The Library's reading rooms are open for use to all Hungarian and foreign citizens older than 18 years of age. In the main reading room of 75 places readers need to request a seat number at the loan desk. In the serials reading room of 30 places a seat number can be requested at the enquiry desk.
Documents exclusively for onsite use include
periodicals;
documents on open access shelves inthe main reading room and in the special collections (including handbooks, referenceworks, encyclopedias, lexicons and dictionaries);
documents of historical value aswell as old and rare books;
albums of art;
documents dating from before 1900;
colligates;
maps (except touristic maps);
manuscripts;
audio and video tapes as well as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs.
Patrons may request copies of documents; each request will be assessed by the library staff.
Persons authorized to use the Library on site include
members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and those of the SzéchenyiAcademy of Literature and Arts;
persons holding an academic degree orcandidates for such a degree, grantees of the Academy's fellowships, PhD holders and PhD candidates;
researchers employed in the institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences;
university and college lecturers andprofessors;
persons engaged in research or education;
students of the arts and those of the naturalsciences;
members of all institutions of highereducation with an institutional recommendation (with temporary permit);
anyone whose work requires access to the Library's holdings (withtemporary permit).
Onsite use of the Library is free for
members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and those of the Széchenyi Academy of Literature and Arts;
the Library's staff and the personnel of the Secretariat of the Hungarian Academy engaged in study, research or holding a scholarship;
researchers employed in the institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences;
librarians, archivists and museologists with employment certification;
pedagogues with identity card of pedagogues;
researchers older than 70 years of age.
Rules of loan
Loan and borrowing is handled by the Department of Reference & Reader Services according to the regulations of the Library. The borrower must own a borrower card valid for one year and fee-based. To acquire a borrower card, a data form must be filled by the borrower, who must produce certification of scientific degree and workplace. Personal data must be shown in ID permit.
For borrowing, one must use the cloakroom. Upon producing his/her reader card the borrower will receive a slate of call-number at the reception desk. The document retrieved from the stacks based on the ordering slip with the call-number will be indicated on the overhead display by the librarian. The book can be taken over by the borrower when an attestation receipt has been signed. Upon departure the borrowed book or books must be presented at the reception counter and the slip of loan must be handed over.
Patrons with loan permission include
members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and those of the Széchenyi Academy of Literature and Arts;
persons with academic qualification;
researchers employed in the institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences;
academics with habilitation at university faculties of philology and natural sciences;
academics of faculties of philology and natural sciences in research universities (ELTE, DE, PTE, SZTE);
persons holding an academic degree or candidates for such a degree, grantees of the Academy's fellowships, PhD holders and PhD candidates;
the Library staff and the personnel of the Secretariat of the Hungarian Academy engaged in study, research or holding a scholarship.
Borrowing does not comprise
documents published in Hungary and abroad prior to 1900;
reference books;
volumes of museum value;
albums of art;
rare publications;
periodicals;
volumes of author series and colligates;
books in need of repair or binding, until the required work is performed.
Of non-circulating documents, based on per-piece decision related to type of publication and condition of binding, patrons may order copies.
Number of books allowed for borrowing
members of the Hungarian Academy 10 volumes;
academics with qualification 10 volumes;
researchers of the Academy's institutes 10 volumes;
university lecturers and professors 5 volumes;
persons with habilitation at research universities 5 volumes;
researchers with PhD degree 5 volumes;
Library staff and personnel of the Secretariat of the Academy 10 volumes;
Library staff and personnel of the Secretariat of the Academy 3 volumes.
The duration of loan is one month which – in case the item on loan is not requested by others – automatically extends for three more months, then under the same conditions by three months for a maximum of one year. The volume must be returned after one month when it is requested by another patron. Works of fiction are to be lent for a maximum of one month.
The volume must be returned before the expiration of the borrowing time or the prolongation of the loan must be requested. In case of delay the Department of Reference & Reader Services will demand the return of the volume. If the demand is not successful, the Director General's Regulations shall be followed for further measures.
The borrower's change of residence must be reported to the Department of Reference & Reader Services in 48 hours. In case of a stay abroad longer than two weeks the borrowed docuemnt must be returned even if the borrowing term has not expired yet.
The borrower is held liable for the document on loan. The document not returned may be replaced by the borrower according to modes determined by the Library, if this is not possible, then the determined value must be reimbursed. If this is not complied with, the claim shall be brought to legal procedure. The same procedure applies when the document is returned in mangled condition.
Borrowers may be excluded from further exercising their right if
prosecution was started against them;
they fail to return the borrowed document;
they repeatedly return the document in damaged condition.
The Director General is entitled to lock out a borrower on other, justified grounds as well or exceptionally may desist from expulsion.
Oriental Collection
The Oriental Collection is located on the ground floor of the Palace of the Academy. Eight readers can do research in its reading room at a time. Reading is primarily allowed on-site, only scholars with an academic degree, PhD students specializing in oriental studies, and employees of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) are permitted to borrow certain books that are not subject to other restrictions. The number of borrowable books cannot exceed five. Certain manuscripts and rare books of historical value can be accessed only in digitised form. In justified cases, when the nature of a scholar’s work requires consulting some of the original manuscripts, application must be made to the Head of the Department for permission to work with individual items. The reprographic copies may be ordered as per the Library's regulations, but due to criteria of protection and safeguarding all such requests are reviewed individually.
