Gáncsné Nagy Erzsébet: Magyar Könyvtárosok Egyesülete Helyismereti Könyvtárosok Szervezetének története, 1994-2002 (2004)

3. The Local Studies Group of the Association of Hungarian Librarians (HKSZ). - 3.8. International co-operation: the Hungarian Local Studies Group and the UK Local Studies Group.

The first official exchange as part of this exciting, new collaboration took place in 1995. The British Group invited a member of the Hungarian Group to attend the UK Library Association UmbrelLA Conference in June. János Kappel was chosen and he was given much help from other Hungarian librarians for his paper on Local collections in Hungary: problems and solutions of collection development. After his study tour in Manchester, North Yorkshire and Wales, János wrote a report on his adventures in both Hungarian and English.

112 At the end of July and the beginning of August 1995 the HKSZ committee organised a study tour for Ian Maxted and Elizabeth Melrose. Both had the privilege of visiting Győr, Sopron, Nagycenk, Pannonhalma, Budapest and Vác. In Sopron, at the second HKSZ Conference, Ian Maxted spoke to over eighty delegates on Co-operation between service providers and he also travelled to Baranya and Pécs in the south of the country. In July 1996, Penny Ward was the guest of the Hungarian Group at the third annual HKSZ Conference in Tata where she contributed a paper on Local monograph writing in Britain. Penny was taken to libraries and historical sites in Budapest, Majk, Révkomárom, in Slovakia, Esztergom, Vác, and Szentendre.

114 The next year, 1997, both the HKSZ committee and the UK Local Studies Group were unable to nominate representatives for an intended mutual exchange of visits - the Hungarian Group could not find a suitable candidate and members of the British Group were committed to events celebrating the 20

th anniversary of its foundation and work on an updated edition of the Library Association guidelines for local studies provision. This was unfortunate. However, in the following March 1998, ten Hungarian librarians journeyed to London to investigate local studies collections in the British capital and to visit the sights. The British Council in Budapest awarded the party a significant travel grant for this six-day study tour, which was organised by Erzsébet Gáncs, Judit Mennyei and Elizabeth Melrose. During their stay, the Hungarians were escorted round the new British Library building at St Pancras, the City of Westminster Archives and Kensington Public Library. They also attended the Annual General Meeting of the UK Local Studies Group at the Library Association Headquarters, during which Erzsébet Gáncs and Gyula Mándli, the chairman of the Hungarian Group, 1,2 Kőszegi könyvtáros Angliában / Kappel János. In: Vas megyei könyvtárak értesítője, 1996. 1. sz. p. 23-27. ; Local collections in Hungary : problems and solutions of collection development / Janos Kappel. In: Local Studies Librarian, 15 (2), 1996. p. 7-10. 113 Hungary for more : report of a study tour in July and August 1995 / Ian Maxted. In: Local Studies Librarian, 14 (2), 1995. p. 14-18. 114 Hungarian Local Studies : a national conference of local studies librarians / Penny Ward. In: Local Studies Librarian, 15 (2), 1996. p. 15-18. 75