ASSOCIATION OF HUNGARIAN LIBRARIANS
(MAGYAR KÖNYVTÁROSOK EGYESÜLETE)

 

images/bogyo.gif (880 bytes)Information for members, newcomers and those who interested in joining us
Organisational structure - organisations
Events
 

 

Information for members, newcomers and those who interested in joining us

General data

The Association of Hungarian Librarians (AHL) is a non-governmental, public utility organisation for Hungarian librarianship.

Year of foundation: 1935.

 

Budavári Palota F Building

Mailing address: H-1827 Budapest
Phone/Fax: (36-1) 311-8634
Email: mke@oszk.hu

Homepage: http://www.mke.oszk.hu

 

 

Historical overview

 

·        June 26, 1935 – statutory assembly of the Association of Hungarian Librarians and Archivists at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, at the initiative of the Minister of Culture and Religion, Bálint Hóman

·        1938 – the Association joins IFLA and becomes a member of FID

·        1960 – expansion in the country begins

·        November 15, 1965 – the Ministry of Culture registers the Association of Hungarian Librarians

·        1969 – first annual conference at Tata (since then annual conferences have continued as the most popular meetings of the profession)

·        1972 – the 38th IFLA general conference in Budapest with over 1000 participants

 

The Association of Hungarian Librarians takes pride in the traditions of Hungarian librarianship, and looks with respect upon the great librarian predecessors: József Szinnyei, Zoltán Ferenczi, József Fitz, Ervin Szabó, Béla Kőhalmi, Pál Gulyás, Béla Varjas, Ákos Domanovszky, Máté Kovács, Csaba Csapodi, Géza Sebestyén, István Sallai, János Szentmihályi, Géza Fülöp and others.

 

Membership

The number of individual members in the Association is approximately 2000, and the number of institutional members exceeds 60.

 

International relations

 

·        membership of IFLA

·        associated member of EBLIDA

·        close relationship with Hungarian librarians living in the neighbouring countries, and with the library associations of European countries.

 

Objectives and tasks

·        to act with responsibility to preserve the intellectual heritage;

·        to strengthen the role of libraries and librarians in society;

·        to guarantee unlimited and equal access to information;

·        to co-operate in enlarging and sharing information resources, to strengthen professional relations;

·        to support the creation of a harmony between library infrastructure and modern services;

·        to raise the library profession onto the highest professional and moral niveau, to protect professional interests;

·        to take a professional stand in determining the strategic directions of Hungarian librarianship, in formulating its vision.

 

 

Vision

  • libraries are staffed by professionals with up-to-date knowledge and adequate competencies.
  • modern libraries are organisations ready to provide quality services which reply to questions in all stages and fields of human life.
  • libraries are able to reduce the differences in chances through its democratic information services.
  • libraries are culture-mediating institutions ready for renewal which improve the quality of life using most modern technology.
  • libraries are places of work, life-long learning, culture, entertainment and information acquisition.

 

 

Main activities

·        participation in preparing decisions relating to legislation, administrational society;

·        participation in developing library education and extension training;

·        building relations with professional and other organisations in Hungary and abroad;

·        co-ordination of the relationship between libraries and librarians working in similar fields, in the same region, in communities and over the Hungarian borders;

·        organisation of professional fora to get acquainted with modern theory and practice, to promote a higher standard of professional work;

·        organisation of consultations, exchanges of experience, extension training events, conferences, lectures, study tours;

·        supporting the activities of specialised professional cooperatives;

·        organisation of annual conferences on the current issues of professional policy;

·        presentation of the events and achievements of the profession;

·        taking a stand in issues of professional ethics.

 

 

Awards, prizes

 

  • memorial medal "For the Association of Hungarian Librarians";
  • "Young librarian of the year" prize;
  • memorial medal in the honour of István Füzéki (for outstanding professional achievement);
  • Fitz József book prize (for the most successful books);
  • proposals for decorations awarded by the state and local authorities.

 

Organisational structure - organisations

Officers (term: 2007-2011)

 

 

The Association of Hungarian Librarians is subdivided into regional and specialised branches

 

Regional branches

  • Bács-Kiskun County Branch
  • Békés County Branch
  • Borsod County Branch
  • Fejér County Branch
  • Hajdú-Bihar County Branch
  • Heves County Branch
  • Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County Branch
  • Komárom-Esztergom County Branch
  • Nógrád County Branch
  • Pécs-Baranya County Branch
  • Pest County Branch
  • Somogy County Branch
  • Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Branch
  • Tolna County Branch
  • Vas County Branch
  • Veszprém County Branch
  • Zala County Branch
  • Zemplén County Branch

 

Specialised branches

 

  • Section of Bibliography
  • Section of Advanced Information Technologies and Society
  • Section of Children's Librarians
  • Section of Local History Librarians
  • Section of Public Libraries
  • Section of Agricultural Librarians
  • Section of Museum Librarians
  • Section of Sci-Tech Librarians
  • Section of Reader Services Librarians
  • Section of Social Science Librarians
  • Section of Music Librarians

 

Partner library associations

 

  • Association of Librarians in Csongrád County
  • Association of Librarians and Libraries in Kisalföld
  • Association of Teacher-Librarians

 

 

Events

 

Annual conferences

 

·        an opportunity to discuss current and comprehensive professional issues;

·        to get acquainted with novelties in the profession;

·        to build professional relations.

Recent annual conferences:

·        1995. Eger: The library and its owner. Questions of library maintenance

·        1996. Debrecen: Library-communication-society

·        1997. Kecskemét: Services, fees, sponsoring

·        1998. Salgótarján: Co-operation of libraries to serve the information society

·        1999. Pápa: The author, the publisher, the bookseller and the library. Tradition and modernity

·        2000. Esztergom: Our National Traditions and the modern service-based libraries

·        2001. Nyíregyháza: School in the Libraries and Library in the schools

·        2002. Budapest: The Nation and its Library

·        2003. Nagykanizsa: Library - a Gateway to World

·        2004. Miskolc: Library – chance for the future

·        2005. Gödöllő: Profession: librarian

·        2006. Kecskemét: The citizen in the center. Libraries as community service providers

·        2007. Szeged: Digital library. Resource possibilities of the New Hungary Development Plan

·        2008. Szombathely: The eternal renaissance of the libraries