COURAGE

connecting collections

Lucian Blaga Central University Library Cluj-Napoca (BCU Cluj-Napoca) is one of the most important university libraries in Romania; it is financed by and subordinated to the Ministry of National Education and Scientific Research. BCU Cluj-Napoca has a collection of almost 4,000,000 books and periodicals. Also, the library’s special collections contain many items of the cultural heritage such as manuscripts, incunabula, old books, maps, prints, and photographs. The library was founded in 1872, when it took over the rich collection of the library of the Transylvanian Museum Society (Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület). In the beginning, the aim of the library was to serve the Hungarian University of Cluj. In 1919, when Transylvania became part of Romania, a royal decree was issued turning the Hungarian university into the Romanian University of Cluj, and the library was reorganised. In 1927, after the Romanian University of Cluj changed its name, the library received the official name of the Library of Ferdinand I University. During the communist regime, BCU Cluj-Napoca underwent a process of staff purging, and public access to many books was forbidden, as they were placed in the so-called Special Collection. Nevertheless, the library became a refuge for certain personalities purged from the university in Cluj by the communist authorities. The best known example is that of the philosopher and poet Lucian Blaga, who worked at the library in the period 1952–1959. This is why, in 1992, the institution was renamed Lucian Blaga Central University Library of Cluj-Napoca. BCU Cluj-Napoca hosts many collections which reflect the cultural opposition against the communist regime, such as the collections of Adrian Marino, Mircea Carp and Lucian Blaga, and the Raţiu–Tilea collection. BCU Cluj-Napoca is made up of a central unit and a series of branches which serve the various faculties of Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca and its branches in other Romanian cities. The central unit is also divided into departments on the basis of their activity, and includes units such as: “Research. Special collections. Oral archive and multimedia”; “Development of collections and inventory of publications”; and “Bibliographic research. IT Laboratory. Digitization.” With the increase in the number of students attending the universities of Cluj, the number of library users also increased, exceeding 80,000 people in 2016. Between 1999 and 2016 the library implemented an ample digitization program, with the result that that many documents of heritage value and old periodicals have become accessible online.

The Csongrád County Archives is a regional subdivision of the Hungarian National Archives located in the city of Szeged with a professional archival staff and infrastructure. The Csongrád County Archives was established by the communist County Council in 1973 through the merger of two previously independent state archives in the cities of Szeged and Szentes. These two state archives were set up in 1950 parallel to the founding of the socialist state administration.

The Hungarian Institute of Film Science was founded in 1957, based on the plan drafted by Béla Balázs in 1948. Its name was changed to the Hungarian Film Institute in 1985. In 2000, the name was changed again to the Hungarian National Film Archive. Since 2011, it has been integrated into the Hungarian National Digital Archive and Film Institute (MaNDA). In 2017, it became part of the Hungarian National Film Fund. The Archive has the most extensive film collection in Hungary, approximately 64,000 inventory items.