The ELTE University Library and Archives places special emphasis on students’ mental health, which is why well-trained, friendly therapy dogs visit our library during exam season to help reduce stress and boost well-being.

During exam periods, stress and anxiety levels rise among our students, so our goal is to provide them with emotional support during this time. We believe that the presence of therapy dogs not only supports mental health but also enriches students’ learning experience.

During the sessions, therapy dogs and their handlers from the “Dogs for People” Foundation and the “A Smile with a Dog” Foundation are available to students, providing a safe and supportive environment.

The impact is guaranteed; these four-legged helpers can be visited in the common area without prior registration during the times indicated on the reading room displays. 

Expected dates:

We would like to inform our readers that we will be performing system maintenance over the three-day long weekend. As a result, the ELTE Library WebApp will be unavailable from the evening of 30 April 2026 until approximately 6:00 a.m. on 4 May 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.

The ELTE University Library and Archives will be closed on the 1st and 2nd of May 2026.

From Monday (4 May 2026) readers are welcome to visit us for extended opening hours.

We wish you a happy holiday weekend!

The ELTE University Library and Archives offers extended opening hours in the Great Reading  Hall and in the community space for readers and students between the 4th of May 2026 and the 13th of June 2026, staying open until 10:00 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. Our community space offers the opportunity to learn, relax, use kitchen facilities and free computer access. The self-service facilities in the lobby 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 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on weekdays and between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Saturdays:

• study and reading in the Great 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 kitchen,
• picking up books requested online during the day from the pick-up locker and borrowing them through the self-lending terminal
• returning books using the smart shelf,
• self-service printing and photocopying using a pre-purchased or online bought card,
• free self-service scanning.

During the extended opening hours (Mon–Fri: 8:00–10:00 p.m., Sat: 6:00–10:00 p.m.), reception and general information is provided. The lobby, the Great Reading Hall and the community space may only be visited with a pre-purchased library card.

Everyone is warmly welcome and we wish all our students a successful end of the semester and exam period!

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