Ametican Chemical Society – representing Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) offered a trial access to a new Life Science solution, CAS BioFinder Discovery Platform until June 13, 2025.

The platform is only accessible to those who already have valid login credentials to CAS SciFinder Discovery platform. You can access BioFinder using your active SciFinder login ID at https://biofinder.cas.org/.

With CAS BioFinder you can explore connections between ligands, targets, and diseases and run AI-enhanced predictive bioactivity models with data derived from existing literature. This ensures you always have the most relevant results.  In addition to existing and predicted bioactivity, ligand, sequence, disease, and biomarker data, CAS BioFinder also integrates 3D protein models and details to save time and advance your drug discovery program.

Live training and demo webinar

Wednesday, June 4th at 2pm CEST

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 279 610 113 556 7

Passcode: Va9Do2Th

Demo videos:

Starting a search in BioFinder: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1049695836/bb495454e8 (4:43 mins)

Working with results in BioFinder: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1049695902/c13ab24a1e  (6:23 mins)

Scaffold search by target name: https://vimeo.com/1050284847/152eb771e7?share=copy (6 mins)

Explore ligand's details: https://vimeo.com/1055907704/e4bb4de421?share=copy (5:30 mins)

The inauguration ceremony took place on 28 May 2025, the innovative solution further enhances the range of library services.   

Dr. Lénárd Darázs, Vice-Rector for General Affairs of Eötvös Loránd University, expressed his appreciation for the library's innovative developments and the introduction of an information service tailored to the public's interest, congratulating the popularity of audioguide, which was the result of a coordinated cooperation and real teamwork. 

The Director General of the ELTE University Library and Archives, Dr. Kulcsár Szabó Ernőné Gombos Annamária emphasized at the opening ceremony: as the first public library in Hungary, the representative spaces and cultural heritage of our institution attract countless tourists every year, so we wanted to satisfy the desire for culture and education of both domestic and foreign visitors by presenting the history, architectural features and hidden treasures of the building. As well as continuing to expand its library services to the university community, and in line with the University's third mission, the library is now also a key focus for cultural tourism visitors, presenting not only the beauty of the building but also the stories behind it. Contents currently available in Hungarian and English are planned to be extended to other languages. Thanking the team for their help and support, and highlighting the efficient contribution of IT specialist Ádám Bollók in providing the IT background and infrastructure, the opening ceremony ended with an audioguide tour and a toast.

The members of the ELTE Heritage Coordination held their first meeting this year on 28 May 2025 at the Natural History Museum of the Faculty of Science.

The network, which was established in 2020, has the important task of managing and making visible the valuable cultural heritage owned by the university, and one of the aims of the meetings, which are held two or three times a year, is to get to know each other's collections and exchange professional ideas. The recent event gave the coordinators the opportunity to see the unique natural history collection and the inventory and processing work used there. After the technical discussion, the rich and unique collection of the Mineral Library was presented by Tamás Weiszburg, retired director, followed by Erzsébet Harman-Tóth, current director, who gave an overview of the history and current situation of the natural history collection. In the afternoon, Katalin Török Júlia and Tamás Hajdu guided a tour of the biological collection, and to round off a rich and informative day, Klára Felkerné Kóthay shared her experiences and good practices on the collection's inventory practices with the participants.

In the framework of our book adoption programme, our conservator and old book librarian gave our adopter a detailed presentation of the supported volume.

Psychologist Andrea Andrek, PhD adopted Rudolph Goclenius' Ψυχολογια [Psuhologia], hoc est, De hominis perfectione, animo, et in primis ortu hujus, commentationes ac disputationes quorundam theologorum et philosophorum nostrae aetatis, quos proxime sequens praefationem pagina ostendit / nunc correctae et auctae a Rodolpho Goclenio. (The title of the volume in English is Psychology, i.e. Treatises and Discourses on the Perfection of Man, the Soul, and especially its Origin, by Some Contemporary Theologians and Philosophers, listed on the page following the Preface / corrected and expanded by Rodolphus Goclenius.)

Rudolph Goclenius (1547–1628) was a German philosopher who taught at the University of Marburg from the 1580s. He first published the above-mentioned collected works of several authors in 1590. The book was the first printed document to include the term psychology in its title (although the word was a somewhat earlier invention, used by Goclenius in his lectures). The University Library edition is the third revised edition, published in Marburg in 1597 by Paul Egenolff.

