Ex libris Miskolciensis – in the II. Rákóczi Ferenc County and City Library, Miskolc

Abstract

The history of Miskolc‘s public libraries goes back nearly one hundred and fifty years. During this time the institutional framework has been constantly changing, with two periods of dual, parallel provision. Today, the county and city library organizations are the main pillars of Miskolc‘s public library system. Social systems and legislative intentions have had a profound impact on the functioning of the institutions that have split up and then reunited. Library conditions and facilities have always been limited by the availability of buildings and have long been restricted. In Miskolc, the library and the museum served the city‘s inhabitants for decades in a common organization and building, until the construction of the new public library almost 50 years ago. In changing times, the library‘s collection has not only grown in size, it also includes rare manuscripts, codex fragments and early prints in its museum and scientific heritage section. The inheritance and often miraculous preservation of the Miskolc Public Library‘s collection heritage from institution to institution hides treasures and unique items that preserve the spirit of the city‘s written cultural and local history, and are a constant source of interest for the reading citizens of the city and the county, together with others from further afield.