The Foyer Hongrois, a publicly-funded Hungarian retirement home in Montreal, decided to eliminate its entire library, citing a lack of space in the facility and low circulation figures. Sparking significant dismay among local Hungarians, the Board of Directors decided unilaterally to dispose of more than 2,000 Hungarian-language books. A large dumpster was parked at the side entrance of the residence and it was filled to the brim with books of all genres and varieties, before being hauled away for recycling. Security camera footage recorded volunteers carrying out piles and piles of books, tossing them into the container. The still shot, once the dumpster is completely filled with the discarded library, is a disquieting sight for any book lover.
The Foyer Hongrois explained that space in the facility is at a premium and that the room occupied by the former library will be transformed to accommodate health care staff from the CLSC, Québec’s network of local clinics. The Foyer also maintains, following sharp criticism of this unilateral decision, that its board was under no legal obligation to consult with anyone prior to having the books destroyed.
On the Foyer Hongrois’s Facebook page appeared a curious, bilingual (English-Hungarian) post from someone associated with the institution who was clearly uncomfortable with the decision. The post, which included security footage of the disposal of books, reads:
“A milestone in the decline of the Hungarian community in Montreal: The ‘Hungarian Heritage Library’, property of the Hungarian community, hosted by the Foyer Hongrois, has been recycled. Collected over 25 years, contained more then 2000 selected volumes from Hungarian literature: historical novels, books of poetry, traditional handcrafting, dictionaries, encyclopedias, Révai and more and translated classics of the world literature: prose and poetry.”
The reaction in the community was generally one of shock and anger. While it is understood that the number of people in Montreal who can read Hungarian continues to dwindle and books do take up lots of space, it would have been more helpful had the Foyer announced its plans prior to the library’s destruction, allowing for locals to salvage what they could of the collection–or at least help explore possible alternatives.