The ELTE–NFI FILMIO University Film Club screening and discussion series continues. We welcome university members from all ELTE faculties.

A documentary film about mathematician János Neumann – who, in addition to his theoretical research in quantum mechanics, became known for laying the theoretical foundations of the digital computer – was produced with the academic and professional support of ELTE.

János Neumann was the first to compare the computer to the functioning of the human brain, and he recognized earlier than anyone else that mathematics, armed with the computer, could change the world. Viewers can get to know one of the most influential, world-renowned Hungarian scientists of the 20th century through the recollections of his daughter and fellow scientists.

The film not only showcases his extraordinary scientific work but also brings his unique human character closer to the viewer. Against the backdrop of Neumann’s life, an entire era unfolds: World War I, the global economic crisis of the 1920s, the rise of Nazism, the persecution of Jews, the devastation of World War II, and then the arms race and the Cold War era.

Date: 22 April 2026, 6:00 p.m.

Venue: ELTE University Library and Archives, Community Space (1053 Budapest, 6 Ferenciek Square, ground floor)

Our guests for the post-screening discussion are: Lívia Bertha, the film’s director; Gyula Dávid, a physicist (Department of Nuclear Physics, ELTE Faculty of Science); and Áron Badinszky, the rector’s representative, who assisted in the film’s production on behalf of ELTE.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1031969259?fl=pl&fe=vl  

Due to limited seating, advance registration is required.

The organisers welcome any correspondence regarding the film club at eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.

ELTE–NFI Film Club Facebook page

With the support of the ELTE University Film Club, the National Cultural Fund (NKA), and the Hungarian Documentary Filmmakers’ Association (MADOKE), we are launching a documentary film series featuring works by Hungarian filmmakers. The next screening will feature Márton Vizkelety’s 2025 film My Chemical Information System. All interested parties are warmly invited to attend the event.

Date: Tuesday, May 12, 6:00 p.m.

Venue: ELTE University Square Campus, Weiss Emilia Hall (1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1–3., ground floor, in the hallway next to the coat check)

“What is life? A chemical information system,” declares Hungarian-born scientist Gyula Dékány, whose conviction has led to groundbreaking discoveries. For more than two decades, he has divided his time between Europe and Australia, dedicating himself to scientific breakthroughs 16,000 kilometers away from his family. He has already helped millions of infants through the synthesis of breast milk sugars, and while he is currently working on creating compounds that could cure Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, he faces a new challenge: striking a balance between his pursuit of scientific innovation and his longing for home. Is life really just a chemical information system, or is it something deeper? My Chemical Information System is a story of the inner struggle between discovery and human relationships.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1070997352

Our guests for the post-screening discussion will be Márton Vízkelety, the film’s director and cinematographer, and Julianna Ugrin, the film’s producer.

Márton Vízkelety graduated from the University of Theatre and Film Arts in 2007 as a cinematographer. In 2009, he participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus. He has been involved in several international documentary film projects, including Alexey Rodionov’s MasterClass in Moscow in 2013. His documentaries and short films have been screened at film festivals such as Tribeca, the Sarajevo International Film Festival, Dox in Zagreb, DOK Leipzig and the Vladivostok International Film Festival. Together with Ugrin, he co-directed the multi-award-winning film The Decision (2022).

Julianna Ugrin excels at making astute decisions about which productions her production company, Éclipse Film, will finance. (In 2017, her film A Woman in Captivity became the first Hungarian feature-length documentary to be selected for the competition program at the Sundance Film Festival.) She began working in the film industry in 2008 and later completed EURODOC, a training and development workshop for documentary producers. In 2011, she founded her own film production company, Éclipse Film. She has presented her film projects at numerous international markets and pitching forums, and her completed films have screened at or won awards at festivals such as IDFA, the Sarajevo IFF, DOK Leipzig and HotDocs.

Seating is limited, so please register in advance by email.

We would like to inform our readers that we will be performing system maintenance over the Easter long weekend. As a result, the ELTE Library WebApp will be unavailable from 10:00 PM on 2 April  2026, until approximately 6:00 AM on 7 April 2026.

