For a thorough thesis or a more detailed study, it’s essential to have the right, credible and even relevant sources, so it’s a good idea to have an overview of which libraries to choose from, and which documents you can find digitally and which ones only on the spot.
It is also important to know that librarians can help you a lot with your research, so don’t be afraid to approach them, after all that’s why they are there! And if you just need a quiet and cozy place to study, or perhaps you would like to read between classes, these quiet book kingdoms are still a great option.
National Library of Foreign Literature (Photo: Facebook)
The National Library of Foreign Literature and Music Collection is a public library in Budapest with two specific functions: it collects documents on contemporary world literature, music and linguistics in the original language; and it is the coordinating center for national minority libraries in Hungary. It operates as a department of the National Széchényi Library.
Website: http://www.oik.hu
Digital library: https://www.oik.hu/adatbazisok-katalogusok
Telephone number: +36-1-318-3688
E-mail address:
Address: 1056 Budapest, Molnár utca 11.
Opening hours:
Mon-Fri: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Sat-Sun: Closed
Library card prices:
Visit: free of charge
Day ticket: HUF 600
Annual ticket: HUF HUF 3,500 (with discount: HUF 1750)
Half-yearly library card: HUF 2,000
Research ticket: HUF 6,500
Collections:
Main collections: contemporary and classical literature in original language and in Hungarian translation; linguistics and literature; music (classical music, folk music, jazz, world music), musicology; literature on minorities
Complementary collections: General works, arts, reference and summary works in the related social sciences and humanities, lexical works in other disciplines, databases, dictionaries.
Services: https://www.oik.hu/szolgaltatasok
The library of the Budapest Goethe Institute (Photo: Facebook)
The library of the Budapest Goethe Institute is open to the public with a unique German-language collection in Hungary.
Website: https://www.goethe.de/ins/hu/hu/kul/bib.html
Digital library: https://budapest.bibliothek.goethe.de/
Telephone number:+36-1-374-4062
Address: 1092 Budapest, Ráday u. 58. (Goethe-Institut Budapest)
Opening hours:
Mon-Fri: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sat-Sun: Closed
Library card prices:
The library is open to the public, anyone can visit it and use it locally for free. However, for lending, you will need a library card.
Adult annual: HUF 3,000
Students and pensioners, annual: HUF 2,000
Services: https://www.goethe.de/ins/hu/hu/kul/ser.html
CEU Library (Photo: Facebook)
The library of the Central European University (CEU) holds one of the largest collections in English-language social sciences and humanities in Central and Eastern Europe.
Website: https://library.ceu.edu/
Digital library: https://library.ceu.edu/using-the-library/connect-from-off-campus/
Telephone number:+36-1-327-3099
Address: 1051 Budapest, Nádor utca 15.
Opening hours:
Mon-Fri: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sat-Sun: Closed
Library card prices
Online library card can be requested for external students: EUR 3
Collections:
Monographs: predominantly in English (85%), 5% in German and Russian, and others. All are closely related to the academic programs at CEU.
Journals, theses, essays.
Legal Collection, Environmental Collection, Medieval Collection, Russian Language Collection
Services: https://library.ceu.edu/using-the-library/
Media Library of the French Institute (Photo: Facebook)
The French Institute is a French state institution established to spread the French culture, which has centers in France and in many other parts of the world.
Website: https://mediatar.bibenligne.fr/
Digital library: https://www.culturetheque.com/HUN/
Telephone number:+36-1-489 4233
Address: 1011 Budapest, Fő u. 17. (Francia Intézet)
Opening hours:
Mon: Closed
Tue-Fri: 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Sat: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Sun: Closed
Library card prices:
Total price for a year: HUF 6,000
Discounted price for a year for students: HUF 3,500
Free for the students enrolled in the language course of the French Institute and those enrolled in the Goethe Institute.
Collections:
The Media Library consists of 25,000 French-language documents (books, DVDs, CDs, magazines), supplemented by digital content available on tablets and VR glasses.
Services: https://mediatar.bibenligne.fr/pret-et-prolongation
Library of the Italian Cultural Institute (Photo: Facebook)
The library of the Italian Cultural Institute collects content in Italian.
Website: https://iicbudapest.esteri.it/iic_budapest/hu/la_biblioteca
Digital library: https://iicbudapest.esteri.it/iic_budapest/hu/la_biblioteca/catalogo_online
Telephone number:+36-1-483-2040
Address: 1088 Budapest, Bródy Sándor utca 8. (Olasz Kultúrintézet)
Opening hours:
Mon-Tue: 10 AM – 1 PM and 2 PM – 6 PM
Wed: 10 AM – 1 PM
Thurs: 10 AM – 1 PM and 2 PM – 6 PM
Fri-Sun: Closed
Library card prices:
Members of the Circle of Friends of the Italian Cultural Institute can use the traditional and digital library services.
The annual membership fee of the Circle of Friends of the Italian Cultural Institute is HUF 4,000.
There is a 50% discount for those under 26.
Students of the courses of the Italian Cultural Institute can enroll for free.
Collections:
It has 20,000 volumes, around 1,000 DVDs (mostly Italian films) and 100 CDs to help you learn the language, as well as a respectable stock of periodicals on a wide variety of subjects: literature, fiction, history, arts, music, etc.
Services: In addition to book lending, the service also includes the possibility of reading Italian and international newspapers and magazines.
Cervantes Institute: Ernesto Sabato Library (Photo: Facebook)
The Ernesto Sabato Library is the library of the Spanish Cultural Institute.
Website: https://budapest.cervantes.es/hu/konyvtar_spanyol/konyvtar_spanyol.htm
Digital library: https://budapest.cervantes.es/hu/konyvtar_spanyol/elektronikus_konyvtar/elektronikus_konyvtar.htm
Telephone number:+36-1-354-3674
E-mail address:
Address: 1064 Budapest, Vörösmarty utca 32.
Opening hours:
Mon-Tue: 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Wed- Thurs: 3 PM – 7 PM
Fri: 11 AM – 1 PM and 3 PM – 5 PM
Sat: 10 AM – 1 PM
Sun: Closed
Library card prices:
Registration is not necessary for reading, viewing, and listening to the library’s material on the spot.
Annual library card: HUF 5,000
Library cards for students: HUF 3,500 per year
Collections:
The 30,000-copy collection includes books, magazines, DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, CD-ROMs, etc. are found. Manuals, dictionaries and encyclopedias. Spanish and Hispanic American literature. Materials for learning Spanish language. Works about history, art, economy, society. Children’s and youth literature. Works translated into Hungarian. Books in Catalan, Gallego, Valencian and Basque languages.
(Photo: Facebook)
The University Library has several member libraries in the network of libraries of the Eötvös Loránd University, which can only be used by students. The organizational units of the Faculty of Humanities include the libraries of the language institutes of ELTE, several of which can be visited.
Website: https://www.btk.elte.hu/kar
Digital library: https://opac.elte.hu/
Telephone number:+36-1-411-6500 / 5451
Address: 1088 Budapest, Múzeum körút 4. or 6-8.
Books about Eastern cultures are mainly available in English and Hungarian in these libraries. In the respective libraries, you will also find books and documents in the original Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Ethiopian and Indian languages.
