Skip to main content

This contribution focuses on the internal and external examination of the manuscript catalogue of the Saint Charles Borromeo seminar library, established in 1802 in Banská Bystrica. The section titled Elenchus librorum contains two catalogues with two borrowing diaries attached. The first catalogue was written before 1813 and was used until 1856. A new one was composed in 1857 due to the growth of the library and the changes made in the first one. It was probably used till 1876, when the last additions to the library and borrowings were recorded. The catalogues provide an excellent source of information about the contents of the library and systems of organization. Religious Latin books prevail, but there are also Greek and Slovak exemplars ranging from law to poetry. The borrowing diaries offer knowledge about library administration and borrowing systems. Based on the preserved names of four librarians and one prefect, we know that the library was operated by a different student each year, supervised by a prefect. Today, the catalogue is stored in the State Scientific Library in Banská Bystrica.