Teleki Library
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| Established | 1802 |
|---|---|
| Location | Târgu Mureş |
| Branches | N/A |
| Collection | |
| Size | 200,000 catalogued books: 40,000 from Teleki heritage, 80,000 from Reformed College, collections of monastery, churches and schools |
| Access and use | |
| Circulation | Library and Bolyai Museum is publicly circulate |
| Other information | |
| Director | Klára Lázok |
| Website | www.telekiteka.ro |
The Teleki Library (Hungarian: Teleki Téka, Romanian: Biblioteca Teleki-Bolyai), also known as Teleki-Bolyai Library and Bibliotheca Telekiana, is a historic public library and current museum in Târgu-Mureş, Romania. One of the richest Transylvanian collections of cultural artefacts, it was founded by the Hungarian Count Sámuel Teleki in 1802, at the time when Transylvania was part of the Habsburg Monarchy, and has been open to the reading public ever since. It was among the first institutions of its kind in the Habsburg-ruled Kingdom of Hungary.
It houses over 200,000 volumes, of which many are rarities, constituting a comprehensive scientific database. The book collection is divided into several smaller libraries, of which the two main donations are the original 40,000-volume Teleki Library and the 80,000-volume Bolyai Library; the rest, grouped as the Miscellaneous Collection, is made up of several private libraries, volumes previously held by religious schools and those of a Franciscan monastery. Overall, the library constitutes a collection of most traditional types of Transylvanian book.
Its founder, Count Sámuel Teleki de Szék (1739–1822) was one of the most learned book collectors of the time. From the very beginning, he intended his collection as a public library, and developed it throughout his life; he remained a committed and active bibliophile despite his time-consuming administrative career — he was Chancellor of Transylvania from 1791 until his death — building on his relations with all important European printing and publishing houses, and purchasing all important works published between the invention of the movable type and the early 19th century.
In order to publicize his library, Teleki compiled and published a four-volume catalogue (Vienna, 1796–1819), divided according to general topics. Teleki's own instructions concerning the operation of the library are also presented in the catalogue (Volume II).
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