STUDIES
Local history in a changing environment. Activities of the 100-year-old Budapest Collection
SÁNDOR Tibor
The Budapest Collection of the Metropolitan Szabó Ervin Library (FSZEK) celebrated its centenary in 2014. On this occasion, the author summarizes recent developments and future plans. The changes in the user environment have had a considerable impact on the collection’s operation: as a result of an increasing interest in themes of local relevance, several online special interest groups and civil initiatives undertaking community action were created. Therefore, local history collections should transform their traditional services as required by the new, net-literate audience. In the Budapest Collection this adaptation had the following phases: bibliographic databases were modernized, the digital image archive of city history was updated; the capital‘s address directory and the collections of clippings and old photographs were digitized, and the materials were widely shared through various interfaces. The author also discusses the variety of events, exhibitions and trainings that rely on the Budapest Collection. He expects that in the period of 2014 to 2020 local history collections will continue to focus on digitization and will take part in archiving digital materials.
Keywords: Digitization, Local history, Budapest City Library, Budapest Collection
Electronic access to doctoral dissertations in Hungary
ÁCS József
The author reviews Hungarian legal regulations to provide access to doctoral dissertations in the digital era, and discusses the relevance of libraries in this respect. In 2001, the first regulation was issued to provide electronic access to dissertations (Government Decree 5/2001. IV. 3.), stipulating that the respective university libraries are responsible for cataloguing dissertations and retaining one copy, but did not yet specify whether in a printed or electronic format. The Government Decree 3/2007. (III. 7) referred the task of providing public access to dissertations to universities. The Decision of the National Doctoral Council in 2008 also relies on libraries in making dissertations accessible online. The current regulation is included in the Act on Higher Education (CCIV., 2011) and its amendments; this act makes it a priority task of university libraries to provide research information as online services. The Hungarian National Scientific Bibliography Database (MTMT), a joint initiative of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and research libraries, makes accessible the texts of dissertations archived in university repositories, based on DOI identifiers.
Keywords: Dissertations, Online access, Legal regulations, University libraries
Digital citizens, their habits of Internet use and information management
HABÓK Lilla
The research, similar to international studies on digital citizenship,carried out in 2013 by the Information Society Education and Research Group at the ELTE Faculty of Education and Psychology investigated the digital competences of students, teachers, and other adults (i.e., non-teachers). The article covers the competences of digital communication and the tools typically used by the “other adults” category, as well as their habits of using tools to manage information. The respondents use the Internet every day, and would like to increase their relevant knowledge. They do not use the Internet extensively for learning, and do not visit book-related social sites on a daily basis. Although they use e-commerce and e-government applications, these are not particularly popular with them. They are aware of the possibilities to manage information, but mostly prefer using fewer and well-tried methods.
Keywords: Digital competences, Information literacy, Survey
WORKSHOP
Bibliotherapy for women
BÉRES Judit – CSORBA-SIMON Eszter
The article presents bibliotherapy group sessions held at the county library, in a jail and a mothers’ group home in Pécs. It provides a comprehensive picture about the potentials of bibliotherapy for women, offers methods and texts for those who wish to use reading as a therapy with female target groups. The most important therapeutic goal of these sessions was to strengthen the individuals and support their self-development by means of reading materials on women’s issues.
Keywords: Bibliotherapy, Disadvantaged groups, Public libraries, Women
Talents, music, reading. Reflections on a conference
NAGY Attila
On April 11, 2015, the Hungarian Reading Association (www.hunra.hu) organised a conference on the theoretical and practical aspects of talent management, in co-operation with the Faculty and Doctoral School of Adult Education of the Debrecen University, and the Debrecen School of Music. At the plenary session papers were read by famous specialists: László Balogh (Critical points of talent management), Emőke Bagdy (Unfolding talent), Márta Fülöp (Threat or challenge?). Speakers included Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences József Hámori and Pianist Mihály Duffek. The conference continued in four sections where 34 papers were read on major issues of theory and practice.
Keywords: Talent management, Conference
FROM OUR PAST
Events of World War I in contemporary Hungarian library journals
POGÁNYNÉ RÓZSA Gabriella
The study describes, through a mosaic-like analysis, how current library journals (Magyar Könyvszemle = Hungarian Book Review, Múzeumi és Könyvtári Értesítő = Museum and Library Bulletin, Könyvtári Szemle = Library Review) covered the events of World War I and the operation of libraries and book culture in times of war. These journals were published in the lean times as well, although with thinner, double issues. Their mission remained unchanged, and they discussed professional issues, while war appeared among their themes, such as information about endangered library collections in Hungary and abroad; lists of enlisted, captured, or killed librarians; descriptions of special collections documenting the years of the war; the provision of reading materials to soldiers, the injured, those in hospitals, and prisoners of war, etc.
Keywords: Library journals, Themes, History
About the roots of the certification exam for librarians in Hungary – at the 140-year jubilee
KISZL Péter
Before 1945 there was no regular training for librarians in Hungary, only some large libraries and the association of librarians and archivists organized ad hoc courses. Training at the university included library subjects (taught by private lecturers), but the library profession did not have a library school at any university. It was only a narrow circle of librarians who had the opportunity to acquire professional knowledge. The first qualifying exam for librarians took place in 1874, in the predecessor of ELTE University Library. Using archival sources, the study describes this pioneering event, presents the candidates, and the examination process.
Keywords: LIS education, Hungarian library history
BOOK REVIEWS
A librarian‘s (auto)biography
RÓZSA György – RÓZSA Dávid: Legvégül a tópart. (Ön)életrajz két kézre. Budapest, MTA KIK, KSH Könyvtár, 2015.
(Reviewed by Lajos Murányi)
Keywords: Biography, Review
Books to cure what ails you
BERTHOUD, Ella – ELDERKIN Susan: The novel cure. From abandonment to zestlessness. 751 books to cure what ails you. New York, Penguin, 2013.
(Reviewed by Judit Hajnal Ward)
Keywords: Bibliotherapy, Review
A guide to project management in libraries
ESZENYINÉ BORBÉLY Mária: Projektmenedzsment a könyvtárban. Debrecen, University Press, 2014.
(Reviewed by Éva Bartos)
(Full-text http://www.inf.unideb.hu/~borbelym/Kony v_vegleges.pdf)
Keywords: Project management, Review
FROM LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE JOURNALS
(Abstracts)