Apor Éva (szerk.): Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Könyvtára Keleti Gyűjtemény.

History and function

History andfunction H

ungarian scholars first worded the need for a separate Oriental collection in 1926, then again in 1948. However, it only came into being after the restructuring of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1949. After the restoration of the Academy Palace damaged in World War II, the south-eastern wing of the ground floor was assigned to house the collection. The Oriental Colection - known at that time as Oriental Library - was opened in 1951 as a new unit of the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, becoming the main reference library of Oriental studies in Hungary. Its basic layout praises Turkologist László Rásonyi, the director of the Collection from 1951 to 1961. He compiled its East-related stock from the old divisions of the Academy Library founded in 1826. Unified alphabetic catalogues were made for books and periodicals. The Oriental manuscripts were also transferred here. The holdings of the Acadfemy Library had grown out of donations and bequests of Hungarian scholars, travellers, researchers in the first place. That was how the core material of the Oriental Collection came to contain László RÁSONYI, 1951—1961. Dániel Szilágyi 's manuscript collection, Dávid Kaufmann's Hebraica collection, Ármin Vámbéry'

s books and manuscripts, Sándor Kégl's and Aurél Stein's library, Ignác Goldziher's correspondence, to mention only the most outstanding. When it was opened, the Collection numbered some 15,000 books, over 1,500 manuscripts and a few periodicals. In 1961-76, the Collection was headed by the Mongolist Lajos Bese. The holdings grew dynamically via exchange relations and purchases alike. Since 1976, the head of the Collection has been the Iranistifva Apor. That year marks the launching of the series of the Library in her edition, the Keleti Tanulmányok - Oriental Studies, and later the Budapest Oriental Reprints. Lajos BESE, 1961—1976.