Libraries through the lens


Library of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics THIS month’s Library through the


lens takes us to Hungary and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME). Founded in 1782 the BME was among the first institutions to offer university-level education to engineers. Thomas Guignard says: “There is debate around whether it is, in fact, the oldest, with its main competitor being another Hungarian institution, the university of Miskolc, itself the successor of the University of Mining and Metal- lurgy in Selmecbánya in today’s Slovakia.


March 2023


Regardless of who was there first, the foundation of such institutions was a sign of the growing importance of the formation of engineers at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. “A library wasn’t very high on the list of priorities of these early technical universi- ties, however, beyond the odd bookshelf in professor offices. Nor was a purpose-built location, and it’s only in 1882 that BME received a building worthy of its status, together with a library. That location, which today houses the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), was soon superseded with an


even larger and grander one on the banks of the Danube, which opened in 1909. “At the back of the complex, BME architecture professor Samu Pecz added a separate pavillion for the library. The Neogothic structure was organised in three wings radiating from a central hall. To the south was a series of offices and small reading rooms. The west wing held the collections, on iron-reinforced floors connected by a spiral stairway. Finally, the north wing was the grand reading room that is still in use today, as we can see from the image above.”


INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 7


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60