On the occasion of the „Cultural Connection Day” on the 10th of April 2024, the ELTE University Library and the Book of Your Life (BoYL) project jointly presented their services at the Lágymányos Campus. 

Hungarian and international students participated in the university event in the Gömb Aula to develop deeper cultural and academic ties. The event aims to celebrate diversity, foster cultural understanding and strengthen the international student base. At the ELTE University Library and Archives stand, visitors could learn about the library's range of facilities and services, take a fun library quiz and create a personalised badge from the wonderful paper materials produced by the University Library's restoration workshop. As part of the BoYL project, students shared ideas about the functions and programmes of the University Library's new student community space.

The latest volume in our series of publications on the history of higher education, Eszter Hadobás – László Szögi: The students of the institutions of higher education in Eger II. 1850–1918, has been published.

The publication is a continuation of the volume entitled Adrien Kmety – László Szögi: Students of the Higher Education Institutions of Eger 1713-1852, published in 2021. The volume contains data on a total of 3011 students, who attended the Eger Archbishop’s Academy of Law or the Eger Archbishop’s Seminary between 1850 and 1918.

Elsevier Publishing is providing Scopus subscribers with trial access to its Funding Institutional database until the end of April 2024. The database can be accessed by connecting to ELTE's internet network either directly on the campus or remotely using a VPN service.

Funding Institutional is a funding database that contains more than 40,000 active and recurring funding opportunities, 8 million awarded grants from more than 15,000 funders worldwide, including Hungarian funding organizations. The platform supports researchers and research institutes worldwide in finding financial resources (research project grants, scholarships, or other financial support) and optimizing design workflows.

The Publisher welcomes all interested parties to the Hungarian-language webinar Research financing using the Funding Institutional database, where it presents the use and possibilities of the Funding Institutional database.

Date of the webinar: April 16, 2024 (Tuesday) 10:00 AM

Register       

LWW is Wolters Kluwer's health journal database. The Publisher has opened its database, LWW Total Access Collection 2024 version w-Neurology 2015-present until the 26th of April 2024.

The database can be accessed via login to ELTE's internet network and is available at the following link: connection to LWW . The database can be accessed remotely using the VPN service.

At the first quarterly report of the K21 Quality Coordination Committee 2024, the leaders of the working groups reported on the results of the past quarter, ongoing work and changes.

All working groups have prepared their 2023 reports by the deadline. The annual report of the K21 Quality Management Coordination Committee was approved by the Library Board. The Quality Officers have prepared the Quality Improvement Reports for the member libraries, the documents of the closed Non-Compliant Services have been uploaded to the Teams platform. The preparation of the Quality Improvement Report of the University Library Service (ULS) is in progress.

The Primary Research Working Group has completed an analysis of the 2023 Student Needs and Satisfaction Survey data, which has been approved by the Library Directors, and after briefing the Library Board, the document has been uploaded to EDIT and is available on our website. The Process Management Working Group is in the process of reviewing and amending the Processes chapter of the Quality Handbook.

The Communication Working Group provided information on the tasks and achievements of the K21 Quality Coordination Committee through our website, newsletter and short film entitled „3 months – 3 minutes”, and contributed to the success of the preparation and administration of the K21 reporting days meetings. The Green Library Working Group has started a review of the environmental awareness survey.

The library directors held five meetings in the first quarter, during which they discussed, among other things, the initial steps of the thesis digitisation project and other current tasks. The 2023 reports, dissemination, this year's work plans and enrolment lists of the member libraries were prepared. The reports and work plans of the Coordinating Committees and the University Library Service, the 2023 Student Needs and Satisfaction Survey report for the library, and the modifications to the Performance Rating Scale based on the recommendations of an ad hoc working group were approved. The University Library Service strategy workshop is scheduled for the end of the spring semester.

An update on the achievements of the K21 Quality Coordination Committee and our new developments will be posted on our website soon.

Following the kick-off meeting of our Book of Your Life library project, a series of furniture refurbishment workshops entitled „UNICycle upcycling” was launched for the planned community space of our library.

In order to promote intercultural dialogue and the integration of international students, the Book of Your Life (BoYL) project was launched at the beginning of March, and at the first meeting of the project, the Director General of the ELTE University Library and Archives, Dr. Kulcsár Szabó Ernőné Gombos Annamária, in her welcoming speech, emphasised that the event was another milestone in the service of the university, national and international students.

Through thought-provoking presentations and collective reflection, ELTE’s international student ambassadors raised inspiring ideas on how to create community space and promote intercultural dialogue, highlighting that artistic and cultural activities, sharing reading experiences, and programmes that stimulate creativity can be a real bridge between national and international students.

Inspired by these suggestions, a campaign on ELTE's social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram) will seek students' favourite books, with the aim of acquiring those that are part of our collection and available.

In the spirit of the green library and sustainability, students are invited to a series of furniture refurbishment workshops in our library, entitled UNICycle upcycling. On the 26th of March 2024, for the first time, we will be painting scrapped university furniture, chairs and tables, and on the 11th of April 2024, Hungarian Poetry Day, we will be breathing new life into the objects with colour and soul.

More details and current events about the project can be found at https://www.elte.hu/boyl and on our Facebook page. Everyone is welcome!

