The international project NI4OS-Europe (National Initiatives for Open Science in Europe) is organising a conference between the 28th and 29 th of September 2022 in Budapest.

The conference focuses on the achievements and role of the NI4OS-Europe project in successfully advancing the region in the field of European Open Science Cooperation (EOSC). The event will highlight the 20th anniversary of the Budapest Open Access Initiative, as well as the 20th anniversary of regional infrastructural cooperation in South East Europe.

The event is free, but registration is required. Registration

Location: BME K building (Díszterem and Pécsi Eszter halls).

More information: Website of the Conference, Facebook event

The Hungarian Association of Higher Education Archives held its annual meeting in Szeged between the 24th and the 26th of August 2022. On the first day of the event, a round-table discussion on archival news and changes took place with the participation of the Ministry, the Archives Supervison and the archival associations. Afterwards, the leaders of the university archives gave a brief report on the annual operation and results of their institutions. At the end of the day, professional presentations were given about changes in archival legislation and upcoming accredited training courses. On the second day of the event, the attendees could take part in an academic conference, where historians, archivists and heads of institutions discussed theoretical and practical issues related to the research of university history. Some recent publications on university history were also presented. On the closing day of the conference, the participants had the opportunity to visit the archives and exhibitions in Szeged. At the event, the University Library and Archives was represented by Krisztina Tóth.

Object of the month – Portrait of Géza Bartoniek

Gyula Tury (1866–1932): Portrait of Géza Bartoniek, 1928; Oil, canvas, 63.5 × 50 cm; Marked lower left: Tury Gyula 1928; Eötvös József Collegium, Board of Directors

Géza Bartoniek, physicist, was the organizer and acting head (1895–1897), and later director (1897–1927) of the Collegium founded by Loránd Eötvös in 1895 on the French model, formerly known as József Báró Eötvös Collegium. As a former student of Loránd Eötvös, Bartoniek was chosen by Eötvös himself to lead the institution.

Written by: Attila Boda

We would like to inform our clients and researchers that the Archive will be closed between the 1st of August and the 28th of August 2022. We wish you all the best for your vacation.

According to our tradition, this year we joined the Night of Museums series of events, which included craft activities, concerts, guided tours, restoration workshops and an exhibition of books on medicine. 

The programme opened with a concert by the ELTE „Eötvös” Art Ensemble String Quartet in the Aula, featuring works by Mozart, Grieg, Debussy, Elgar, Fauré and Delibes.

Through our building tours, visitors were given an insight into the history of the library and the rooms of the historic building. They were also able to learn about the restoration process, our museum collection, the life and work of Loránd Eötvös and create unique hardcover books. During our events, István Ádám gave guitar concerts in the lobby, introducing our guests to the mysteries of music literature.

This year's events also included a presentation of the Perczel Globe. Dr. László Zentai, Vice-Rector for Education and Academic Affairs of Eötvös Loránd University, gave a lecture on the history of the globe.

The exhibition entitled „Fu magh kit az patikaba ugian sesamusnak hinak”, a collection of our books on medicine, was opened and can be visited by appointment on weekdays at titkarsag@lib.elte.hu.

On the 7th of June 2022, an awareness-raising training for ELTE librarians was successfully organized by the Accessible Library Working Group of the University Library Service K21 Quality Management Coordination Committee at the Ecseri Road building of the Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Education.

The presentations, held by the staff of the ELTE Special Student Affairs Support Office and Borbála Franyó (librarian of ELTE), focused mainly on the library needs of students with different special needs. The presentations were followed by joint discussions, exchange of experiences, sharing of good practices and the possibility to try out support tools. Feedback from staff indicated that the training was very useful. 

Some of Wiley’s hybrid journals will continue to operate as Gold Open Access journals from 2023. The list of transitioning journals is available on Wiley’s website. This transition has an effect on the existing Read and Publish agreement with Wiley. Although they will become Gold Open Access journals from January 2023, new submissions to the journal will be considered under the new Gold Open Access journal model from 2022 onwards. All documents submitted from the indicated month will be open access, closed publication cannot be requested.

The EISZ agreement will, of course, also cover these APCs (to the extent available).

The ELTE Museum of Natural History celebrated the 20th anniversary of its exhibitions on the 17th of June 2022. On the occasion of the jubilee, a festive toast was given by university leaders, as well as former and current staff members of the museum.

