Act CXL of 1997

on museum institutions, public library services and general culture

The goods belonging to our cultural heritage are irreplaceable sources for a knowledge of our
past and present, an inseparable part of the national and universal cultural heritage as a
whole; their intellectual possession is the fundamental right of all. It is the obligation of
society at all tunes to ensure the special protection, preservation and maintenance of values
belonging within this category and to provide extensive and equal public access to them.

The library system, through which information is accessible freely, to all, is a fundamental
condition for the operation of the information society and the democratic constitutional state.
The maintenance and develop¬ment of library services is necessary for citizens and the
society as a whole; the maintenance by the state of library and information services is of
strategic importance. The library system must serve the interests of citizens.

The preservation of national cultural traditions and those of national and ethnic minorities,
their worthy continuation, improving the staffing, intellectual and economic conditions for
community and individual general cultural activities, and promoting the value-oriented
activities aimed at improving the quality of life of citizens, as well as operation of the
institutions and organisations created to achieve these purposes are the common interest of
society.

In the interest of attaining these aims, the National Assembly adopts the following act:

Part I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

THE AIM OF THE ACT

§ 1. The aim of this act is:

a) to provide for the protection of the cultural goods accumulated and preserved in the course
of national and. universal history, their scholarly study and making them public property,
b) to regulate the activity of institutions related to these goods in the interest of preserving the
national acid universal cultural heritage,
c) to ensure the right of library use for all, to regulate the operation and development of
public library services,
d) to regulate the conditions for general cultural activities, .
e) to define the tasks of the state, the local authorities and other maintaining bodies, and the
basic professional. and financing principles.

BASIC PRINCIPLES

§ 2. In the course of the exercising the rights defined in this act; all neg¬ative discrimination
is forbidden; all persons are entitled to these rights, without any discrimination based on sex,
age, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, wealth, birth or other status.
§ 3. Museum institutions, libraries and institutions of general culture maintained by the state
and the local authorities shall not be committed to any religion, ideology or political trend.
§ 4. It is the right of all
a) to be able to learn about the goods of the cultural heritage and their significance in the
course of history, in shaping national, nationality and ethnic minority self-awareness, and
about their protection through the activity of museum institutions, library services, education;
general cultural activity, the dissemination of knowledge, the press and mass media,
b) to make use of the system of public library services, the services of museum and general
cultural institutions,
c) to expand his or her general culture and skills in all stages of life, to create communities
for the purpose of exercising the right to general culture, and to establish and operate
organisations in conformity with the rules set out in a separate regulation,
d) to receive a general cultural community place (hereinafter: com¬munity place), organising,
organisational and substantive help for the attainment of the general cultural goals set out in
this act.

THE SCOPE OF THE ACT

§ 5. (1) The scope of this act extends to:

a) the activities, persons and organisations dealing with our cultural heritage,
b) library materials, library users, public libraries, their maintaining bodies, employees and to
the suppliers of deposit copies of printed materials,
c) the participants in the realisation of general cultural activity, the maintaining bodies, those
operating and employed by community places and institutions of general culture.
(2) In respect of the protection and registration of library materials, the scope of this act also
extends to non-public libraries, whose holdings form part of the national and universal
cultural heritage.
(3) The rules on library activity and library employees also apply to the non-public libraries.
(4) With the exception of the provisions of § 92-96 and § 99, the scope of this act does not
extend to documents, bodies and persons coming order the scope of Act LXVI of 199
(hereinafter: Act on Archives) on official documents, public archives and the protection of
private archival material. It does not extend - in the case of reciprocity - to cultural goods in
the possession of foreign nationals enjoying diplomatic exemption, brought into the country
from abroad.
§ 6. The concepts figuring in the application of this act are defined in Annex No. 1.

PART III.

PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICES

CHAPTER I

General rules concerning public library services

§ 53. (1) The system of library services ensures the exercise of the right to library use.
(2) The operation of the system of public library services is the task of the state and the local
authorities.
(3) The holdings and services of the libraries maintained by the state and the local authorities
must be developed in such a way that they ensure the objective, many-sided transmission of
knowledge.
§ 54. (1) The basic requirements for the public library:
a) it must be usable by and accessible for all;
b) it employs a professional librarian,
c) it has a room used exclusively for the purposes of library services,
d) it is open regularly, at a time suitable for the majority of users,
e) the basic services provided on the spot are free of charge,
f) it supplies statistical data,
g) it carries out the basic tasks listed in § 55 (1).
(2) The Ministry of National Cultural Heritage keeps a register of public libraries. The state
budget support is due only to public libraries listed in the register, or to their maintaining
bodies, taking into account the provisions set out in § 71 (1).
(3) The following libraries shall be entered into the register of public libraries without the
declaration by the maintaining body concerning compliance with the conditions set out in
paragraph (1) or it request: the national library; the local libraries maintained by the local
authorities, the county libraries, the national special libraries and the libraries of state
universities listed in Annex No. 3.
(4) The churches and other bodies maintaining libraries complying with the conditions set out
in paragraph (1) and attaching a declaration to this effect may request the minister to place
their library in the register of public libraries.
(5) The minister shall control respect of the requirements set out in paragraph (1). If a library
fails to meet any of the requirements set out in paragraph (1), the minister shall order that the
shortcoming be rectified; if this is not done, he shall have the library deleted from the register
of public libraries.
(6) In the case of the close-down of a local library, the maintaining body shall seek the
opinion of the minister in the course of preparation of the decision and make the opinion of
the minister known to the body making the decision.
(7) In the case of the close-down of a public library, the maintaining body most provide for
the further use of the collection for library purposes.
§ S5. (1) The basic tasks of the public library:
a) it shall publish a declaration of its main aims in the statute issued by the maintaining body
and in its rules of organisation and operation,
b) it shall continuously develop, provide access to, preserve, care for and make available its
collection,
c) it shall provide information on the materials and services of the library and the public
library system,
d) it shall ensure access to the holdings and services of other libraries,
e) it shall participate in the interlibrary exchange of documents and information.
(2) The maintaining body may also define further tasks.

CHAPTER II

The rights of library users and the conditions of library use

§ 56. (1) The library user is entitled to use the services of any public library.
(2) The library user shall be entitled to use of the following basic services free of charge:
a) to visit the library,
b) to use on the spot parts of the holdings as designated by the library,
c) to use the tools giving access to the holdings,
d) to receive information on the services of the library and the library system.
(3) The library may register the data defined in § 57 (1) of the library user who makes use of
the free services, without collecting a registration fee.
(4) Services apart from those listed in paragraph (2) may be used on enrolment in the library.
Based on the decision of the maintaining body, the library may charge a registration fee for
enrolment.
(5) Registered readers may borrow printed library documents free of charge.
(6) Users under the age of 16 years and over the age of 70 years shall be exempt from
payment of a registration fee. Teachers and students shall be entitled to concessions set out in
other regulations.
§ 57. (1) At the time of enrolment the library user must give and confirm the following
personal data: name, mother's maiden name, place and date of birth, home address, number of
identity card or passport. The library must provide for the protection of these personal data in
compliance with the relevant regulations.
(2) The library user must inform the library of any changes occurring in his or her personal
data.
(3) The rules for the use of the library shall contain the range of services available to the
library user, the ways of their use and the fees charged; the library user must respect these
rules.
(4) The library user may initiate the amendment of the rules for the use of the library.
§ 58. (1) The rules for use of the library must be made public.
(2) In the interest of protection of the documents and of the right of others to use the library,
the detailed conditions for library use
shall be set out in the rules for library use.
(3) The maintaining body may also set further conditions and concessions for use of the
library.