Elsevier Publishing provides trial access to its new product, Scopus AI, until the 4th of April 2024. The service is available from the university premises after logging into ELTE's internet network directly, or remotely via VPN.

Scopus AI is an intuitive and intelligent search tool based on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) that helps you navigate the vast amount of information available in Scopus. It allows us to find articles using a natural language query, as well as prepares easy-to-understand summaries of research results. It provides assistance in mapping new research areas and finding opportunities for interdisciplinary cooperation.

More information about Scopus AI can be found in the attached flyer and the following link:

https://www.elsevier.com/products/scopus/scopus-ai

Elsevier Publishers welcomes your experiences and comments regarding the use of Scopus AI.

Oxford University Press offered trial access to its product, Oxford English Dictionary (OED) until end of May. The service is available at ELTE after logging into the university's Internet network or remotely via VPN.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and usage of 500,000 words and phrases past and present, from across the English-speaking world.

As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from dictionaries of current English, in which the focus is on present-day meanings. You will still find present-day meanings in the OED, but you will also find the history of individual words, sometimes from as far back as the 11th century, and of the language – traced through 3.5 million quotations, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts, song lyrics, and social media posts.

In the framework of our book adoption programme, our restorer and old book librarian offered our adopter a detailed presentation of the supported book.

Georgina Sofia Lazaridisz adopted the book Amores Josephini ... (The Love of Saint Joseph...) by Gábor Hevenesi on behalf of Healthwhatelse Ltd. The ceremonial presentation of the certificate and the book launch took place on Joseph's Day.

Gábor Hevenesi (1656–1715) was a Jesuit theologian and historian, and the provincial of the Hungarian Jesuit Province. First he taught in Trnava, then in Vienna and Graz. He was the counsellor of Leopold Kollonich, archbishop of Esztergom. At the archbishop's request Hevenesi launched the collection of historical documents pertaining to Hungary. The material gathered during this enterprise fills 91 manuscript volumes preserved today in the University Library and Archives.

Hevenesi was a prolific author: he published more than 30 books. His book titled Amores Josephini was published in 1692 in Vienna at the Leopold Voigt’s University Press that published a great number of Hungarian documents. Although the strengthening of the cult of St. Joseph in the West had started already in the high Middle Ages, the real heyday of the production of writings and meditative treatises on him took place in the 16th and 17th centuries. Emperor Leopold (r. 1657–1705) offered the Habsburg realms to the patronage of St. Joseph and named his son after him. According to Hevenesi, who relied on earlier literary tradition, the saint was born without pain by his mother and took a vow of chastity as a mature man. Joseph is represented in this work as the head of the Holy Family and a caring father, who lays his son to sleep and feeds the baby Jesus, later teaches him to read and write, as well as carpentry. After his death, Joseph could occupy his place next to his spouse before Christ.

We would like to thank our book-adoptor for saving this book.

For detailed information about our book adoption programme, please visit our website. Adopt a book yourself! Our list of books for adoption is available here.

Our adopted book:

RMK III 557/2
 

Amores Josephini, sive divorum amabilissimi, divini amoris nutritii, Mariae sponsi, ditionum Austriacae domui subditarum patroni tutelaris, Josephi vita, fovendis piorum cordium amoribus ab ejusdem honori addictissimo academico, e caesareo Societatis Jesu Collegio Viennensi iconibus, et affectibus illustrata, anno MDCXCII Viennae Austriae [Wien]: typis Leopoldi Voigt, Universitatis Typographi, [1692]

Object of the month – Theodor von Sickel commemorative medal

In the 245-piece numismatic collection of the ELTE University Library and Archives – University History Collection, we keep many commemorative medals and plaques. Mainly objects made in the 20th century were collected, but we also have 18 commemorative medals from the 1800s.

Based on their nature and provenance research, these could be gifts from partner institutions’ and important people's anniversaries or other events. For example, the historian Sándor Szilágyi (1827–1899), the former director of the University Library, received some medals as a gift, and after his death he left them to our institution in his will. Among these, we chose the decorative Theodor von Sickel commemorative medal as the object of the month.

The bronze commemorative medal was made in Vienna in 1887 and was designed by the Austrian Anton Scharff (1845–1903). The medal image on the obverse depicts a bust of a man with a beard and mustache facing right, as well as a coat of arms on the lower right side. On the left side of the image, the master mark is visible, the rim is decorated with a string of pearl motif. Inscription: „THEODORO EQITI AB SICKEL”; in the inner circle: „PROF. P. XXX ANNOS VINDOBONENSI”.

The reverse of the medal depicts a seated female figure holding a tablet and writing implements, surrounded by three young boys holding instruments symbolizing the sciences. In the background, the facade of the main building of the University of Vienna, handed over in 1884, can be seen. The rim is decorated with a string of pearl motif. Circumscription in Latin: „RERUM GESTARUM INVESTIGATORI SUBTILISSIMO”.

The inscription below the medal image: „AMICI ET DISCIPULI / VENERABUNDI / MDCCCLXXXVII”.

Theodor von Sickel (1826–1908) was a historian researching the Middle Ages, and a significant representative of diploma studies. In 1867, he received his appointment at the University of Vienna, and the commemorative medal was created for the 30th anniversary of his professorship.