The National Library has built a depository for five million books

Prague - Five million volumes are housed in the newly built Central Depository of the National Library (NK) in Prague's Hostivař. The facility, which the library's management presented to journalists today, has also seen the relocation of its digitization department and other processing activities from the main NK headquarters in Klementinum. There are plans for the renovation of the older part of the depository, which holds nearly three million books, and the construction of an additional building. Once completed, there should be ten million volumes in Hostivař, while approximately 1.7 million books will remain in Klementinum.
    The expansion of the depository addresses the long-term space shortage of the library and replaced a more ambitious project for a new library building. The winning design by Jan Kaplický from an international architectural competition was never realized. The project was partly abandoned due to the resistance from politicians, primarily driven by the strong dislike of former President Václav Klaus towards Kaplický's proposal; the competition also faced criticism for alleged rule violations regarding the winner, and NK was accused of underestimating the preparation for the project, particularly concerning land ownership. The idea for the new building was halted in 2008 by then Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička, and the library, under new leadership, began pursuing the path of expanding the depository and renovating Klementinum.
    The costs for the entire renovation of Klementinum are estimated to be 1.9 billion crowns, while the total costs for the renovation and expansion of the depository are still unknown. Both of these expenses are covered by the program for the care of the national cultural treasure. NK aims to gain capacity for its collections for the next 50 to 60 years through these modifications. The new library building was also intended to have similar costs and capacity, but its bonus could have been the contribution to contemporary architecture and the discussion surrounding it, which is lacking in Czech society.
    The construction of the new depository was completed at the end of 2012, and books were moved last year. The depository also contains areas with strict climate conditions, as it will house the National Conservation Fund.
    The Central Depository was built in the mid-90s, utilizing an older reinforced concrete hall that was renovated, with an administrative section added. NK announced a tender for the expansion of the depository in 2010, but a year later, the new director Tomáš Böhm canceled it as overpriced, reducing the original total costs by more than 120 million to approximately 300 million crowns. He faced criticism for randomly selecting five finalists from 15 applicants. Böhm defended his approach, stating that the lottery was a quick and objective solution. According to current information, the construction of the new depository cost 387 million crowns.
    The completion of the depository also depends on the continuation of the revitalization of Klementinum. This began four years ago, is being carried out during ongoing operations, and should be completed by the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018.
    This depends on funding from the government program for caring for the national cultural treasure - the relevant institutions included are lagging behind in utilizing funds from it. The program has had approval for over ten billion crowns since 2006, yet only just over 2.5 billion has been spent on repairs and new constructions for national cultural institutions' headquarters. Culture Minister Daniel Herman will therefore ask the government on Wednesday to secure additional funding for the program.