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

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

announced acceptance and AHL set about choosing the first recipient in 1974.

2 In the early years, Kent State University offered a specialized kind of full-time graduate assistantship which covered fees and a living allowance, in exchange for twenty hours of work per week with a faculty member in the School. Since 1979, the U.S. International Communication Agency has also participated. Presently, there is a three-way partnership

: — The Association of Hungarian Librarians selects a candidate each year, after a national competition, and the Hungarian Government provides transportation to and from the United States; — The U.S. International Communication Agency (through the Institute of International Education) provides a maintenance allowance which covers room, board, books and, if the student is frugal, a few modest extras, like visits to American libraries or general travel; — The Kent State University School of Library Science provides a quarter-time graduate assistantship. In exchange for five hours of work per week in the Center for the Study of Ethnic Publications, the student's instructional and general fees are covered.

3 Since the inauguration of the István Gombocz Scholarship nearly a decade ago, ten Hungarian librarians have studied (or are studying) at Kent State University. Several have received promotions since their return to Hungary. Most have given talks or written articles about their American experiences. While at Kent, they have enriched the life of the School of Library Science through their international perspectives. Brief mention of the recipients (past and present) will support these generalizations. Ilona Kovács, now head of the Cataloging Department, Széchényi National Library, was the first recipient, arriving in Kent in September 1974 and graduating with the M.L.S. degree in August 1975. András Jablonkay, then librarian of the Central Library of the Medical University of Debrecen, received the Certificate of Advanced Studies in August 1976. Péter Szántó, now head of the Coordination Department, National Technical Information Centre and Library, received the M.L.S. in 1977. Dr. Tamás Rónai, Deputy Head, Department of Information Services, Library of the Hungarian Parliament, received the Certificate of Advanced Studies in 1978. Péter Hegedűs, from the Library of Karl Marx University, Budapest, came in January 1979 and graduated in December. Árpád Kiss, of the Central Library of the Technical University for Heavy Industry, Miskolc, included visits to the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Chicago Circle while studying U.S. library networking and received the Certificate of Advanced Studies in August 1980. Gábor Stiegrad, of the Centre for Library Science and Methodology, concentrated on computer applications 2. For more details, cf. "Five Years of the Gombocz Scholarschip: Hungarian Students at the Kent State University School of Library Science," by Guy A. Marco and A. Robert Rogers, Leads 20 (Winter 1979): 1 — 3. 3. A. Robert Rogers, "Glimpses of Some Hungarian Libraries and Library Schools," International Library Review 16 (July 1983): 307. 14