The City Library in Náměšť nad Oslavou has new facilities for 1.7 million CZK

Náměšť nad Oslavou – The Municipal Library in Náměšť nad Oslavou today ceremonially opened its new premises. They were created by modifying the ground-floor hall in Husova Primary School. The city hall paid about 1.7 million crowns for construction work and equipment. This was the second major investment in the school building from the 1960s at the end of last year, said the city's mayor Jan Kotačka (Cooperation – Activities). Since December, new school lockers, which cost 6.5 million crowns to renovate, have been in operation.

The municipal library had been closed since last November. It had to relocate from its original premises in a building on Třebíčská Street, which is owned by the region and will be undergoing renovation. The upper floors of the building, next to the region-run high school, could be used by the local art school, which is also long searching for suitable premises, currently using the rectory.

Due to the weight of the books, libraries have specific requirements for the load-bearing capacity of the structures. The statics were crucial for the selection of the new location for the Náměšť library. The choice fell on a conference hall, once the janitor's apartment, on the ground floor of the school building.

The modification created a barrier-free space that can hold about 23,000 books, which the library owns. Even before the actual move, the librarians had to significantly reduce the collection. They removed about 13,000 volumes, mostly damaged or those that readers were not interested in, said the library director Dana Zezulová.

"Preparations for the move began more than a year ago. We had to inspect the premises we were moving to. We had to plan the shelves and update and revise the library collection to fit in here at all. And on November 4, we closed the library with the intention that we started packing books," Zezulová said. Almost 100 boxes of books did not need to be moved, as about 3,500 copies were borrowed by readers to take home. Some took dozens of copies that they will be returning later. "They really helped us a lot," Zezulová said. Some of the discarded books went to a book-sharing box at the train station in Náměšť, where they are freely available for travelers.

The library has over 600 registered readers. For now, they can only borrow printed books. However, the library intends to expand its services to include borrowing e-books. "We have applied for a grant, and if we get it, we will introduce e-book lending this year," Zezulová added. She anticipates that three loans per month will be free for readers.