During the maintenance, the online catalog will remain operational; however, users will not be able to log in, so reader services (e.g., renewals, reservations, online requests) will not be available.

Thank you for your understanding!

During the Easter holidays, between the 3rd and the 6th of April 2026, the ELTE University Library and Archives is closed.

From the 7th of April 2026, we are open with our full range of services.

We wish you a happy and blessed Easter!

In the framework of the Sustainability Week and the Green Bridge Volunteer Expert Program, we welcome elementary and secondary school groups to visit the ELTE University Library and Archives for green library presentations. The program series is two hours long, as detailed below.

Restoration workshop on sustainability

Our conservator will give you a taste of paper-casting and bookbinding techniques. Learn about the process of book disinfection and old bookbinding techniques. The aim of the restoration work is to preserve the historical and aesthetic value of our museum collection, using natural materials, and to extend its life by means of various restoration procedures and preventive conservation techniques.

Dates:

14 April 2026, 10.00–11.00

14 April 2026, 14.00–15.00

15 April 2026, 10.00–11.00

15 April 2026, 14.00–15.00

16 April 2026, 10.00–11.00

16 April 2026, 14.00–15.00

21 April 2026, 10.00–11.00

21 April 2026, 14.00–15.00

22 April 2026, 10.00–11.00

22 April 2026, 14.00–15.00

23 April 2026, 10.00–11.00

23 April 2026, 14.00–15.00

Library history guided tours

Library tours provide information about the history of the ELTE University Library and Archives. The library palace, designed by Antal Szkalnitzky, was built using state-of-the-art ventilation, heating and lighting solutions of the 19th century. The library tour includes sgraffiti in the colonnade of the lobby, female figures of science and art in the main hall, and a portrait of Mór Than by the middle-aged Franz Joseph. Visitors can tour the rooms of the former Director General's residence, admire the reconstruction of the László Perczel globe and visit our Historical Warehouse, which is open to the public on special occasions. The tour will also highlight the library's AI-enabled services and good practices in the field of sustainability.

Dates:

14 April 2026, 11.00–11.45

14 April 2026, 15.00–15.45

15 April 2026, 11.00–11.45

15 April 2026, 15.00–15.45 

16 April 2026, 11.00–11.45

16 April 2026, 15.00–15.45 

21 April 2026, 11.00–11.45

21 April 2026, 15.00–15.45

22 April 2026, 11.00–11.45

22 April 2026, 15.00–15.45 

23 April 2026, 11.00–11.45

23 April 2026, 15.00–15.45 

Sustainable development and libraries

Our Green Library Quiz reveals what a library can do to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Dates:

14 April 2026, 11.45–12.00

14 April 2026, 15.45–16.00

15 April 2026, 11.45–12.00

15 April 2026, 15.45–16.00

16 April 2026, 11.45–12.00

16 April 2026, 15.45–16.00

21 April 2026, 11.45–12.00

21 April 2026, 15.45–16.00

22 April 2026, 11.45–12.00

22 April 2026, 15.45–16.00

23 April 2026, 11.45–12.00

23 April 2026, 15.45–16.00

More details are available on the Sustainability Week website and here.

All visitors are welcome!

The ELTE– NFI FILMIO University Film Club screening and discussion series continues. We welcome university members from all ELTE faculties.

KIX is a multifaceted journey through the 12 years of a young boy growing up in Budapest, during which the rowdy kid, Sanyi, becomes a public enemy in adulthood. The film shows the everyday life of the boy and his family from a rarely witnessed perspective. Dávid Mikulán and Bálint Révész's documentary is a contemporary Hungarian report on urban poverty and marginalisation. The creators of the documentary KIX followed Sanyi with a camera from the age of eight. The boy grew up in a 28-square-meter apartment in Ferencváros with five other family members, and while his mother worked multiple shifts and his father often didn't work at all, Sanyi explored the urban jungle with his friends. When he was fifteen, Sanyi and two friends doused a mattress on Ráday Street with nail polish remover and set it on fire. The fire spread to the building, with fatal consequences.

Date: 24 February 2026, 6 p.m.

