Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Keywords

Hungary, European Union, digital library, German, English, Finding Aid

Abstract

As Hungary moves to join the European Union, librarians are noting the need to share the nation’s library collections with non-Hungarian speakers. Currently, Hungary’s digital libraries largely reflect the nation’s heritage as one of the most homogenous European nations and are not easily useable without knowledge of the language. Hungarian is a small language, spoken by about 15 million people worldwide, and the need for disseminating Hungarian knowledge into global knowledge is an important step for integration into the EU. This paper is a case study of Berzsenyi Daniel College’s creation of a digital library for its LIS Department. It discusses the technical and socio-cultural challenges presented by the need for English and German language finding aids and the difficulties encountered with building search queries against multi-cultural language platforms. In close cooperation with the European Studies Department, the digital library will also open resources produced by Hungary’s neighbors in Central and Eastern Europe to Hungarians.

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