Author(s): Mihai Teodor Nicoară / Language(s): Romanian
Issue: 36/2020
On May 12, 1919, the Royal Hungarian University of Cluj together with its Library was taken over by the representatives of the Romanian government in order to be transformed into a Romanian scientific and cultural institution. The old Library of the Royal Hungarian University of Cluj had been in use since 1872. Its establishment had been a process of gradual accumulation of collections, obtained through donations, from the Library of the “Transylvanian Museum”, the Library of the former Law Academy in Cluj, the University Library of Budapest and a few others. At first, the Library of the Hungarian University functioned in various spaces, moving to the new building of the University only in the autumn of 1895. The construction of the actual building of the University Library began in July 1906, and its festive inauguration took place on May 19, 1909. The Great War (1914-1918) disrupted the activity of the Library. Most of the scientific and administrative staff was sent to war. The union of Transylvania with Romania, on December 1, 1918, was followed by the gradual takeover of all the institutions in Cluj, including the University and the University Library.
On May 12, 1919, Vasile Bichigean, a high school teacher from Năsăud, presented himself at the University Library with the Order of the Directing Council, No. 4336/1919, signed by Valeriu Braniște and Onisifor Ghibu. Bichigean asked the Library staff to immediately hand over the institution to the Romanian State. The director of the Library, Gyalui Farkas, and some of the Hungarian staff, who swore allegiance to the Romanian State, remained in office. In 1920, Eugen Pavel Barbul became the director of the Library. He contributed to the enrichment of the institution’s patrimony, hired Romanian librarians and reorganized the activities for the readers. The Popular Library was installed in the building of the University Library.
The destiny of the University Library after 1919 shared the fate of the University: it faced financial and material difficulties, but it also experienced some important development. Due to the efforts to acquire volumes and periodical publications, either by purchase or through donations, the University Library became very rich in the interwar period, being on a par with the great university libraries in the country and in the world.
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