50. évfolyam, 2004. 2. szám

Archívum

According to 2003 survey results, the number of Romani people living in Hungary is about 600.000. The vast majority of them are living in disadvantaged conditions, struggling with poverty as well as social and cultural exclusion.

National cultural policies, including the strategic objectives of the library system, have a special focus on the support of social groups at disadvantage. It was in this context that two researchers of the Hungarian Library Institute carried out a study in autumn 2003 in order to ascertain the initiatives going on at public libraries that specifically serve the Romani population. The limited financial resources only made it possible to study a few county libraries and share the good practices with others.

As a first step, letters were sent to the directors of the 19 county libraries and to the director of the Metropolitan Ervin Szabó Library in Budapest, asking them to provide information on any library programmes or services specifically targeting Romani users. No response was received from 11 libraries, however, reports on ongoing successful activities were sent by 3 libraries. The rest of the answers reported on various special projects that were launched but stopped afterwards, for one reason or another.

The article contains selected reports from the county libraries in Debrecen, Szekszárd, Nyíregyháza, Miskolc, Salgótarján, and from reports by branch libraries of the Metropolitan Ervin Szabó Library, as well as interviews held at various locations. The reports by libraries are followed by three case studies of local initiatives aiming at the cultural inclusion of Romani people: one of them in Ózd, one-time socialist industrial centre, another one in Nagykanizsa, and the third one in Uszka, a small village in Szatmár county.

Already this preparatory phase of the study revealed the complexity of the situation. The authors aimed to select and present the exemplary practices that can be adopted and further developed by others. The study reconfirms the fundamental role of nursery schools, primary schools, churches and cultural institutions – with a special emphasis on the library network – in helping overcome cultural and social disadvantages. All these types of institutions, with the support of the printed and electronic media, need to join their competences in order to reduce prejudice and to deal with the problems in their complexities. Spreading good practices is an important part of this work.

Országos Széchényi Könyvtár Észrevételek