National Library of the
Czech Republic
Introduction
9. – 10. 2. 2015
BOOK DISCOVERED ONCE AGAIN

Klementinum

Central depository

And depository in Neratovice!

History
• 11th century first records attesting the
existence of St. Clement's Chapel
• 1556 Jesuits came to Bohemia and built a
college upon the ruins of the Dominican
monastery - Klementinum
• 1622 from now the Charles University is
administered by Jesuits who transfer the
Charles University libraries to Klementinum
• 1773 Jesuits leave Klementinum
• 1777 the empress Mary Theresa - the title
of Imperial-Royal Public and University
Library, open to the public

History
•1781 K. R. Ungar founds the
National Library (Bibliotheca
nationalis)
• 1782 since now the Prague
printers hand in a legal deposit
copy to the library
• 1807 the duty of legal deposit
copy is extended to cover all
Czech printers
• 1935 the library is renamed to
National and University Library

History
• 1939 after the closure of Czech universities and
colleges, it continues under the name of
Municipal and University Library
• 1958 all large Prague libraries are merged into a
single centralized one with the name of State
Library of the Czech Republic
• 1990 the library is renamed - the National Library
• 1996 Central Depository in Hostivař
• 2012 National Digital Library
• 2014 New Central Depository in Hostivař

Collections in the National Library
2 legal deposit copies
National archival collection
- the most important collection in the Czech Republic – large completeness
- books are lent in the building – only if it is necessary (Central depository)
Universal library collection
- books are lent only in the building,
but very often (Klementinum)

Collections in the National Library
Study collection
- books are lent outside the building
Manuscripts and early printed books
- historical book collections from the beginnings of the literature up to 1800
- the rarest book:
- The Original Codex of Vyšehrad
- It is the oldest manuscript document
related to the Czech environment by the
circumstances of its origin that was the
coronation of Prince Vratislav II the frst
King of Bohemia in 1086

Collections preservation
• monitoring climate parameters and cleanliness of
depositories for library collections storage
• individual and mass conservation and restoration of
library collections
• bookbinding and other preservation activities

Collections preservation
• mass deacidification of library collections – in Germany

Digital Library – Kramerius
kramerius4.nkp.cz
• includes several million
digitised pages of
monographs and periodicals
from the collections of the
National Library of the CR,
which have been digitised
within the National Digital
Library Project
• the Digital Library also
contains documents
digitised within the previous
projects and accessed in the
lower version of Kramerius 3

Digital Library – Manuscriptorium
www.manuscriptorium.com
• access to all existing
digital documents in
the sphere of historic
book resources
(manuscripts,
incunabula, early
printed books, maps,
charters and other
types of documents)

Thank you!
Anna Vandasová
Anna.Vandasova@nkp.cz