The ceremony opened with a tour of the cultural treasures in the collections. Some special artefacts were on display, including the skull of Béla Macsói, a prince of the House of Árpád, which was discovered in 1915 during the excavation of the Margaret Monastery on Margaret Island in Budapest. The wounds on his bones suggest that the prince was the victim of a crime of particular cruelty. The 100-year-old rare book of the Mathematics Collection, the collection of mathematical problems for the Matriculation Examination published in 1893, and the Pallasite meteorite from space, which came to our University in 1781 with the mineral collection of Archduchess Maria Theresa's eldest daughter, Archduchess Anna Maria, laid the foundations for our current mineral and rock collection.

The Rector of Eötvös Loránd University, Dr. László Borhy, emphasised the importance of preserving and enriching this unique collection, while expressing his thanks and appreciation for the dedication and exemplary work of the museum staff. Dr. Erzsébet Harman-Tóth, Director of the museum, considers the institution as the leaven of the university community, which is uniquely able to combine the scientific and educational activities of the university.

The University Library and Archives of Eötvös Loránd University continued to receive significant support from the Foundation for the University Library in 2021, with funds raised from various tenders, charitable donations and a percentage of personal income tax donations to help the continuous development of services.

Some of the events planned for 2021 were unavoidably cancelled due to the pandemic. A series of autumn events, including the Researchers' Night and the Autumn Festival of Museums, have already taken place, making our museum documents, scientific collections and cultural assets available to a wide range of people, in the spirit of public education, public use of our collections and awareness-raising.

A particular success was the Cultural Heritage Days, held on the 18th of September 2021, featured a calligraphy workshop, book presentations, guided tours of our Eötvös exhibition, guided visits to our restoration workshop, library tours, craft activities, presentation of the Dante Codex, concerts by the Korossy Quartet, a group of students from the Budapest Festival Academy, and by the Duo-Perpetual. During the festive book adoption ceremony, a speech was given by our book-adopter, Pascale Andréani, Ambassador of the French Republic to Hungary. The event was supported by the Foundation, the "Thank you, Hungary!" programme and the Municipality of Belváros-Lipótváros, Budapest V. district.

The amount won by the Belváros-Lipótváros Municipality of Budapest's 5th district was used to purchase the restoration and binding materials – ingres cardboard, photo cardboard, mondial canvas – necessary for the conservation of the collection.

The Bethlen Gábor Fund Management Ltd. National Cooperation Fund, has contributed to the competent management and efficient running of the Foundation's day-to-day affairs. The grant also helped to finance the Foundation's administrative tasks and travel expenses for administrative meetings.

With the proceeds of the grant, the Foundation supported the production of a representative annual wall calendar for the University Library, which presents some of the outstanding tangible cultural heritage of Eötvös Loránd University. The grant also helped to replace the specialised restoration chairs needed for conservation and restoration work, as well as the old work tables in the restoration workshop, which were in poor condition. The grant has enabled further technical improvements to be made, the purchase of a roll-up and a lectern to promote our institution, as well as the expansion of our comfort and protocol services.

The University Library Foundation provides significant support for the library's conservation activities. You can now contribute to the preservation of our cultural heritage, digitisation, free access to information, the acquisition of modern technology and the continuous improvement of our services. For more information on funding opportunities, please visit our website.

Foundation for the University Library

• 1053 Budapest, Ferenciek tere 6.
• (+36 1) 411-6738
• E-mail: alapitvany@lib.elte.hu
• Tax number: 18121362-1-41
• Account number: 12010532-00120645-00100003

Object of the month – Aureus of Nero 

The coin was minted by the infamous emperor Nero (54–68 AD), the last member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. It was under his rule in 64 AD that two thirds of Rome were engulfed by the flames burning for 9 days.

The reconstruction of the city, the military campaigns in the East and the extravagant lifestyle of the emperor were all extremely costly, therefore Nero turned to a drastic, but well-known measure. He decreased the weight of the gold coin by 2% to 1/96 Roman pound (7.39 g) and the weight of the denarius to 1/45 pound (3.4 g), as well as its silver content to 93.5%. The aureus in the Coin Cabinet of the Eötvös Loránd University was minted after the monetary reform according to the new, reduced standard. This monetary measure was also mentioned by the contemporary Pliny the Elder, who met his fate at another infamous event, the eruption of the Vesuvius in 79 AD that destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Written by: Dr. Lajos Juhász

ELTE Institute of Archaeological Sciences