Romana Muzeul Deva

THE MUSEUM OF DACIAN AND ROMAN CIVILISATION (DEVA) - MEMBER - OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUMS NETWORK OF ROMANIA



THE LIBRARY





         The documentary library of the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation Deva has the origins of its organisation in 1880, almost on the same time with the establishment of “The Society of History and Archaeology of Hunedoara County”. From the very beginning the statutes of this scholar society provided “the reception for keeping the family archives and the gathering of the most valuable documents and prints in the framework of a collection organised by an archivist and a library”.
         The members of “The Society of History and Archaeology of Hunedoara County”, important personalities of that time, but also simple persons passionate about history contributed by personal donations, thus setting the foundation of the library, which —at the end of the 19th century— was one of the most important in the entire county. Among the first donors there were a series of important characters, like Trefort Agoston – minister of Religious Affairs and Education, George Baritiu, the amateur archaeologist Torma Zsofia, Teglas Gabor – the first director of the museum, Kuun Geza – president of the Society, Solyom-Fekete Ferencz – vicepresident of the Society, as well as other numerous local personalities.
         Since 1881 there have been made the necessary approaches for establishing the exchange of publications with other cultural institutions of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, based on the newly annual publication of the Society, entitled Hunyadvarmegye Tortenelmi es Regeszeti Tarsulat Evkonyve, published between 1882 and 1913. After 1937, once was published the first issue of the scholar revue of the museum, entitled Sargetia. Acta Musei Devensis, there have been set up new exchange relations with a series of prestigious scholar institutions in Europe.
         Currently the library of the museum in Deva undertakes a wide exchange of publications with the majority of the museum and universities in Romania, as well as with 92 specialised institutions worldwide (Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Croatia, Switzerland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Great Britain, Norway, The Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, USA etc.).
         A special place in the framework of the museum’s library is occupied by the collection of old Romanian books, each of the volumes preserved in here being a particular testimony for the main moments of the history of Romanian culture. Among the most important books to be found in here one can mention: Molitvenic slavonesc [Slavonic Praying Book] (Targoviste, 1545), Carte romaneasca de invatatura[Romanian Book of Learning] (Iasi, 1643), Noul Testament [The New Testament] (Balgrad / Alba Iulia, 1648), Indreptarea legii [The Straightening of the Law] (Targoviste, 1652), Chiriacodromion [Sermon] (Balgrad / Alba Iulia, 1699), invatatura de sapte taine [The Learning of the Seven Misteries] (Buzau, 1702), Evanghelie [Gospel] (Bucuresti, 1723), Triod [Prayer Book for the Easter Fast] (Ramnic, 1731), Strastnic [Prayer Book for the Holy Week] (Blaj, 1753) etc.
         In the same framework one have to notice the books with educational purpose printed during the 18th and the 19th centuries, volumes which had the remarkable mission to bring enlightment to the Romanian people on that time. Some of the most relevant one kept in the museum’s library are: Gheorge Sincai – indreptare catre aritmetica [Straightening for Aritmetics] (Blaj, 1785), Bucoavna pentru invatatura pruncilor… [Alphabet Book for the Learning of the Young Ones ...] (Sibiu), Moise Fulea – Carticica naravurilor bune pentru folosul ti trebuinta tinerimei ... [The Small Book of the Good Habits for the Young Ones ...] (Sibiu, 1842); Ioan Rus – Icoana pamantului sau carte de geografie [The Icon of the Eart of Book of Geography] (Blaj, 1842), Descriere scurta a terei Ardealului aplecata la cuprinderea mintei pruncilor ... [Brief Description of the Land of Transylvania for the Children] (Blaj, 1847), Abecedariu cu slove chirilice si cu litere romane [Alphabet Book with Cyrillic Signs and Roman Letters] (Sibiu, 1851), Samuil Andreevici – Carte de cetire sau Legendariu romanesc ... [Reading Books or Romanian Legends] (Viena, 1855), Metodica calculatiei in cap … [The Method for Head Calcuation] (Viena, 1856), Zaharia Boiu – Abecedariu pentru Scolile populare romane [Alphabet Book for the Romanian Folk Schools] (Sibiu, 1866) etc.
         Nowadays the library contains around 32,000 volumes, including contemporary books for speciality, old Romanian and foreign books, as well as Romanian and foreign periodicals.