Friday, July 13, 2012

Szabo to ALA in 1915 - Where's my Booklist?



Ervin Szabo (1877-1918) was Hungary's most famous librarian. Hungary has issued two postage stamps in his honor and has named one of its largest libraries for him. He was the first director of the Municipal Library in Budapest which is now the Metropolitan Ervin Szabo Library. I recently acquired a government issued postcard from Hungary that was mailed on July 12, 1915 to the Publishing Board of the American Library Association. The postcard was mailed by the Budapest Municipal Library and it indicates that the A.L.A. Booklist for 1915 issue 1 "has not come to hand". There is a printed signature on the card for Ervin Szabo as Director of the Library. ALA began publishing Booklist, a book reviewing journal, in 1905. More about Szabo who has been described as a "socialist theoretician" can be found in the online YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. More librarians on postage stamps can be found HERE.

No comments: