Special Collection Department
The Special Collection Department of the Public Library "George Baritiu" - Brasov was established in 1981. The main collection, consisting of old and rare books and manuscripts, was initially formed by taking over the collection of a former library, called ASTRA. Later, it was enriched by acquisitions and donations.
The department preserves documents, organised in specific book funds as follows:
• Romanian and foreign old books (1502-1830), in 13 languages– Latin, Greek, English, French, Italian, German, Hungarian, Hebrew, Turkish etc.;
• manuscripts and documents;
• periodicals, among them "Transylvania Gazette" and "Foaie pentru minte, inima si literatura";
• a collection of old maps;
• a collection of illustrated postcards from Brasov and Barsa Region;
• a collection of ex-libris most of them donated by Emil I. Bologa;
• a collection of photography.
The department has got the following catalogues:
• the alphabetical catalogue, organised chronologically on subjects, for the manuscripts;
• the alphabetical and chronological catalogue for the foreign old books;
• the chronological catalogue for the old Romanian books;
• in the near future, new databases will be ready to be used.
Into the Romanian and foreign old books collection some precious copies could be remarked:
• the oldest printed work - Dicta et facta memorabilia, by Valerius Maximus, printed in 1502 in Venice by the editor Aldus Manutius;
• the oldest printed work in Brasov from the collection of our department is The New Testament, a Greek and Latin bilingual edition, published in 1557, through the good offices of Valentin Wagner;
• our collection also consists of Romanian old books printed in different cities: Carte românească de învăţătură (Iaşi, 1643), Îndreptarea legii (Târgovişte, 1652), Evanghelie greco-romana (Bucureşti, 1693) etc.;
• The foreign old books were printed in well-known European cultural cities: Venice, Paris, Basel, Lyon, Rome etc. There are also copies printed by prestigious editors and printers like Aldus Manutius, Jean Petit, Johannes Frobenius, Christophorus Plantinus, Robertus Stephanus etc.;
• of special patrimony value are the religious works, remarkable due to their rarity:
Apostol (the 14th century), Învăţături monahale si pateric (the 15th century), Psaltire (the end of the 16th century), written in Slavonic, and also Octoihul slavo-roman (the 16th century).
The readers’ access to the patrimony collections of the department is limited by the age – at least 18 years old – and conditioned by their education, the knowledge of the old languages, the aim of the work they intend to write and the norms and regulations to be respected.