The Library

The Library assists the educational, training and research activities conducted at the University. Its basic activities are described in the Organizational and Operactional Regulations (SzMSz) which we have attached.

The Library as public library:
a) continually expands, develops, researches, restores and maintains its collection, making it available to library users;
b) provides information about the documents and services of the Library and the public
library system;
c) ensures that the collections of other libraries and services are available to our users;
d) participates in the exchange of information and documents between libraries;
e) assists the Seminary’s educational, training, research, study and cultural activities;
f) assists students in learning to use secondary literature and in acquiring the abilities
necessary for independent research;
g) ensures the support of educational and research work within the Seminary by providing secondary literature and information;
h) participates in the provision of secondary literature and information for Hebraic and Judaic studies at the national and international level.

To ensure the realization of the Library’s tasks, the Library
a) expands its collection through the purchase and exchange of volumes and through gifts;
b) processes and prepares its collection for its users;
c) makes the collection available to users through providing access to reading and
research rooms and modern reprographic equipment;
d) prepares specialized bibliographies within the range of its collection and provides
specialized information and documentation work in certain designated areas;
e) participates in students’ acquisition and development of library and information-providing skills, introduces students to the methodology and practice of library research in the framework of workshops;
f) cooperates with other (Hungarian and foreign) libraries and library systems in developing the collection, inter-library loans, exchange of publications and joint publications, etc.;
g) promotes the realization of cultural and professional extended training programs after ascertaining the cultural demands of the University’s students, professors and of personnel working in other areas by organizing exhibitions, lectures etc.
h) provides continual support for the research conducted at the University with information provision and other services;
i) regularly conducts surveys and reviews to determine the secondary literature needs of professors and researchers at the level of departmental libraries, analyzes and evaluates these and ascertains the applicable conclusions;
j) draws attention to the services provided by other libraries and information centers.

The Library is the center of the network of libraries operating within the Seminary. The departmental libraries (deposit libraries) of the University are a part of this network.
The Library conducts planned research in the areas of library science and informatics related to its range of activities and publishes the results of this research in the volumes of the JTSH Yearbooks. The Library provides a supplementary bibliographical service in the system of the Hungarian National Bibliography by discovering and making available doctoral dissertations accepted in the fields of Hebraic and Judaic studies and by collecting and supplementing the tools of information provision in these areas.

The Library takes part in the parent institution’s scholarly historical activities.

The Library’s range of collection:
(1) As follows from the sphere of activities defined earlier, the Library collects works of literature and professional literature published in the fields of Hebraic and Judaic studies both in Hungary and abroad, and works of social science relevant to the educational activities and research conducted at the University.
(2) The proportion of various fields of research in the whole of the collection is determined by the educational activities and research conducted at the parent institution and the needs arising from the library’s nature as reference library.
(3) The collection fields are described in detail in the Regulations of Collection Fields.

In sum, we can ascertain that the library is adequate to the university’s goals in education and research. The size of its collections and the composition of areas of collection is unique in the world and therefore open to a wide range of research. Especially noteworthy are the historically valuable Hebrew, German and English language materials. Since 1999 the library’s location and the informatics equipment can be said to be excellent. 60% of the library material has been damaged through the years, the university has therefore opened a restoration workshop to save them.

The departmental deposit libraries contain in part classical and in part new, contemporary materials which satisfy the demands of both students and professors.

The third small filial is the collection of videotapes (1500 tapes), audiotapes and records located in the Bálint Community House. New film releases are noted and films with Jewish and related topics are purchased for the collection.