The establishment and short history of the library

1952 was a decisive year and a turning point in the history of librarianship in Hungary: No 2042/13/1952 decision of the council of ministers ordered the establishment of county libraries then. The County Library of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén was established by contracting the Miskolc regional library and the Miskolc city library. The new county library started to operate in the one-storey building of the ex-Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Borsod County in Szabadság tér 3 (now Erzsébet tér 3) on the 26th of October 1952.  The institution took the name "Ferenc Rákóczi II. Library" only in September 1956. The foundation of the county library began a new chapter in the librarianship of the county.

The stcok had been constantly increased and the responsibilities had been expanded. By the end of the 60s it became obvious that the building was too small for the stock, thus, a new and modern one was needed. János Derzsi made the desgin documentation in 1968. The construction work took place between 1969 and 1971. The two-storey concreet and glass construction was opened to the public in 11 Felszabadítók útja, (now Görgey Artúr út) in an ideal greenbelt near the city centre on the 28th of May 1972. János Derzsi von the Yble Pize for the desgin on 4th of April 1973. 

The library today can be found in a modern, four-storey building which is as large as  4800 m2. The warehouse, the bindery and the reprography can be found in the basement. The loan desk and the registration desk were placed in the ground floor in 2006. Furthermore, the ground floor houses the theatre and the Information Area where you can read journals and newspapers or you can use the Internet. The colakroom facilities are available here, too. We formed a lecture room in this floor in 2007 as well and also the offices of the staff can be found here.

There has been great changes in the life of the library during the past few years which can be seen in the location of the collections, too. The first floor houses the loanable stock parts, the Foreign Language Department, the Children's Department and the computer center of the library. On the open shelves you can browse among fiction and text books on the different fields of art, sports, linguistics and literature. Furthermore, you can find decisive journals of the fields mentioned. Video cassettes and talking books are available in the first floor, too.  

The second floor houses the Reading Room, the open-shelve books on natural and social sicences and two special collections, such as the Music Department and the Department of Local and Regional History. The building was desgined to house as many as half a million books and 15 thousand patrons. The stock of the library now exceeds 500 thousand items. 

As a public library, we collect the basic works of all the disciplines. Between 1978 and 1998 the institution as a deposit collection point acqiured a diverse and rich collection which has been constantly developed since then. The composition of the stock has changed a lot during the past decades.  Although the books form the backbone of the it today as well as before, we have large collections of  journals, weeklies and vinyls, too. Furthermore, the media collection has been constantly developed. 

The library has a significant stock of local and regional history-related materials including local newspapers, weeklies, journals, small prints and picture post cards. New collection parts, materials and services have been added to the library offerings during the last few years.  The Europe Collection, the Gateway UK Collection and the Collection of Minorities-Related Materials in the Foreign Language Department meet even the special needs of our patrons. Besides CD-ROM databases and materials for library use, web resources and full-text digital materials are available, too. 

 
The regional methodologycal work of the library has become more and more intensive during the past few years. We provide mobile library for 22 settlements in the Miskolc subregion and support Gönc and Abaújszántó in this work within a service-sharing contract. The events organinzed to strengthen the book and reading culture are well attended which indicates that our library plays an important role in the cultural life in the county of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and in the city of Miskolc. Our digitalization and publishing activites are far beyond the traditional library services.

There has been a significant increase in the number of patrons during the decades. Besides attending the library personally, they can use a constantly expanding range of on-line services, too. 14 to 15 thousand patrons register for the library a year, most of whom are university or college students and high school or primary school students, but also patrons of the retirement age group are present in an increasing number. 

This institution is the largest public settlement library in the county of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén. It plays a crucial role in providing information and materials in northern Hungary, in the county of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and in the city of Miskolc.  It also greatly contributes to the transfer of cultural heritage, to knowledge acqisition, to life long learning and to one's spending the spare time usefully. Mechanization of the work processes began in the middle of the 90s. As a result, all activities has been automated by now. Besides traditional library services, education, further education and cultural activities have an increasing emphasis and we hope for the development of a cultural workshop in the library, wihich will be able to contribute to improving the living conditions of the people living here. 

The modernized building, the constantly expanding range of services, the community features and the professional role becoming more and more intensive enhnce the institution's visibility and reputition, but they also mean a constant hard work and a continous pressure of development and renewal.