Main collection
The library collects and disseminates literature on the subjects taught and researched at the ELTE Savaria University Centre. Of the more than 200,000 volumes in its collection, 30,000 are devoted to foreign language courses.
The library is also the region's largest library for pedagogical subjects, supporting not only traditional teacher training disciplines, but also engineering and economics.
The book collection is complemented by a media collection of 10,000 items and a collection of more than 13,000 bound journals.
Special collections
REGIONAL ENGLISH TEACHER INFORMATION CENTRE AND LIBRARY
The English Teacher Training Centre and Library, established by the former Berzsenyi Dániel College, the Vas County Pedagogical Institute and the British Council, has been operating in Szombathely since 1 February 1994 in order to promote the effective teaching and learning of English.
In 2008, it was renamed the Regional English Teacher Information Centre and Library of the University of West Hungary.
Today, the British Council's collection of over 4,400 volumes of books, journals, video and audio tapes is housed in the library's foreign language collection, distinguished by another color strip.
GÁBOR DEVECSERI LIBRARY
Gábor Devecseri and his wife, Klára Huszár, spent their summers in Szombathely in the 1960s and early 1970s as creative artists of Iseum theater plays. They were key figures in the city's cultural life, initially by staging the works of Plautus and then Mozart.
According to the deed of foundation dated March 1982, Klára Devecseriné Huszár wished to bequeath her husband's library legacy to a Hungarian higher education institution where teachers of Hungarian language and literature are also trained, and undertook to process and maintain the legacy while preserving the collection in its original form.The library was located in the "B" building of the College (now ELTE Savaria University Campus) in the Council Room.
In 1992, edited by Katalin Tóthné Király, the volume catalog of Gábor Devecseri's Library was published, which lists the volumes in the order of the collection's storage, refers to the marginal notes, and also contains the full text of the various dedications. In the catalog, there is an index of personal and place names, an index of publishers and printers, an index of copies dedicated to Gábor Devecseri and Klára Huszár, and an index of possessors. In the introduction to the catalogue, Klára Huszár wrote of her husband's library: 'it is not a scholarly collection, nor the legacy of a book collector, but that of a passionate reader and a writer-translator intoxicated by the " love of work ", whose working tools and delightful relatives are these volumes.'
The collection includes specialist and fiction literature from the ancient world and from the Middle Ages to the present day, with a special focus on the poet's work as a literary translator.
The 3 842 volumes of the Gábor Devecseri special collection are available on request at the library for local use.
EUROPEAN DOCUMENTATION CENTRE
The European Documentation Center has been operating since 1997 as a background institution for integration training and scientific research within the framework of the university. This main task is complemented by the information needs of the general public, as the European Documentation Centre deals with EU issues of public concern at local and regional level, and cooperates with other EU or local information networks and contact points.
In most cases, the European Documentation Centres are located in university libraries, library staff help teachers and students navigate the information content.
LÁSZLÓ HADROVICS COLLECTION
In 1996, the Dániel Berzsenyi College was enriched with an unparalleled collection of books: academician László Hadrovics donated his entire collection of textbooks and journals to the Department of Slavic Philology.
The collection includes numerous scientific books, dictionaries (e.g. the 23-volume Croatian Academy Dictionary), journals and periodicals dealing with Slavistics, German Studies, Romance Studies and general linguistics.
The library was inaugurated on 7 May 1997 with over 1900 volumes.
The collection is for local use only.
THESIS COLLECTION
The largest and oldest collection. It contains theses defended at the institution and its predecessors from the beginning to the present day. The collection first included the theses of students who graduated in lower school teaching in 1962, and later in public education and upper school teaching. The collection comprises 14452 units, the vast majority of which are stored in an external repository.
Printed and electronic theses are available for use in the library by registered readers within the legal framework in force.
The part of the theses located in Building D is available from an external storage room only on request.
The collection is searchable in traditional catalogues before 1990 and in the online catalogue since 1990.
AUSTRIAN LIBRARY
The Austrian Library in Szombathely was opened on 4 May 1992 by Alois Mock, then Austrian Foreign Minister, as a gift from the Republic of Austria. From 2019, it will be available on the 2nd floor of the library.
The collection of the Austrian Library of Szombathely is open for loan and is open to students, teachers, researchers and citizens of the city.
The collection consists of more than 6,000 books, about 20 periodicals, numerous video and audio tapes, CD/CD-ROM/DVD. The development of the collection is financed by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The library also organises various events (readings, lectures, concerts, film screenings, exhibitions, workshops, conferences) in cooperation with the Austrian Cultural Forum.
PEDAGOGICAL COLLECTION
The special collection was established in the 1960s, originally intended to collect educational literature (documents relating to popular schools, civil schools and teacher training) published between 1868 and 1948. The collection was previously mainly acquired by donation and contains mainly works on the history of pedagogy, the history of education, general (primary) school textbooks and teaching aids. With the advent of new educational documents, the collection also includes archival copies of library material (mainly textbooks, curricula and syllabuses) no longer used in daily work, and works of educational history that have been donated to the library.
Some 3,000 volumes are for local use only.
TEXTBOOK CENTER
In addition to Budapest and Eger, since 2003 the library of the Berzsenyi Dániel College has been home to a special collection of textbooks.
The Association of Teacher Trainers' Section of Methodology and the publishers have jointly decided to set up textbook centres to familiarise teachers and students with the current range of textbooks in public education. The centre was established in Szombathely thanks to Istvánne Kővári, head of the Department of Technology.
The textbooks are mainly related to primary and secondary education. On the basis of agreements, Nemzeti Tankönyvkiadó Publishing House, Műszaki Publishing House, Apáczai Publishing House, Mozaik Publishing House, Calibra Publishing House, Dynastia Publishing House, Pauz Publishing House, Park Publishing House and Pedellus Publishing House have sent 2 to 2 copies of their publications to the collection.
After the significant changes in the textbook publishing in Hungary, the collection is continuously being expanded with curricular textbooks, which is being solved by budgetary and gift sources. The presentation and provision of old and new textbooks is an important aspect of supporting teacher training in the field of methodology. The collection contains more than 7,500 textbooks and teaching aids some of which can be used locally, while the larger part can be borrowed.
Bequests
ERNŐ PUNGOR bequest
Prof. Ernő Pungor, academician, university professor, completed his studies in the "A" building of Berzsenyi College, at the Faludi Ferenc High School of the Royal Hungarian State.In the autumn of 1985, he donated his library of analytical chemistry and his foreign language journals to the Teacher Training College of the time to support the teaching in the Department of Chemistry.
The collection contains 189 volumes of chemical literature and a total of 112 bound chemical journals (Acta Chimica Hungarica, Analytical Abstracts, Analytical letters, Analytical procedings, Critical reviews in analytical chemistry).
The collection can only be used locally, with prior notice.
Imre H. Tóth bequest
Imre H. Tóth, linguist and professor at the József Attila University , has collaborated with the teachers of the Berzsenyi Dániel College many times during his career. His legacy of 551 documents was transferred to the library in 2001. It contains mostly linguistic literature in the field of Slavic philology. The books are available for local use on request in the library's second floor storeroom.
György Radó bequest
On the initiative of János Pusztay, the Director General of the Berzsenyi Dániel College, in 1991 the College purchased the linguistic books of György Radó, writer, literary translator and literary historian. The bequest of 164 books and documents was transferred to the library in early 1992. The books were first deposited in the Department of Applied Linguistics. After the integration of ELTE in 2018, the books were moved to the library's second floor storage and can be used locally upon request.