AZ ORSZÁGOS SZÉCHÉNYI KÖNYVTÁR ÉVKÖNYVE 1982-1983. Budapest (1984)

Rogers, A. Robert: Ten Years of the István Gombocz Scholarship

Ten Years of the István Gombocz Scholarship by A. ROBERT ROGERS, Dean Kent State University, School of Library Science The untimely death of István Gombocz on April 10, 1973 deprived both Hungarian and international librarianship of a respected leader. Son of the well-known botanist Endre Gombocz, István Gombocz was born in 1921. From 1940 to 1944, he studied law at the University of Budapest. In the immediate post-war years (1946-1950), he worked for the Foreign Ministry, spending six months at the International Court in The Hague and one year at the Hungarian Embassy in Bucharest. His career at the National Széchényi Library began in 1952. In 1955, he was transferred to the new Department for International Exchange of Publications, of which he soon became the head and where he developed a worldwide exchange program. Active in professional organizations, he served as secretary of the Association of Hungarian Librarians (AHL) and on the Hungarian UNESCO Committee. Internationally, he soon became active in the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), serving from 1966 to 1969 as secretary of the Committee on Exchange of Publications. Topics featured in his many writings included international activities of the National Széchényi Library and the Association of Hungarian Librarians, Hungarian activities in UNESCO, and the international exchange of publications. He played a prominent part in the European Conference on the International Exchange of Publications in Vienna in April 1972 and in the IFLA Conference in Budapest later that year.

1 Dr. Guy A. Marco, then dean of the Kent State University School of Library Science, attended the Budapest Conference of IFLA in 1972 and was greatly impressed by the many contributions made by Dr. Gombocz. Upon learning of his untimely death, Dr. Marco sought a suitable method of honoring the memory of this distinguished librarian who had contributed so notably to international library activities. After a series of informal consultations, Dr. Marco sent a letter to Dr. Sándor Székely, president of the AHL, offering to establish the István Gombocz Scholarship and seeking AHL endorsement. After consulting with the necessary officials, Dr. Székely 1. For additional information about his activities and publications, cf "In Memóriám István Gombocz" Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen 87, nr. 9 (1973): 546 — 7. 13