"The Library connecting people" – Cooperation among young librarians of the Carpathian Basin

The Cooperation among young librarians of the Carpathian Basin scholarship programme was launched by László Kövér, Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, in 2011 and has been realised on twelve occasions. As a general rule, eight Hungarian librarians living across the Hungarian border and two living in Hungary were given the opportunity to spend one month in the Library of the Hungarian Parliament. Popularly known as “The Library Connecting People”, the programme set itself the goal of supporting the professional work carried out across the borders by young Hungarian librarians of the Carpathian Basin and facilitating the creation of a personal network that fosters fast and efficient solutions pertaining to the library profession, thus promoting, among other things, the preservation of the Hungarian language, the scholarship holders’ mother tongue. Importantly, the participants benefit from professional training they receive during the one month of the scholarship, as well as from an exchange of ideas and new cooperation. Moreover, they gain an insight into the library system of the homeland and that across the border of Hungary. The professional background and an institutional framework for the programme are provided by the Library of the Hungarian Parliament.
During the highly multifaceted programme, the scholarship holders become acquainted with the work of the National Assembly of Hungary and the operation of its Office. They can study various libraries and make visits to several public collections. They can take part in conferences, attend lectures and are received by the presidents of the most important organisations linked to Hungarian library affairs.

Since 2015, the programme is open not only to the scholarship holders but also to librarians delegated by Budapest libraries. The librarians and museologists of this programme have had the opportunity to take part in joint events with the scholarship holders of the “Museum With No Frontiers” programme, launched in 2017.