National Library is looking for a director, a contract worth a billion awaits him

Prague - The Ministry of Culture, after nearly two years of interim leadership at the National Library (NK), has begun the search for a new director. It has announced a selection process for the position of general director, with candidates able to apply until April 21. The new director is expected to take office on June 1. The library faces primarily the final and most expensive stage of the revitalization of Klementinum, which is expected to cost approximately one billion crowns.

Since the end of April 2015, the library has been managed by heritage preservationist Petr Kroupa, and the Minister of Culture Daniel Herman (KDU-ČSL) is addressing the personnel situation at NK as his term approaches its end.

One of the biggest problems facing NK is the lack of space, a concern that has been significantly addressed over the last 15 years. Originally, the library's leadership advocated for a new building, which led to an international architectural competition. Alleged inconsistencies during the negotiation of land and the organization of the competition, combined with the radical resistance from then-state and city political leaders, who publicly rejected the competition's winner, resulted in the abandonment of this idea. According to librarians, however, the capacity of the library's main headquarters is being filled, and the library may not be able to provide its services in the coming decades.

Subsequently, around 2008, under new institutional leadership, the library leaned towards the option of repairing and expanding the central depository in Hostivař. Simultaneously, the baroque complex of Klementinum is being restored to its historical form, which, according to some librarians, further reduces capacity. By law, NK is the recipient of almost every book published in the Czech Republic. Therefore, librarians from NK have developed a document which presents several future options for the library. In some of them, they reconsider the construction of a new library.

Kroupa told ČTK a year ago that the sensitive restoration of Klementinum and the removal of all later modifications would reduce the capacity of the complex by almost a third. According to experts, the library urgently needs additional capacity. However, Kroupa states that until Klementinum is repaired, it is impossible to address how and where NK will operate. And the revitalization is expected to take another three years.

During Kroupa's tenure, the halted renovation of Klementinum, which began in 2011, has resumed after a three-year delay. Work was delayed due to archaeological findings and ambitious plans to undermine a part of the complex, where the remains of a 13th-century monastery exist. The new study accounts for the use of already existing underground spaces - for visitor facilities and technology - such as for an automatic book transportation system.

With this system, a book should arrive at the requester within 20 minutes of being requested, as is done elsewhere in Europe. In the case of NK, the book must first be transported by truck from Hostivař, then it boards a modern conveyor system in Klementinum. Thus, the journey to the reader takes several hours. Over 250,000 books are transported annually between Klementinum and Hostivař, which librarians criticize.

The last stage of Klementinum's revitalization will involve service limitations, which will also be a task for the new director. Work on the final stage is expected to begin at the end of this year or in the spring of 2018 and should last two, but more likely three years. Alternative spaces are planned for the most critical periods.