The object of the month – Coin cabinet

The ELTE Coin Cabinet was established by the Jesuits in Nagyszombat in 1753 and was originally located in the University Library, but today it is part of the Institute of Archaeological Sciences. The founder of the collection, Lieopold Fischer, not only donated numerous old coins to the collection, but also equipped it with three cabinets for their storage.

The largest is an inlaid, two-door cabinet (79 cm high, 65 cm wide, 50 cm deep) in Zopf style. It is made of pinewood covered with walnut veneer . The doors are decorated with inlayed elm and yew wood in an acanthus shape. The profiled edges are also made of walnut. In the larger, lower part of the cabinet, there are 11 veneered pinewood drawers specially designed for storing coins. A secret drawer has been hidden in the upper part of the curved profile, which is hidden behind the shield decorated with gilded acanthus.

Written by Lajos Juhász

In Christmas time 2023, Ildikó Balogh, the Public Services Department's Information Librarian, and Katalin Herendi, the Head of the General Secretariat, were awarded the Pro Bibliotheca Universitatis Certificate of Merit by the ELTE University Library and Archives, thanking them for their high quality and prestigious professional work.

Ildikó Balogh received the award for her high quality and conscientious professional work, for her outstanding role in the professional service and preservation of the University Library and Archives' museum collection. She has been working in the Public Services Department of the University Library and Archives since 2017, where she plays an important role in all work processes related to the museum collection, which is part of the national cultural heritage, in addition to her work in reader services. She is actively involved in the care and preservation of museum collections, in providing professional services for special collections materials and in answering questions from researchers. Provides useful assistance in the management of loans of artefacts and digital orders. Ildikó Balogh regularly organises old book presentations, which make a major contribution to the promotion and wider dissemination of our institution and our unique collection. Ildikó Balogh is a loyal employee of the ELTE University Library and Archives, who carries out her duties professionally, conscientiously and to a high standard.

Katalin Herendi's dedicated work – especially her activities in the planned and structured management, coordination and organization of the secretarial processes of the ELTE University Library and Archives, as well as the implementation of the selected strategic and grant projects – contributes significantly to the positive image and reputation of the ELTE University Library and Archives and our University. She has been carrying out her tasks with a high level of professionalism, conscientiousness and diligence. She is a loyal employee of the ELTE University Library and Archives, and regularly participates in the preparation and implementation of higher level decisions in order to maintain the reputation and prestige of the institution. She also makes great efforts to ensure the efficient functioning of the institution in the areas of management and administration, support for tendering activities, as well as salaries and human resources. The Library's financial management and data reporting is accurate and excellent. She is always active in the organisation, conduct and administration of management meetings, discussions, negotiations and workshops. Katalin Herendi can also be regularly counted on to manage relations and organisational matters between staff and departments. Her commitment to the library and to quality is reflected in her organised and efficient work.

The staff of the ELTE University Library and Archives wishes them every success and pleasure in their future endeavours!

The list of our honoured staff members is available here.

The ELTE University Library and Archives officially opened its new book vending machine to students on the 4th of December 2023 in the lobby of the Library Palace.

In his welcome speech, Dr. Péter Sziklai, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, welcomed the inauguration of the first ELTE book vending machine as another milestone in the development of the ELTE University Library and Archives. Modern technical innovations play an important role in the service, demonstrating openness to change and adaptation to technological advances. The new book check-out facility also demonstrates the University Library's commitment to the continuous expansion of its services to serve the university community.  

The Director General of the ELTE University Library and Archives, Dr. Kulcsár Szabó Ernőné Gombos Annamária, emphasized at the opening ceremony that the library's core values include openness to innovation and change in order to provide free access to information. In the last semester, with the support of the Student Union, the library’s opening hours were increased in the framework of a pilot project, which is now being maintained and extended to the end of the autumn semester and almost the entire examination period, from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 10 pm, and on Saturdays between 10 am and 10 pm.

The library aims to provide wider access by increasing the purchase of electronic literature, extending opening hours and providing automated solutions to enable students to access scientific textbooks more quickly and conveniently. The web application, the self-checkout machine, the free self-service scanning and printing all serve this purpose, including the new book acceptance machine that has just been officially inaugurated. These services are available from 7 a.m. on opening days.

The technical innovations introduced are meeting student demand, with last year's visitor numbers up 18% on the pre-pandemic peak year of 2019, and this year's numbers in the first 10 months of the year is already 22% higher than last year.

Listening to the needs of students is essential to improving library services, and the library will continue to strive to meet the needs of university citizens and readers. Thanking the ELTE Student Union for its cooperative support, the opening ceremony ended with the presentation of the book gifts hidden in the vending machines.

In the spring of 2023, the Presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences decided to set up a committee whose main task was to develop an action plan for science practicioners against questionable publication practices.

As a result of the Committee’s work, a report entitled Proposals for the Handling of Articles for Journals that Engage in Objectionable Practices has been produced and on 16th October published on the MTA website.

Among the proposals from the Committee are:

„Proposal 9: Publications that have been published in journals with objectionable practices should be flagged in the MTMT after they have been listed.

Proposal 10: It is recommended that articles published in journals flagged for questionable publication practices after flagging not be given a „scientific” classification; they would thus appear in the MTMT summary table and not be considered for the title of Doctor of Science, in the selection of academicians, for applications to MTA, or for prize nominations. We recommend that institutions involved in domestic scientific research and funding do likewise.”

The Committee supported the use of the journal classification of the Norwegian Register for the future identification of articles published in journals with dubious practices in non-Hungarian journals. Specifically, it is proposed that articles published in journals classified as „0” in the list should be ignored in the various classifications.

For publications and journals published in Hungarian and in Hungarian journals, the Committee did not support the use of the Norwegian list; here they encourage the use of the classification currently available in the MTMT, which is based on the recommendations of the scientific departments of MTA.

At the end of October 2023, the MTA created a special sub-page on the MTMT website (List of journals that engage in objectionable practices 2024), where authors can get information about the journals concerned. The list will be updated in January–February 2024 on the basis of published final evaluations, but only positive changes will be included.

For more information, please visit the MTA website and study the full report Proposals for the Handling of Articals for Journals that Engage in Objectionable Practices (pdf, Hungarian version).

The most famous publication of the first printing house in Hungary is the Chronica Hungarorum (Buda Chronicle), produced by András Hess for the eve of Pentecost on the 5th of June 1473, the original version preserved in our library is also notable for the fact that the edition never left the territory of historic Hungary.

For the 550th anniversary of the Buda Chronicle in 2023, we have created a virtual exhibition based on our chamber exposition, on display between June and September 2023.

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EBSCO has offered trial access to the SocINDEX with Full Text database, that is available on the EBSCOhost platform until the 31st of December 2023. The University has subscribed to the database for 2024, so access can be continuous until the 31st of December 2024. The database is also available by connecting to ELTE's internet network or by remote access with a VPN service.

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