47. évfolyam, 2001. 3. szám

Archívum

Könyvtári Figyelő (Library Review) New Series 11. (Vol. 47.) 2001. No. 3. pp.  469 – 480.

In Fejér County the beginnings of library culture date back to the 19th century. Small library collections had developed well and permanently until World War 2., when most of them were destroyed. They started to grow again in the 1950s due to a decree of the Minster of Culture that facilitated the introduction of a system of library districts following foreign examples. District libraries functioned as central providing libraries within a geographical-economic district, and had a huge collection. It was the task of the central library to provide deposit libraries (so-called people's libraries), just being formed, with books. The advantage of this solution was that with the centralisation of book provision, the continuous change of the deposit meant for borrowing was ensured. The Székesfehérvár District Library was opened in 1952 in Fejér County, that served 122 people's libraries (deposits). The collections of deposits were kept in closed book shelves, and they did not count more than 150-500 volumes most of which were classical Hungarian prose, realist novels and Soviet technical literature. The primary aim of the establishment of people's libraries was the „ideological development” of people. People's libraries of the county were established in a variety of places (e.g. in stations, agricultural plants, and there was even a prison library). After the ceasing of district libraries, the county library had to supervise people's libraries. As a consequence of the development, a people's library had been working in all the major villages of the county by 1953, that grew into the public libraries of today, surviving ideological dictatorship.

Országos Széchényi Könyvtár Észrevételek