CHAPTER III

Conditions for the operation of public library services

§ 59. (1) In the interest of public library services the minister shall create a national document
supply system comprising:
a) interlibrary document supply,
b) a register of the locations of library documents,
c) the utilisation of documents withdrawn from the holdings of libraries for the library
system.
(2) Six deposit copies shall be provided of printed materials on a national scale for the library
system, in the manner defined in a government regulation.
(3) The minister of national cultural heritage shall be consulted before the appointment of the
head of libraries specified in the regulation on the national document supply system.
(4) The minister shall elaborate the system for the national registration of video and audio
recordings, forming part of the national cultural heritage, covering documents preserved in
the archives of the Hungarian Film Institute, Hungarian Radio Ltd., Hungarian Television
Ltd., Duna Television Ltd., and other organisations which have obtained broadcasting rights
under the provisions of Act I of 1996 on radio and television, as well as of docwnents
collected and preserved by other organisations.
(5) The minister shall operate the John von Neumann Multimedia Centre and Digital Library,
which is the national centre for the provision of audio-visual, multimedia and electronic
documents.
§ 60. (1) Central services assisting the operation and development of the system of public
library services:
a) development of the national computerised and telecommunication network of libraries, and
filling it with content,
b) collecting all printed materials produced in Hungary, based on the legal deposit system,
collecting other documents produced in Hungary and foreign Hungarica, as well as the
archiving, bibliographic control and provision of all these,and the distribution of the deposit
copies,
c) operation of the national document supply system,
d) assisting library services for Hungarians beyond the borders,
e) assisting library services for Hungarian national and ethnic minorities,
f) issuing and registering international standard document identification numbers.
(2) In all cases not provided for in the present act the services set out in § 59 (1) and (4) and
in paragraph (1) of this section, and the additional services defined by the minister for the
operation and development of the library system shall be provided by the public library or
institution with which the minister signs an agreement on the performance of the task.
(3) Professional services for libraries and the library system:
a) further training of library specialists and training outside the school system,
b) maintaining a library and information service on the subject field of librarianship and
information work,
c) support for the provision of regular information to assist library acquisitions in the field of
Hungarian documents,
d) research and development related to the operation of the national library system and library
use,
e) initiation and elaboration of standards and rules for library work and related areas,
f) elaboration of guidelines and standards regarding library activity, methodological activity,
g) development of the relations between libraries and the society,
h) aggregating, analysing and supplying the national library statistical data,
r) other tasks defined by the minister.
(4) The tasks listed in paragraph (3) shall be carried out by the Library Institute. The legal
status and financial operation of the Institute shall be regulated by the minister in a
regulation.

CHAPTER IV

The national library

§ 61. (1) The national library is the National Széchényi Library. The minister exercises the
rights and obligations of the maintaining body.
(2) The national library is a body financed from the general government budget, it manages
its finances autonomously.
(3) The holdings of the national library are part of the cultural heritage; therefore the minister
may set out provisions for its use differing from the rules applying to public libraries.
(4} In addition to those set out in § 55, the basic tasks of the national library are:
a) to collecting, preserve, distribute printed materials originating in Hungary, on the basis of
the provision of legal deposit copies,
b) to collect, catalogue and classify, and preserve Hungarica material published abroad,
striving for completeness,
c) to collect, catalogue and classify, and preserve Hungarica not classified as printed material,
d) to compile the national bibliography,
e) to archive and protect its holdings,
f) to make its holdings available, principally for use on the spot,
g) to carry out research within its own field of activities,
h) to participate in the provision of central services listed in § 60 (1)-(3),
i) to perform tasks related to qualifying and listing as protected library documents and
libraries that are part of the cultural heritage, to keep a record of these and to give
authorisation to take them out of the country, according to the relevant rules of this act,
j) to make certified copies of library documents,
k) to carry out other tasks set by the minister.
(5) The national library shall have the right for pre-emption - with the exception of protected
cultural goods - at public book auctions.
§ 62. The National Library Board takes part in the governance of the National Széchényi
Library and the Library Institute.

CHAPTER V

Research and special library services

§ 63. (1) The provision of research and special library services is the task of the National
Széchényi Library, the Central Library of the Kossuth Lajos University, the national special
libraries (Annex no. 3), the libraries of the state universities, and other special and higher
education libraries undertaking to provide public library services.
(2) The Central Library of the Lajos Kossuth University is a library with a national collecting
scope.
(3) The provision of research and special library services is carried out with the co-operation
of the libraries listed in paragraph (1), and all other members of the library system. The
competent ministries for the branches concerned shall support the co-operation of libraries
operating in the different special fields.
(4) In addition to those defined in § 55 (1), the basic tasks of the national special libraries and
the libraries of the state universities are:
a) to provide and mediate special literature and information services in their particular fields,
b) to take part in providing the services listed in § 60 for their particular fields.

