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| Országos Széchényi Könyvtár | |
|---|---|
| Name | Országos Széchényi Könyvtár |
| Native name | Országos Széchényi Könyvtár |
| Country | Hungary |
| Location | Budapest |
| Established | 1802 |
| Collection size | over 8 million items |
| Director | Miklós Zrínyi |
Országos Széchényi Könyvtár is the Hungarian national library founded by Count Ferenc Széchényi in 1802 and located in Budapest, serving as Hungary's legal deposit library and principal repository for Hungarian print and manuscript heritage. The institution preserves materials connected to figures such as Lajos Kossuth, Sándor Petőfi, János Arany, Franz Liszt, and Imre Kertész, and holds items related to events like the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, and the Treaty of Trianon. As a national cultural institution it interacts with organizations including the European Union, the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, the Library of Congress, the British Library, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
The library originated from the private collection of Count Ferenc Széchényi and was formalized under orders influenced by figures like István Széchenyi and patrons in the early 19th century, amid contemporaneous developments involving Napoleon Bonaparte, the Congress of Vienna, and the rise of national institutions across Europe such as the National Széchényi Library model. Throughout the 19th century it accrued donations from collectors including Baron József Eötvös, Pál Esterházy, and families like the Rákóczi family, while navigating political changes from the Revolutions of 1848 through the Austro-Hungarian Empire period. The 20th century saw impacts from the World War I, the Treaty of Trianon, the World War II occupation, and the Hungarian People's Republic era, with recovery efforts paralleling work at institutions such as the National Museum and collaborations with scholars like Mór Jókai and Gyula Illyés.
Holdings include manuscripts, incunabula, periodicals, maps, music scores, and posters associated with personalities like Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Endre Ady, Bertolt Brecht, and Géza Gárdonyi. The manuscript collections feature medieval codices comparable to holdings at the Vatican Library and treatises linked to Niccolò Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei, and Johannes Kepler. Rare book collections contain incunabula and prints by Aldus Manutius, Gutenberg, and editions of works by William Shakespeare, Molière, and Voltaire. Cartographic holdings include maps by Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius. Music archives document compositions by Franz Liszt and correspondences with Richard Wagner and Clara Schumann. Periodical and newspaper runs cover titles such as Pesti Hírlap, Budapesti Napló, and international journals parallel to those in the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the British Library. Holdings related to Jewish Hungarian life connect to figures like Theodor Herzl and events such as the Holocaust in Hungary.
The principal building on Budapest's Buda Castle area exhibits architecture influenced by 19th-century historicism and later 20th-century restorations, with conservation efforts comparable to projects at the Hungarian National Museum and the Parliament of Hungary. Architectural work over time involved architects and conservators who referenced styles seen in St. Stephen's Basilica and restoration principles applied after damages akin to those at Matthias Church during World War II. Exhibition spaces and reading rooms were adapted to modern standards while preserving historic fabric associated with Budapest's castle district and urban landmarks like the Chain Bridge.
The library provides legal deposit functions under Hungarian law, interlibrary loan services coordinated with institutions such as the Library of Congress, the National Library of Austria, and the Slovak National Library, reference services for scholars studying figures like Ferenc Liszt and Árpád Göncz, and specialized reading rooms for manuscripts, music, and maps. Public programs and exhibitions have featured items linked to Sándor Márai, Kálmán Mikszáth, and international themes tied to the European Union cultural agenda. Access requires registration protocols similar to national libraries including the British Library and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the library supports bibliographic services interoperable with international catalogues like WorldCat.
Governance structures reflect oversight by Hungarian cultural authorities and oversight comparable to boards at the National Széchényi Library counterpart institutions; administrators liaise with ministries and agencies including those analogous to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and international partners like the UNESCO. Departments manage acquisitions, conservation, cataloguing, and digital services, with specialists studying collections connected to scholars such as Endre Ady, Sándor Petőfi, János Arany, and coordinating with research centres and universities like Eötvös Loránd University and Central European University. The library participates in consortiums alongside the European Library and engages in projects similar to initiatives by the Council of Europe.
The institution hosts exhibitions, lectures, and symposia on topics involving personalities such as Ferenc Liszt, Béla Bartók, Imre Madách, and Miklós Radnóti, and curates displays tied to events like the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and anniversaries for figures such as Lajos Kossuth and Sándor Petőfi. Scholarly publishing has produced catalogues and monographs connecting to research on Hungarian literature, archives of composers like Zoltán Kodály, and studies comparable to those disseminated by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and university presses at Eötvös Loránd University.
Digitization initiatives have created digital surrogates of manuscripts, newspapers, and rare prints, interoperable with platforms akin to the Digital Public Library of America and contributing to the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Preservation projects address materials damaged during World War II and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, employing conservation techniques used at the Vatican Library and the British Library. Collaborative digital projects have linked the library with the Hungarian National Archives, the Budapest City Archives, and international partners including the European Union cultural networks.
Category:Libraries in Hungary