Venue: University Square Campus, Weiss Emilia Hall (1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1–3., ground floor, in the corridor next to the cloakroom)

Director: Dávid Mikulán, Bálint Révész

Cinematographer: Dávid Mikulán

Editor: Yaël Bitton, Károly Szalai

Music: Csaba Kalotás

Our guests in the post-screening discussion will be: Dávid Mikulán, director of the film, intermedia artist and filmmaker, Bálint Révész, director of the film, documentary filmmaker and film creator, and Andrea Rácz, PhD, sociologist (ELTE Faculty of Social Sciences).

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nimpjHM4_7M     

Due to limited seating, advance registration is required.

Registration is available at https://ajk.elte.hu/kix-mikulan-david-es-revesz-balint-filmje-2024.

The organisers welcome any correspondence regarding the film club at eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.

ELTE–NFI Film Club Facebook page

The mission of the ELTE University Library and Archives, which won the Hungarian Heritage Award and – as part of the University Library Service – the title of Qualified Library in 2018, as well as the EFQM “Committed to Excellence” certificate in 2020, is to provide Hungarian and foreign academic teachers, researchers and students with domestic and foreign literature, intending to integrate them into the international circulation of scientific life. Now, you can also help to ensure free access to information, to preserve and digitize our cultural values, and to acquire modern technological equipment and implement continuous service development. Please, support the Foundation for the University Library by offering 1% of your tax.

The Foundation for the University Library was established in 2005 to provide the technical modernization for the ELTE University Library and Archives and help expansing its services and protecting its holdings. The library's old book collection of more than one and a half million documents is part of the national cultural heritage and is also significant in Europe, so it is our shared responsibility to preserve these values ​​for the rising generation.

The non-profit organization, led by Dr. Péter Kiszl, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, significantly supports the library's value-saving activities. In order to restore the volumes of the collection, which requires special attention and constant preservation, the foundation has launched a book adoption program. In addition, it contributes to the organisation of events promoting the values ​​and the professional work of the University Library and Archives, the publication of a wall calendar presenting the rarities of the library and the university’s cultural heritage, as well as the publication of the University Library Yearbooks and acquiring new technical equipment.

More information about the support possibilities of the Foundation for the University Library is available here.

Foundation for the University Library

H-1053 Budapest, Ferenciek tere 6.

Phone: +36 1 411 6738

Email: alapitvany@lib.elte.hu

Tax number: 18121362-1-41

Account number: 12010532-00120645-00100003

The ELTE University Library and Archives offers extended opening hours for readers and students on weekdays and Saturdays between the 1st of December 2025 and the 17th of January 2026 until 22.00 hours. Our community space offers the opportunity to learn, relax, use kitchen facilities and free computer access. The self-service facilities in the lobby and the community space on the ground floor will continue to be available with a valid library card on weekdays from 7:00 a.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m.

Through our constantly expanding services, we aim to provide ELTE students with an efficient and effective learning opportunity, with the support of the Students' Union and in cooperation with the students.

The following services are available between 20.00 and 22.00 on weekdays and between 18.00 and 22.00 on Saturdays:

• study and reading in the Reading Hall, use of computers in the ground floor community room, access to kitchen equipment (fridge, microwave, hot and cold water and soda dispenser) in the community room kitchen,
• picking up books requested online during the day from the pickup locker and borrowing them through the self-lending terminal
• returning books using the smart shelf,
• self-service printing and photocopying using a pre-purchased card,
• free self-service scanning.

During the extended opening hours, reception and general information is provided. The lobby, the Reading Hall and the community space are open to the public only with a pre-purchased library card.

Everyone is welcome and we wish all our students a successful semester and exam period!

The ELTE University Library and Archives will be closed on Friday, 28 November 2025 due to a university event.

From Saturday (29 November 2025), we will welcome our readers according to the usual opening hours.

Due to scheduled server maintenance, the University Library Service’s central online platforms will be unavailable from 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 9, 2025, until early morning the following day.

The downtime will affect the following services:

• EDIT – ELTE Digital Institutional Repository

• ELTEfind online catalogue (the old catalogue will remain available for searching)

• GIMIfind online catalogue

• ELTE Library WebApp

Please note that due to the WebApp outage, online credit card payments will also be temporarily unavailable during the maintenance period.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.