CHAPTER VI

Public library services: local and county library services

§ 64. (1) The provision of local and county library services is the mandatory task of the local
authorities.
(2) The task set out in paragraph (1) can be carried out by the local authority of the village,
town or town with county rights by maintaining a public library, or by maintaining a public
library in association with other local authorities, or by ordering a public library service.
(3) The authorities of counties and of the capital carry out the task set out in paragraph (1) by
maintaining a public library.
(4) If, on the basis of an agreement, the county library also carries out the tasks of the local
community library in the town where the county library is located, the local authority in the
place where the library is located and the county authority must together provide the
necessary support for operation of the library.
§ 65. (1) The local library is the library of the village, town or capital.
(2) In addition to the tasks set out in § 55 (1), the local library
a) develops its holdings and services to meet local requirements,
b) provides a community information service,
c) collects information and documents of local interest,
d) has part of its holdings on open shelves.
(3) The library of the capital also carries out the tasks listed in § 66 for the area of the capital.
§ 66. In addition to the tasks set out in § 55 (1) and § 65 (2), the county library carries out the
following tasks for the whole territory of the county
a) performs the tasks related to deposit copies and the interlibrary document supply,
b) organises co-operation among the libraries,
c) provides or organises library services for residents belonging to national and ethnic
minorities,
d) provides services to assist the activity of local libraries,
e) organises the provision of statistical data on the public libraries operating in the county,
f) carries out further training for librarians outside the school system and specialised training.
§ 67. (1) In towns the public library service must be provided primarily in independent
institutions.
(2) Joint operation with another institution can be allowed only, taking into consideration the
opinion of the minister, if it ensures professional and substantial financial operating
advantages.

CHAPTER VII

The maintenance and governance of libraries

§ 68. On the basis of the provisions of this act, the maintaining body
a) defines the tasks of the library and the rules for its use,
b) issues its deed of foundation, approves its statutes,
c) ensures the staffing and objective conditions needed to carry out the tasks, taking into
account the professional requirements and standards set by the minister,
d) approves the plan(s) for the development of the library,
e) with the participation of the experts figuring in the national register of library experts it
evaluates the professional activity of the library,
f) ensures the professional autonomy of the library,
g) carries out the tasks set out in other regulations related to the maintenance and governance
of the library.
§ 69. The minister provides the sectoral guidance of library activities and public libraries.
Within this frame; the minister
a) regulates:
- the professional operation of the libraries, with particular regard to the protection and
registration of documents, to placing the documents of museum value on the protected list, to
giving authorisation for documents to be taken out of the country, and to the obligation to
report library documents,
- the professional inspection,
- the requirements for the qualification of library employees and their allowances,
- the professional requirements and staüdards for the different types of libraries,
- the national register of library experts and the issues related to expert activity,
b) elaborates the plan for the development of the national computerised library network and
the system of public library services,
c) encourages the co-ordination of library services,
d) exercises the right of expressing opinion in cases of reorganisation or close-down of a
local or county library,
e) within the frame of professional inspection; controls the respect of this act, the regulations
concerning library activity, the professional requirements and standards, and the use of
central support funds.

CHAPTER VIII

The basic principles of the financing and central support of libraries

§ 70. (1) The library must have the conditions necessary to carry out its tasks. The library
performs its tasks on the basis of the funds ensured by the founder or the maintaining body,
and any other revenues. The library's maintenance and operation costs must be allocated in
the budget drawn up annually and set by the maintaining body.
(2) The general government budget contributes in the following manner to financing the tasks
arising from the public library services:
a) in the case of the national library and the national special libraries, in the act on the budget
of the Republic of Hungary,
b) in the case of support for the local authorities - within the frame of the normative
contribution to general culture and public collections - under the budget heading of the
Ministry of the Interior,
c) the budget heading of the Ministry of the Interior contains incentive support for the local
authorities to complement the acquisitions budgets of local and county (Budapest) libraries,
as a centralised allocation.
(3) The minister shall define in a regulation the niles for the distribution of the incentive
support defined in paragraph (2) c).
(4) Only the maintaining bodies of libraries listed in the register of public libraries may
submit applications for incentive support.
§ 71. (1) The following tasks of the operation of the system of public library services must be
supported from the budget heading of the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage:
a) participation in the services listed under § 60,
b) purchase of library documents,
c) protection of the holdings of library documents forming part of the cultural heritage,
d) postage costs of interlibrary document supply,
e) activities performed beyond the basic tasks of the library for the purpose of operating the
library system,
f) other tasks defined by the minister,
g) operation of the professional inspection,
h) maintenance and development of the computerised library network, and the provision of
electronic access to documents and their digitisation.
(2) Only the libraries listed in the register of public libraries may submit applications for
support related to the tasks listed in paragraph (1) a)-b).
(3) The minister shall issue a regulation setting out the detailed rules for the use of sums
allocated for handling under specified budget headings.
§ 72. Provision must be made for the creation and maintenance of the national document
supply system under tile heading of the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage in the act on
the budget of the Republic of Hungary.

