Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation supports preservation of Hungarian Forestry Association’s technical library

The Országos Erdészeti Egyesület (Hungarian Forestry Association) has been in existence for over 150 years. Its object is to develop and preserve the traditions, culture and literature of forest workers. The associated library is actually a few years older. Thanks to a donation from the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation, it has been possible to purchase a highly efficient book scanner. Hungarian President János Áder and minister of agriculture Sándor Fazekas visited the library and were so impressed that they promised additional financial support for the project.

The library is intended to serve the preservation and exchange of knowledge among forestry scientists and has acquired, among other items, research results and literature of the regional and national forestry educational institutions.  In 1866, it already comprised 1,000 books and was growing quickly. At that time, members of the forestry association contributed publications and exchanged information with other associations.  In the years between 1949 and 1989 the collection was seriously neglected, hardly grew and could no longer fulfill its original purpose.  The declared aim of the Wagner-Károly-Stiftung (Charles Wagner Foundation) founded by the Hungarian Forestry Association in 1990 is to maintain this precious library, develop it further and furnish it with the necessary technical equipment. The biggest project at the moment is digitizing historical books and correspondence.