Petition for a new National Library has already gathered 12,000 signatures

Prague - A petition in support of the construction of a new National Library (NK) building according to the winning design by Jan Kaplický has already been signed by 12,000 people. Jiří Černický, one of the petition organizers, told ČTK today. Together with other members of the petition committee, he also had a meeting today with Mayor Pavel Bém. The potential construction of the library is currently pending a decision from the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), among other things.
    On this fact, which Bém conveyed to the petition committee, the National Library team also agreed last week. This team spent four months examining the possibility of building the library. The two advisory groups, one focused on heritage preservation and the other on architecture, no longer saw obstacles in preparing the construction at the end of the discussions, but the third group, composed of lawyers, did not reach a clear conclusion.
    Therefore, Deputy Minister of Culture František Mikeš and a member of the NK team turned to the ÚOHS to determine whether it is possible to announce a public contract based on the results of the international architectural competition. However, the mayor today also mentioned financial concerns to the petition organizers. He feared that it would be expensive, estimating costs to be around half of the annual budget of the Ministry of Culture, which must also allocate funds for other institutions, Černický told ČTK.
    Until a feasibility study for the construction exists, the exact costs for the library are not known. Discussions have suggested a range of two to five billion crowns.
    Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek stated in the fall that the construction of the new NK building is not among the government's priorities and, unlike the reconstruction of the National Museum and the main seat of the NK at Klementinum, the state does not have the funds for it. Nevertheless, the state budget this year includes allocations for the construction. The Program for Supporting the Care of the National Cultural Heritage includes expenditures for the renovation of Klementinum as well as funds for new construction - this year it is 219 million crowns. However, the Ministry of Culture will only release these funds if the investor, which is NK as its contribution organization, meets certain conditions - for example, resolves the situation regarding the land. If not, the ministry will use the funds elsewhere.
    Several petitions and initiatives have emerged regarding the proposed library construction. Shortly after the emergence of the aforementioned petition from architects, artists, and educators from these fields, another organized group from the Prague theater Ta Fantastika appeared. They wish for the library from Kaplický, but not in Letná. In February, students submitted a petition to the Ministry of Culture demanding that, after a potential completion of the new building, the current main seat of NK at Klementinum be transferred to the administration of Charles University. Nearly a thousand people signed the petition, according to the organizers.