PART V
GENERAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET SOURCES RELATED TO MUSEUM
INSTITUTIONS AND ARCHIVES, PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICES, AND GENERAL
CULTURE

§ 92. (1) Arising from the tasks to be carried out in the areas of general culture and public
collections, and the responsibility undertaken by the state and local authorities being of public
interest, a contribution from the general government budget is needed to meet the obligations
set out in this act and in the Act on Archives; which contribution is included in the normative
contribution and centralised allocation appearing under the heading of the Ministry of the
Interior and in the allocations appearing under the heading of the Ministry of National
Cultural Heritage.
(2) In order to carry out their tasks related to general culture, library services, the protection
of cultural goods, museum and archive activity, the local authorities receive a normative
budget contribution for general culture and public collections as defined in the budget act, the
grounds and amount of which are set out in the annual budget act.
(3) The local authorities receive the central support within the budget heading of the Ministry
of the Interior in the budget act for the given year, under the item of Supports and
contributions for local governments and the sub-item of Normative contributions, separately
as follows:
a) the local authorities of settlements receive for tasks in the areas of general culture and
public collections two-thirds of the sum of normative contribution according to paragraph (2),
which shall be divided up on the basis of their peen anent population;
b) the county (Budapest) self-governments receive for tasks in the areas of general culture
and public collections one third of the sum of normative contribution according to paragraph
(2). 33% of the support shall be divided up in equal proportions and 67% on the basis of the
permanent population.
(4) Within the budget heading of the Ministry of the Interior, under the item of Supports and
contributions for local governments and the sub-item of Centralised allocations, separate
Incentive support must be provided for acquisitions by local authority libraries and the
development of the infrastructure of general culture, the extent of which shall be defined in
the annual budget act.
(5) Support must be allocated under the budget heading of the Ministry of National Cultural
Heritage
a) for carrying out direct state tasks defined in this act and in The Act on Archives, for the
financing of tasks of general culture and public collections, for carrying out the tasks of the
public collections and institutions of general culture related to the development of computer,
telecommunication infrastructure and information services,
b) for support for the training activities defined in § 94 (4), the extent of which shall be
defined in the annual budget act.
(6) The budget allocations for the institutions of general culture and public collections
maintained by the National Assembly, the ministries, the national authorities and national
self-governments of the minorities shall be defined in the chapters of the national budget act
for the relevant maintaining bodies.
(7) The churches shall receive an amount of support defined in the annual budget act for the
preservation, renovation and enrichment of the values of the cultural heritage in their
possession, as well as for the operation of their archives, libraries, museums and institutions
of general culture.

PART VI
CERTAIN ISSUES CONCERNING THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE STAFF OF MUSEUM
INSTITUTIONS, PUBLIC LIBRARIES, INSTITUTIONS OF GENERAL CULTURE AND
ARCHIVES

§ 93. In determining the number of employees in public collections and institutions of general
culture maintained by the state and local authorities, the maintaining body must take into
account the employment requirements arising from the legally prescribed basic tasks, the
conditions needed to carry out these tasks, and the statute of institutions belonging to the
scope of this act.
94. (1) Only persons who
a) have no criminal record,
b) have the qualifications and specialised qualifications specified in the regulation for tlae
position held may be employed in museum institutions, public libraries, archives and
institutions of general culture maintained by the state and local authorities.
(2) In the institutions defined in paragraph (1) the specialised tasks may only be carried out
by persons with appropriate specialised qualifications.
(3) Exemption from the requirement of specialised qualification may be given in the manner
defined in the regulation.
(4) The specialists employed in institutions belonging to the scope of this act shall take part in
organised training every seven years. The range of training forms qualified as organised
training and the possibility for granting exemption from the training shall be regulated in a
regulation issued by the minister of national cultural heritage.
(5) Employees employed full time in specialised jobs in institutions belonging within the
scope of this act shall be entitled - in the manner defined in a regulation - to the right to
receive an annual contribution equivalent to 50% of the sum of the minimum wage in force
on the first day of the year, for the purchase of (printed, audio, electronic) documents.
(6) Employees with tertiary qualifications employed in specialised jobs in institutions
belonging to the scope of this act shall be entitled to a mandatory wage supplement if they are
employed in scholarly or research positions, and if they possess academic degrees. The extent
of this shall be 50% of the basis for supplements.
(7) Employees employed in institutions belonging to the scope of this act may be qualified as
persons carrying out a public task from the viewpoint of criminal law protection in
connection with their activity performed in the job.
§ 95. In museum institutions, public libraries, public archives and institutions of general
culture maintained by the state and local authorities only persons with relevant tertiary
qualifications may be appointed to higher management positions.