The work contains, among other works, Hermann Vultejus's treatise on the philosophical perfection of man, Johann Ludwig Havenreuter's reflections on whether the soul is implanted in us by God or not, Caspar Peucer's reflections on the essence, nature and source of the human soul, and Rudolph Goclenius's theory on the origin of the soul. The work is accompanied by a Latin translation of Sophocles' drama The Women of Thrace, published in Strasbourg in 1588, which is missing the title page.

The volume was used by the Lutheran rector David Kilger of Bratislava in 1605, but by 1692 it was kept in the library of the Jesuit College of Bratislava. The book’s English translation is available here.

Dr. Walter Baluja García, Minister of Higher Education of Cuba, and Dr. László Borhy, Rector of ELTE, President of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference, led a rectorial delegation from the island country to the ELTE University Library and Archives on 20 May 2025.

For our pleasure, the delegation from Cuba took part in a guided tour of our library, visiting the representative spaces of the building. During the visit, Dr. Kulcsár Szabó Ernőné Gombos Annamária, Director General of the ELTE University Library and Archives, welcomed the guests. The Cuban Minister of Higher Education left a memory of the visit in the Guest Book, which contains the handwriting of prominent personalities from the very beginning of the Library Palace's history, as a legacy for future generations.

At the invitation of the Economic Sciences Workshop of the ELTE Márton Áron Dormitory for Advanced Studies, on May 22, 2025, Tibor Faragó-Szilvási and Tibor Móring, staff members of the Education and Research Support Department of the ELTE University Library and Archives, gave an online lecture entitled Research Support with Modern Tools: Scientific Databases, Research Data, Reference Management.

During the event, participants gained a comprehensive overview of scientific databases, digital research tools, and search methods applicable to literature searches in the field of economics. In addition, they were introduced to the benefits of Open Access publishing and the opportunities offered by Read and Publish agreements.

In the second half of the presentation, special attention was given to research data management, the implementation of the FAIR principles, and the use of data repositories. The session concluded with a demonstration of the Zotero software, which supports the organization of scholarly literature and reference management.

Abstracts of the lectures:

Literature Search and Open Access Publishing

During the lecture, participants were introduced to databases that provide scientific information for researchers in the field of economic sciences. The presentation showcased digital tools and search methods that help navigate the vast amount of information and find truly relevant sources. One of the most significant scientific achievements of the 21st century is the emergence and spread of the Open Science ecosystem, which, by democratizing scientific information, creates new opportunities for solving global challenges. The presentation also reviewed the essence and advantages of Read and Publish agreements.

Research Data Management and the Use of Reference Management Software

Scientific research is supported not only by academic journals. In today’s scientific communication, the proper management of data generated during research is becoming increasingly important: storing and sharing data according to standards. Participants learned about the concept of research data, its types, and possible methods of creation. Further topics of the presentation included the principles of FAIR research data management and tools that support the storage of research data, such as data repositories. In the final part of the lecture, the Zotero reference management software was introduced, which provides effective assistance in organizing literature, automatically generating citations, and supporting scientific writing. Through practical examples, the main functions of Zotero, its integration with word processors, and its benefits for collaborative research work were demonstrated.

Clarivate is offering trial access to the Web of Science Research Assistant for subscribers in Hungary as part of the „Clarivate AI Month”. The trial period provides an opportunity for researchers at institutions to get acquainted with this new, AI-based research support tool.

Details of the trial:

Duration: May 26, 2025 – June 25, 2025

Access: Available via the Research Assistant on the Web of Science homepage, either at the top or in the middle of the page, by connecting to the ELTE internet network, or outside the university using a VPN service.

The Web of Science Research Assistant is a responsibly developed, generative AI-powered tool that enhances your research and helps you discover fresh insights faster so you can focus on creating new knowledge. Far more than just a chatbot, our assistant runs alongside you as you work, keeping up with your research needs as they develop. Intelligent discovery helps you effortlessly interpret and explore the literature. Task-based guidance and contextual prompts light up potential paths forward and enable you to complete complex research tasks faster.

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2025. Among its members are many distinguished students and teachers who have left their mark not only on the Academy but also on the history of our institution. Loránd Eötvös (1848–1919) physicist, the namesake of our university was a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from 1873.

