48. évfolyam, 2002. 1–2. szám

Archívum

GÁBORJÁNI SZABÓ Botond

The group of libraries maintained by various churches consists of institutions with very different state and features from the professional point of view. Their aim is to provide the educational, scientific, and information base of a given region. Belonging to churches, they share one feature: their main collection interest is theology. For a long time the state of these libraries was characterised by an insecurity of financing, the overload of librarians, the lack of technical background, and in many cases the lack of operating conditions altogether. Their situation has improved after 1989, the political change, but they did not manage to overcome their problems inherited from the past. At present the lack of personnel, professionals, and financial resources causes the greatest difficulties. Legal conditions have changed for the better, but there was no breakthrough in the development of these libraries.

The Union of Church Libraries was formed to enhance cooperation and to overcome common difficulties. Their aim is to improve the marketability of church libraries which are public collections, while preserving the values of church institutions closed for the public. Organisational revival could be enhanced by the development of the network of ecclesiastical public collections, in the framework of which resource sharing could be an answer to the difficulties of document provision. The member institutions could develop into telematical and methodological centres, offering easy to use information bases for all church libraries. In order to protect collections belonging to church libraries, and to modernise services, these libraries require support and protection in the same way as do government institutions.

Országos Széchényi Könyvtár Észrevételek