PART VII

FINAL PROVISIONS

ENTRY INTO FORCE

§ 96. (1) With the exceptions defined in paragraphs (2)-(4), this act shall enter into force on
January 1, 1998.
(2) Part II of the act, § 103 providing for the amendment of the Criminal Code, § 104 on the
amendment of the civil procedure, and Annex No. 2 shall enter into force on July 1, 1998;
these provisions shall be applied to procedures launched after the entry into force of these
provisions.
(3) Paragraph § 92 (5) b) of the act shall enter into force on January 1, 2000; at the same time
the following provision shall enter into force in place of paragraph (5) a):
(4) Paragraphs § 94 (4)-(6) of the act shall enter into force on January 1, 2000.

Annex No. 1 to Act CXL of 1997

DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of this act:

a) Libraries of state universities: the central libraries of the state universities listed in Annex
No. 1 of Act LXXX of 1993 on Higher Education.
b) Holdings: the sum of the documents registered by the library for permanent retention.
c) Electronic document: a document readable only with a computer.
d) Hungaricum: all documents published on the territory of Hungary at any given time, also
the documents published abroad in Hungarian, written by Hungarian authors, or with a
content of Hungarian relevance, regardless of whether they were published or not.
e) Library: organisation ensuring the systematic collection, provision of access points to,
retention and use of library documents defined in this act.
f) Right of library use: right to use the services of libraries.
g) Library user: person or organisation using services of the library.
h) Library material: book of scholarly, educational, artistic, general cultural or historical
value, periodical, other publication registered by the library in its inventory, required to carry
out its basic and supplementary tasks, as well as all text, image, data and sound recordings,
including electronic documents registered by the library, with the exception of documents
qualifying as archival material or of an archival character coming under the scope of the Act
on Archives.
i) Providing points of access to a library document: the process whereby the library materials
are catalogued on the basis of their content and characteristic format in order to enable the
library user to find his way around the collection on the basis of as many criteria as possible.
j) Library collection: the systematically developed, ordered and catalogued holdings of the
library.
k) Library specialist: librarian, library information specialist, library assistant, assistant
librarian, or other person having other higher or secondary qualification needed to carry out
library tasks. The librarian is a specialist having relevant higher qualification.
l) Interlibrary document supply:
- registration of the location of documents and data provision from the records on request,
- provision of interlibrary loan, regardless of the docmnent format and the manner in which it
reaches the user,
- utilisation for the library system of documents withdrawn from library collections.
m) Interlibrary loan: the supply of a document from one library to another, including loan of
the original document, the supply of copies, and the transmission of requests for interlibrary
document supply.
n) Public collection: library, archive, museum institution, audio-visual archive operating in
the ownership (maintenance) of, or established by the state, local authority, a national
minority self-government, public body or public foundation.
o) Institution of general culture: an institution financed from the general government budget
or other source for the community general cultural activity of the population established,
maintained, operated for that purpose, having suitable professional, staffing and
infrastructural conditions and having a deed of foundation.
s) Cultural goods: outstanding and characteristic material, visual, sound recorded, or written
relics and other evidence of the origin and development of inanimate and animate nature, the
history of mankind, the Hungarian nation or Hungary, as well as the works of art.
w) Public library service: the sum of the services provided by public libraries and the central
services promoting the provision of these services, which ensure free access to information
for citizens.

Annex No. 3 to Act CXL of 1997

National special libraries: National Technical Information Centre and Library, National
Medical Information Centre and Library, Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences,
National Agricultural Library and Documentation Centre, Parliamentary Library, National
Foreign-Language Library, National Library and Museum of Pedagogy, Budapest Szabó
Ervin Library, Library and Documentation Service of the Central Statistical Office, Library
of the Hungarian Film Institute, Library of the Institute of Military History.