The University Library and Archives of Széchenyi István University is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and a conference entitled "Digital Transformation in Public Collections" was organised to mark the occasion. At the opening ceremony of the professional day, the University's management and the national higher education library and archives associations gave recognition to the celebrating institution.

The history of the University Library and Archives of Széchenyi István University began in 1974 and today it is a key and in many respects exemplary player in Hungarian higher education. On the anniversary, a conference on digitisation of public collections was held to celebrate the achievements of the institution over the past 50 years and to salute its staff.

The conference entitled "Digital Transformation in Public Collections" was held on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the University Library and Archives of Széchenyi István University, with considerable interest (Photo: András Adorján)

Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice-President for International Affairs and Strategic Relations of Széchenyi István University, reflected on the key milestones of the University library's fifty-year journey. She highlighted several pivotal moments, such as the library's 1977 move from the former Káldy Villa to the main administrative building, its designation as a university library in 2002, and its relocation to the modern Inno-Share Building in 2011. She also mentioned the creation of the university library network in 2016, which brought together libraries from multiple faculties, including the Deák Ferenc Faculty of Law, and noted the complete renovation of the Faculty of Law library in 2023. Dr Lukács also acknowledged the establishment of the archives department in 2020, which manages not only the University’s archives but also important contemporary historical documents and image collections relevant to the city and region. 

"In addition to the classic basic services, our library is also a great help to our institution in raising the level of our training, research and development and third mission activities. It also provides support to students, teachers and researchers in the field of research in support of the University's strategic objectives. To this end, it provides training in research methodology and library and database use in English and Hungarian. Thanks to this and its data collection activities, Széchenyi University has been ranked highly by two of the most prestigious higher education rating organisations, Quacquarelli Symonds and Times Higher Education on seven separate rankings, including those for subject rankings, sustainability, European and World Rankings,” said Dr Lukács. She stressed that the 50-year-old institution plays an important role in communicating values, as it also draws attention to the most important attitudes of the present day, such as environmental awareness, sustainability, social responsibility and equal opportunities.

The winner of the photo competition commemorating the anniversary was Martina Irmes – “Viewpoints”

József Marton, President of the College of University Library Directors, also praised the work of the jubilee institution in Győr. He said that the keywords of the past years have been cooperation, quality and process management, digitalisation and artificial intelligence. He noted that the library of Széchenyi University is a pioneer in all of these areas, and a large number of its staff members are active in major national organisations, supporting the development of the profession at national level. He pointed out that the Director of the University Library and Archives, Csilla Tóth, also plays a leading role in the College of University Library Directors. Regarding quality management, she highlighted that the Győr institution has twice been awarded the "Qualified Library" title, which reflects the excellence of its work. She added that the organisation is also outstanding in the application of modern technologies. "Their activities go far beyond the traditional concept of library and archival operations, as they function as an information hub and a true community space. They place significant emphasis on community building and effectively communicating their achievements, setting an example for the profession," she remarked.

Tamás Vajda, President of the Hungarian Higher Education Archival Association, spoke highly of the activities of the archives department in his speech: "The Széchenyi University Archives is a useful and strong member of the association, and the Head of the Archives, Péter Homor, is doing important work as secretary of the Association. In the last four years, the institution has hosted several nationally significant programmes, the Association held its 2021 travelling meeting in Győr and several meetings of its board of directors. The University Archives also plays an important role in a number of collaborative projects concerning the digitisation of documents," he underlined.

Csilla Tóth, Director of the University Library and Archives, stressed that they are continuing the work of their predecessors and supporting the goals of the institution (Photo: András Adorján)

The Director, Csilla Tóth, thanked the University's management and colleagues for their support and work that has made the success of the past years possible. "I also thank our predecessors who laid the foundations for our present achievements. They have created values that are still a reference point for us. We will strive to continue to contribute effectively to the development of Széchenyi University in the future," she concluded.