We welcomed the recently appointed Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Budapest and his staff on 9th April 2025.
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The National Széchényi Library welcomed Robert Palladino, the recently appointed Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, along with his delegation on 9th April 2025.
Mr. Palladino began his diplomatic service in Hungary on 7th March 2025, making this visit one of his first cultural diplomacy engagements. He was accompanied by Lynne Moo, Press Attaché, and Noémi Csabay, Professional Relations Coordinator at the Embassy. They were received at the library by Dávid Rózsa, Director General, and Zoltán Lewalt-Jezierski, Head of the Director General’s Cabinet.
During the meeting the guests received a comprehensive overview of the library’s more than two-century-long history, the circumstances of its founding, its collections, and its mission. Key discussion topics included potential cooperation between the Hungarian National Library and American educational and cultural institutions, with a special focus on the digitalisation of Corvina codices held in New York collections.
Later, Gergő Kovács from the Library of Book History, Library and Information Science guided the delegation on a tour of the building. The visitors learned about the history of the library’s premises, its main event spaces, collections, reading rooms, and other impressive rooms. They also visited the permanent exhibition Vershaza [4] ("House of Poetry"), which showcases the manuscripts and key editions of three iconic Hungarian poems – Himnusz, Szózat, and Nemzeti dal –preserved in the library.
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As a surprise, the library’s staff curated a special selection of collection highlights related to American history. Klaudia Túri, a staff member from the Department of Early Printed Books, presented a four-volume Jefferson work housed in a red leather-covered case. The first volume includes a dedication from Thomas Jefferson’s descendants to Lajos Kossuth. The group also viewed a letter from George Washington, in which he issued military orders to Lord Stirling, which generated great interest.
To conclude the visit, Barnabás Manó Kukár, Deputy Head of the Collection Preservation Department, introduced the library’s digitalisation equipment and technologies, providing insight into the digital preservation efforts of the institution.
On the occasion of the visit, Mr. Palladino gifted the library a CD titled Revolutionary Jazz, created in memory of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Originally broadcast on 23rd November 1956, in the Voice of America Jazz Hour. The recordings were secretly made in the summer of 1956 by the then-cultural attaché of the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, featuring several Hungarian jazz musicians. They were sent to the American radio station. These historically significant recordings were released in 2016. They include six tracks. In return, Director General Dávid Rózsa presented him with two special facsimile editions: a deluxe boxed edition of the Chronica Hungarorum, the first book printed in Hungary, and a copy of King Matthias’ renowned Philostratus Corvina.
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