy just some half a year later than the offer of Count István Széchenyi had given an impulse to realizing the plan of a Learned Society to which efforts had been made by Hungarian scholars of the former century. Count Teleki, a famous historian of that period, later the first president of the Academy, had intended that 'the library should promote the study of the Hungarian language and by this means the Learned Society just about to be organized for the cultivation of sciences should be able to fulfil the task entrusted to it with the success expected of it.' Although the initial impetus, — in consequence of which the Academy had obtained its first scientific institution of major importance even before the royal assent was given —, did not continue with undiminished energy, nevertheless in the course of time the Library of the Academy continued to increase and soon it became of national importance. Scientific connections quickly crossed the borders of the country, and it was not lacking in recognition from abroad. With World War II ended, after the country's liberation the Library of the Academy made a rapid-rate progress as a consequence of the role the sciences obtained in building a socialist system. At that time — 25 years ago — the highly respected Oriental Collection was also established. With three decades passed since the liberation, the Library has also been growing parallel with the intensive development of Hungarian scientific life, and has become one of the most important bases of it. Apart from paying homage to the historical past and patronizing progressive traditions its main effort is to serve present research and public life with up-to-date library-tools, as well as with an adaptable system, in cooperation with other large libraries among whom there is a reasonable distribution of the fields of collection. The growing complexity of the information demands of research activities of our days and the rapid increase in professional literature justified, — to a certain extent —, that the special libraries of the Academy's research institutes should be brought under the professional supervision of the Academy's Library. In this way,