Since the middle of the 1960s Hungarian libraries have also been built with huge open spaces, and open shelves appeared and spread. New buildings (such as the Kaposvár and Tatabánya county libraries) were built with this idea in mind. Experts of the Centre for Library Science and Methodology, gathered around István Sallai, played an important role in the spreading of the public library model. The document formulating the guidelines for the development of public libraries was elaborated in 1968 giving further ideas to the onseting wave of library construction. The author illustrates the realisation of the new public library approach by means of a citation from the professional programme of the Szombathely county library inaugurated in 1970.