István Monok received his Doctorate from József Attila University, Szeged, in 1983, and was awarded the C.Sc. in Literary Sciences, by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1992; habilitation: 1993; Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2010.

Having worked in the Central Library of József Attila University, in the Schools of Library Science, and in the Institut of European Civilisation (Szeged), he was appointed Director General of the National Széchényi Library in 1999. Since 2010 he is professor in the Károly Eszterházy University (Eger), and at the University of Szeged. He is currently the Director General of the Library and Archives of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.