The NK repository will be a place for ten million books after construction

Additionally, the depository houses a workplace for the digitization of collections and their further processing, as well as areas with strict climate conditions, as the National Conservation Fund is stored there.

At the Clementinum, after its many years of reconstruction, only nearly two million books will remain, but these will be the most frequently borrowed volumes. The revitalization of the Baroque complex is expected to be completed in 2018, costing a total of 1.88 billion, and this year and next will see significant restrictions on services to readers. Some library services will be taken over by the Hostivař depository.

"The new building in Hostivař will serve not only as a depository and location for some National Library workplaces, but there will also be a study room accessible during extended opening hours, which will facilitate access to the National Conservation Fund," stated the library spokesperson Irena Maňáková to ČTK.

The most significant restrictions on services and access to books will occur in 2017. At its peak, up to 80 percent of the collections, out of approximately seven million in the National Library, will be off-site and thus unavailable for standard study. The third stage of the reconstruction of the Clementinum will be the most extensive, involving repairs to entire historical wings of the Baroque complex.

The Central Depository was built in the mid-90s, utilizing an older concrete hall that was reconstructed and supplemented with an administrative section. Two years ago, a new building was opened, and the National Library vacated most of its depositories outside Prague, which were located at Houska Castle, in a warehouse in Neratovice, and in the castles of Postoloprty and Buštěhrad.

The reconstruction of the old building is planned for the first half of 2016. "The reconstruction itself is expected to take approximately 12 to 14 months. We will have a more precise idea after the completion of the contractor selection process," the spokesperson stated. Including the project and preparatory work, the reconstruction is budgeted at 141 million crowns excluding VAT.

For the second phase of the new depository's construction, she indicated that 407 million crowns are projected, although the project documentation has not yet been completed. The National Library expects to begin construction in spring 2017, which should take about a year. The contractor for the construction work is not yet known for either of the two buildings.

Both are funded by the national cultural heritage care program. The completion of the depository addresses the long-term space shortage of the library and replaces a more ambitious project for a new library building. The winning design by Jan Kaplický from an international architectural competition remains unrealized. Through the revitalization of the Clementinum and the completion of the depository, the National Library aims to acquire capacity for its collections for the next 50 to 60 years. The new library building was intended to have the same cost and capacity parameters, with the added bonus of contributing to contemporary architecture and the discussion around it, which is currently lacking in Czech society.