Loránd Eötvös was born on 27 July 1848 in Buda. He completed his secondary schooling from 1857 at the Piarist monastery in Pest and as a private student. He began his university studies at the Faculty of Law and in 1867 enrolled at the University of Heidelberg, where he attended lectures on natural sciences by Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, Hermann Ludwig von Helmholtz and Robert Wilhelm Bunsen. He obtained his doctorate in 1870, and in 1871 he became a private tutor at the Budapest University of Science. In 1878, after the retirement of Ányos Jedlik, he was appointed head of the department of experimental physics. In the academic year 1891/92 he was Rector of the University, and between 1894 and 1895 he was Minister of Religion and Public Education. On the 100th anniversary of his death, the ELTE University Library and Archives commemorated his life and work with a major exhibition, the printed catalogue of which was published in 2023.

On the occasion of the Night of Museums, the first adaptation of Mór Jókai's classic, The Man with the Golden Touch, a silent film long thought to be lost, will be screened on 21 June 2025 at 21.00 in the exhibition hall of the ELTE University Library and Archives. The Hungarian feature film of the writer's most beloved novel, directed by Sándor Korda, will be brought to life on the moving pictures.

This is the earliest of the three film versions of Mór Jókai's novel. The movie is one of the finest achievements of Hungarian silent film production, a faithful adaptation of the original story. Long thought to be lost, it was found in 1983 in the catalogue of the Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv in Koblenz, where it was listed as The Red Half-Moon. The film was first restored with the support of the European Union's LUMIÈRE programme for the preservation of film heritage, and in 2018 a full restoration was completed in cooperation with the Hungarian National Film Fund's Filmarchiv and Filmlabor directorates.

In addition to the Corvin Studio in Budapest, the film was shot on original locations including the lower Danube, the Iron Gate and Komárom.

For Müpa Budapest's Music Competition 2020, composer Bence Farkas reimagined the soundtrack of the 1983 film, and a completely new score was created.

Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCB6HlvZCik  

Venue: ELTE University Library and Archives, Exhibition space

Time: 18:00

(English subtitles are provided for the film.)

The screening is organised by the ELTE–NFI University Film Club. After the screening, starting at about 22:30, our guests are invited to a discussion with music critic and cultural historian Ferenc László. English interpretation will also be offered.

For more information, please visit our website or the Night of Museums’ homepage. All visitors are welcome!

The animated film „Saffi” will be screened on 21 June 2025 from 18.00 in the exhibition hall of the ELTE University Library and Archives.

Attila Dargay's third hit film, Saffi, based on the short novel The Gypsy Baron by Mór Jókai, tells the story of two lovers' strange encounter in the final days of Turkish occupation. The romantic story, typical of the Dargay tales, is full of charming animal characters and parodic, humorous dialogue. The voice-overs are now cultic: the main characters are voiced by András Kern, Judit Pogány, Hilda Gobbi, György Bárdy, Ferenc Zenthe, László Csákányi and Judit Hernádi. The digital restoration was made in collaboration with Dargay's permanent colleague, cinematographer Irén Henrik.

Our story is set in the 17th century, when the Habsburgs decide to drive the Turks out of Hungary. Sofia, daughter of Ahmed Pasha, and Jonah, son of the Hungarian lord of the castle, Gáspár Botsinkay, had been destined for each other since they were children. During the war, however, the Botsinkay family and the Turk have to flee, so they bury a chest of treasure in the courtyard of Botsinka's castle. The baby Sofia is lost during the escape and is found by a strange old woman who names her after her cat, and loves and nurtures her as if she were her own child. Jonah, a gallant young man, returns to his father's estate and goes in search of the hidden treasure. However, it is not only Jonah who wants to find the treasure, but also the freeloaders.

The dialogues recorded by the pair of József Nepp and József Romhányi are full of anachronistic utterances, as when Puzzola, in his job description, lists film criticism alongside document forgery and poisoning: „I am an intellectual. I do forgery, poisoning, counterfeiting, film criticism...”. However, in keeping with his oeuvre and his philosophy, Dargay renders the unconventional story accessible not only to the forever young adult, but also to little children, with a strong emphasis on comic characters, misunderstandings, intrigue and amusing dialogue.

Venue: ELTE University Library and Archives, Exhibition space

Time: 21 June 2025, 18:00

(English subtitles are provided for the film.)

The screening is organised by the ELTE–NFI University Film Club. After the film screening, starting at 19:30, a discussion will be offered with animator Zsolt Baumgartner, animation director (Four Souls of Kojot), head of animation studio workshop. English interpretation will also be offered for the conversation.

More details about our programmes are available here and on the Night of Museums’ homepage. All visitors are welcome!