AZ ORSZÁGOS SZÉCHÉNYI KÖNYVTÁR ÉVKÖNYVE 1972. Budapest (1975)

I. Az OSZK 1972-ben - Somkuti Gabriella: Az Országos Széchényi Könyvtár működése - The Activities of the National Széchényi Library in 1972

films were produced for the readers. The expanded machine stock and the increased staff enabled the Library to carry out a large number of orders, primarily from the material already on microfilm. In 1972 the number of negative microfilm frames made for preservation purposes was 1,711,000. Great efforts are being done for the conservation of the originals too. The binding of periodicals was organized on a separate basis, with the result of increased production. An up-to-date reprographic workshop produces the mimeographic publications of the Library, while also meeting the demands of the readers. Reference service Table No. 3. gives the relevant figures of the reference activities. The former special reading room for literary researches was transformed into a general reading room for researchers, and its capacity was also increased. Reconstruction and modernization was done also in the public room of the Collection of Maps. The number of written answers given to reference questions exceeded five hundred, part of them was documentation requiring a relatively large amount of time. Most of the questions referred to the two special fields of the Library

: Hungarian literature and Hungarian history. Many reference questions were answered by the special collections, mainly the Music Collection, the Manuscript Collection, and the Collection of Ancient Books. Their holdings include materials that deserve international interest. Inter-library (central) services In 1972 about 930,000 deposit copies were delivered to the Library, from which c. 1,500 units were kept, the rest being distributed between the other libraries of the country. In 1972 the number of the types of the publications was 11 per cent higher than in the previous year. About 140,000 cards were added to the Union Catalogue of Foreign Books, and 12,000 information were given from the Catalogue. In the Union Catalogue of Foreign Periodicals 84,000 new data were entered and nearly 11,000 informations were given. The borderline cases of the two union catalogues were settled, and all additional data on periodical publications reported to the Union Catalogue of Books is regularly taken over by the Union Catalogue of Periodicals. In both catalogues reconstruction and reorganization was continued. In the Union Catalogue of Periodicals there is now a general catalogue closing with 1970, another one for works in Slavonic languages, and a current new catalogue starting with 1971. Based on the reports to the Union Catalogue of Books the current list of the foreign acquisitions of the Hungarian libraries continued to appear in two series (social sciences and natural sciences). The number of requests submitted to the Inter-Library Loan Service increased further and exceeded 24,000. The requests could be complied with in 84 per cent of the cases. The International Exchange Service maintained contact with 534 institutions in 63 countries. Nearly 20,000 units were received from abroad, while more than 21,000 units were sent. Material sent to capitalist and developing countries increased by 23 per cent, compared with the previous year. The Book Distribution Service took over c. 40,000 surplus copies, and distributed 35,000 units. The preliminary selection and grouping of the 1,300,000 volumes stored in its stacks was started. The administration of the Library, its economic postion and international contacts The direction of the Library was supported by the regular meetings of the Directing Council under the chairmanship of the Director General, as well as by the activities of the various special committees (Mechanization Committee, Hungarica Coordination Committee, etc.). 41