AZ ORSZÁGOS SZÉCHÉNYI KÖNYVTÁR ÉVKÖNYVE 1957. Budapest (1958)

Gombocz István: Az Országos Széchényi Könyvtár külföldi kapcsolatai. 1953—1957

Foreign relations of the National Széchényi Library 1953—1957 GOMBOOZ ISTVÁN Since 1953 the National Széchenyi Library's relations to libraries abroad have been rapidly developing. From 1945 on, these relations, particularly with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, have become rather extensive, later it was also possible to establish or renew relations with other countries. The winding-up of the Hungarian Libraries Board in 1952, till then charged with coordinating the work of Hungarian libraries with foreign institutions, placed new obligations in the international field upon the National Széchényi Library, the legal successor to the said Board. The work with libraries abroad was not concentrated in one department of the Library; many cases were handled by the staff of the respective departments or Collections. In 1955, however, the Department of International Relations was created with a view to centralizing, as far as possible, all the activity concerning relations with foreign libraries and international organizations. In the period under review new acquisitions were made by way of purchases and exchanges. Unfortunately throughout all these years inadequate monetary funds have not permitted the purchase of and subscription to as much "hungarica" material as would have been desirable. Exchanges, however, have increased rapidly; by the end of the period, 8 to 10 per cent of all new acquisitions were derived through exchange channels. This favourable development was primarily due to the growth in the quantity of material made available to the Department for exchanges, among others the Library's own publications including the national bibliography, as well as deposit-copies regularly received through the copyright-copy service. Particularly the National Library's own publications have been in great demand abroad; also the bibliographical review Magyar Könyvszemle met with the approval of our foreign partners and was equally widely requested. By the end of 1957 the Library maintained regular exchange relations with 231 institutions in 40 countries. Foreign scholars have increasingly taken advantage of the Library's collections for their research work during the last years. The staff in the Department of Periodicals, Department of Manuscripts, Old and Rare Prints, Maps, Small prints and posters have, on numerous occasions, furnished documentation to foreign visitors or by way of correspondence to libraries abroad. In many cases microfilms were furnished to applicants. The Music Division of the Library was visited by many foreigners during this period and enquiries on the most varied topics in the musical field were answered by the staff. Bibliographical services rendered to libraries abroad have also increased at great speed since 1953 when the first bibliographies were drawn up upon request from abroad. The Library's bibliographical publications have continued to represent a valuable source of information for scientific research. A bibliography of the works of Miczkiewicz found in Hungary was published in printed form, other bibliographies dealt with Albanian and Bulgarian literature in the Hungarian language. Similar bibliographical information was supplied upon request from abroad on f. i. Thomas Mann, Schiller, Handel, Tsheckov, Hölderlin, Leonardo da Vinci, Milton, etc. Regarding the exchange of persons, the number of foreign visitors to the Library exceeded the number of travels by our staff members. In the years from 1954 to 1956, 350 foreigners visited the National Library. Some of our librarians made official trips to neighbouring countries, to the Soviet Union, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Bulgaria, etc. 322 i