50. évfolyam, 2004. 4. szám

Archívum

The work investigates the acquisition of German language books at the Eötvös Loránd University Library, the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and at the National Széchényi Library during the 20th century. In the beginning of the 20th century, a significant proportion of the population of Budapest spoke German language as a mother tongue. Thus the publishing of German language books and journals was important as well. But the number of German speakers exceeded the number of the German population. Citizens of Budapest who had German origins preferred to go to the Eötvös Loránd University Library that was purchasing the highest number of foreign books among Hungarian libraries. The acquisitions of the Library of the Academy of Sciences were ensured mainly from exchanges with other libraries, due to its narrower acquisition budget. The acquisition of German language literature depended also on the actual political situation. The author analysed the inventories, catalogues and acquisition lists of these three libraries. The investigation shows that it was the National Library that purchased the lowest number of German language books. Regarding scholarly literature in German language, it was the Library of the Academy of Sciences that excelled. However, the current availability of a title in the library’s collection does not entirely prove that it was purchased as a new edition. The data need to be analysed from other perspectives too, and the second part of the study will concentrate on these factors.

Országos Széchényi Könyvtár Észrevételek