AZ ORSZÁGOS SZÉCHÉNYI KÖNYVTÁR ÉVKÖNYVE 1961-1962. Budapest (1963)

I. A könyvtár életéből - Az Országos Széchényi Könyvtár működése 1961-1962-ben - Report on the activity of the National Széchényi Library in 1961 and 1962

taken care of by the monthly issues, was cumulated, the corresponding publication, to give a complete picture of postwar Hungarian book production, will go to press in 1963. The Repertory of Hungarian Periodicals, a monthly issue, appeared regularly during the period under report. As an addition to the national bibliographies, the second volume of the Bibliography of Hungarian Bibliographies was compiled with financial assistance granted by UNESCO, published in 1963. Besides the national bibliographies, the Library published also special ones, such as the Bibliography of Theatre Almanachs, Bibliography of Graphic Posters in the holdings of the National Széchényi Library, Bibliography of the works of the mathematician János Bolyai, etc. The Music Division, as before, compiled the Hungarian contribution to the "Repertoire International des Sources Musicales". There was a regular exchange of bibliographical entries with the countries that participated in the Bibliographical Conference at Warsaw in 1957. Header and Reference Service Neither in 1961 nor in 1962 did the number of visitors attain the attendance of 1960, chiefly because the main reading rooms were closed for a longer period than in the preceding years. However, the total number of units used increased in the two years. The number of readers visiting the Periodicals Division and the Special Collections was approximately the same as in the past. Special mention must be made of the important research work in progress in the divisions throughout the period under review. A new open-shelf library, consisting of about 2,000 volumes, was set up in the main reading room

; it was used by readers to a great extent. The whole area of the Library where readers were accommodated, was equipped with modern electric lighting, new furniture was installed in the rooms of the Reference Service. The lending system was also reorganized to advantage. Written references or occasional bibliographies were compiled by the collaborators of the Reference Service to an ever increasing extent. Almost half of the 200 bibliographies compiled in 1962 was furnished to libraries abroad. Exhibitions, dedicated to special anniversaries, were arranged and the Library's new acquisitions were constantly on show. The most valuable manuscripts and incunables could be seen in the Division of Manuscripts. The famous Corvina manuscripts were also specially exhibited to the great public in the appropriate halls of the National Museum. The museum-type Library in Keszthely near Lake Balaton registered 54,768 visitors in 1961 and 65,000 in 1962. Numerous visitors came from abroad. The Keszthely Library succeeded in opening up additional exhibition halls for the benefit of the public; also special concerts were arranged in the gardens, so that the Library and its surroundings became a real attraction for sight-seers from Hungary and abroad who visited the Lake during the summer. Storage, preservation of stocks The extreme shortage of storage space increased during the years under report. The situation was slightly mitigated by opening up, for the use of storage space, a part of one of the annex-buildings, where rarely used material was then appropriately stored. The courtyard of the same building was designated for the purpose of constructing stack rooms on the site, construction was well advanced by the end of 1962. It was hoped that some space would be gained thereby for the stacking of material of different types. The reorganization of the whole storage system was taken in hand, preparatory to the planned stack systems in the new home of the Library. The Special Collections, too, re-arranged some parts of their holdings, so f

. i. additional space was found for the storing of many thousands of death announcements, postcards, maps, etc. Only a slight increase could be registered in the number of books and periodicals bound by our bindery as compared to previous years; particularly the binding of newspapers caused grave difficulties in spite of the new technical equipment purchased for the binding-shop. The Microfilm Division continued its micro-recording work of the Library's own rare and valuable materials, such as books, manuscripts and journals and increased its collection by about 2,500 reels of microfilms; in addition, the Division operated its microfilm service for the Inter-Library Loan Division and maintained a satisfactory photo-service for applicants. 3* 35