The milestones of the library history of Miskolc are related to the last years of the 19th century. In 1899, with the support of the city and the county, a public library was established within the framework of the Borsod-Miskolc Museum, which became the predecessor of the city and county libraries. In the first half of the 20th century, donations of civilian books to the benefit of the public are part of our common collection heritage, thanks to which the legacy of Lajos Horváth, representative of the Parliament, legal scholars from Miskolc, historian János Szendrey and several renowned local artists has become a part of our written culture and a public domain.
In the first half of the 20th century, the inhabitants of Miskolc dreamed of a similar Palace of Culture built in other cities of the country, but it was not finished. In the first half of the last century the public libraries were not built for libraries, they operated within the framework of reception institutions (Museum Papszeri building, Theatre building). Mayor Sándor Hodobay proposed in 1937 that the building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Erzsébet Square could be a suitable place for a public library, but this was realized only in 1952.
On 26 October 1952, by merging the city, district and technical branch libraries, the county library was established in the Erzsébet Square building by decision of the Council of Ministers, of which László Sz?nyi became the head. Already at the time of moving in, the building, which was built in September 1956 II. It operates under the name Ferenc Rákóczi Library. In 1959, the director of the library at the time first proposed to the maintainer the construction of a new library building, the professional design program of which was completed in 1963. From 1960 onwards, the city branch network was separated from the county library and until 2012 the city library tasks were carried out in parallel by the two institutions. On October 1, 1969, the construction of the new building for the library began with the laying of the foundations, and following the technical handover in 1971, the handover ceremony of the new building took place on May 28, 1972. The current building, designed for the library in Görgey Artúr Street, has been serving the visitors of the library ever since in a 4800 m2 building.
As of January 1, 2013, the libraries of Miskolc performing city and county tasks were reunited in one organization, II. Ferenc Rákóczi County and City Library. Urban tasks are performed by the central building and its 7 branch libraries in different parts of the city: the Downtown, the Csabai Gate, the Martin Garden City, the Szentpéteri Gate, the Avas and Diósgy?r. Their namesakes have become famous poets and writers: Attila József, Margit Kaffka, József Lévay, Ferenc Móra, Sándor Pet?fi, L?rinc Szabó, Mihály Tompa. In our libraries local knowledge, foreign language, museum, audiovisual, electronic, digital and musical documents await our visitors, with almost one million documents.
From 2013, as part of county tasks, the library provides state support to settlements of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County with less than 5000 inhabitants, and from 2017, it provides library services in 318 small settlements. In the county and in the city, high-quality library programs provide cultured entertainment, learning and culture. We transmit culture to all ages, generations, individuals and groups, and contribute to the possibility of quality life.
The library's services and collection are open to all and free of charge. By interlibrary loan we make the collection of other libraries accessible, we are waiting for those interested in our services 24 hours a day on our online interfaces, personally during our opening hours.