The National Technical Library will begin trial operation in January

Prague - The trial operation of the National Technical Library at Fleming Square in Prague 6 is set to begin on January 1, 2009. In the spring of next year, books will start moving in from Klementinum. The library's loan system will be initiated in June, reported the Ministry of Education spokesperson Kateřina Böhmová to ČTK. The official opening of the library is planned for September 2009.
    The Ministry is responsible for the library's construction project, which is expected to cost around 2.5 billion crowns. The building will be paid off gradually by 2014. It will have a capacity for over 1.7 million books. About 1.2 million volumes will be able to be stored in three underground storage facilities. The rest will fit into open selection across four above-ground floors.
    In the new library, readers will have access to combined library collections from the State Technical Library (STK) and the libraries of the Czech Technical University in Prague and the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. Students from these schools will have the library at their disposal. It is expected that it will be visited by up to around 900,000 visitors annually.
    The library will have both assisted and self-service borrowing and returning of publications. An outdoor self-service return box for returning borrowed documents will be accessible 24 hours a day.
    The building will include approximately 1,200 study places, with an additional 300 designated for relaxation. Visitors will be able to access one of four computer classrooms equipped with a total of 180 places. There will also be a study room for people with disabilities and multimedia study rooms suitable for the visually impaired. A night study room will operate nonstop.
    There will be 24 information terminals for access to online catalogs, and computers will be freely placed throughout the library. Registered users will be able to use the WiFi network for free. Visitors will have the opportunity to take a break from studying in a café with 150 seats.