The history of the Sárospatak college library (excerpt)

Sárospataki Lapok, 1882 (Volume 1, No. 1-53)

In addition to the bookselling route, auctions were also a very notable means of increasing our library in this century, until the 1950s. Every year, 10-15 book sales were held in the college classrooms, where the libraries of living or deceased church and secular men from the countryside, or local teachers and older students, were sold in whole or in part. The school administration always used these occasions to increase the library. There was a law that a book auction could not be held without the knowledge and consent of the inspector (contrascriba). When granting this permission, the auctioneer was ordered to present the list of books intended for the book sale to the librarian. In this way, many rare and valuable books came into the possession of the college at a cheap price. Currently, this custom no longer exists. Even if a book auction occurs occasionally, the school board is not aware of it.