Position of SKIP on the open letter from academics

SKIP, in its statement, rejects the problematic claims of a group of scholars and educators led by Jiří T. Kotalík, who attempt to question the ongoing efforts to prepare for the construction of the new building of the National Library of the Czech Republic. It points out that Klementinum is not a viable location for the operation of the National Library as a whole. Even extensive and undesirable interventions in this national cultural heritage site would not resolve the situation of the National Library in the long term. SKIP completely rejects the assertion that 80% of the National Library's collections are worthless, even though the published national production is preserved here regardless of its content, artistic, or other value, as it as a whole constitutes the memory of the nation. SKIP considers the opinion that the further development of the National Library can only be addressed in connection with the situation of Charles University Library as completely irrelevant. SKIP reminds that the National Library is the only national institution for which a building has never been constructed, and calls on the Prime Minister, the Mayor of Prague, and the Ministers of Culture and Education to advocate for the construction of a new National Library building in the shortest possible timeframe.

Vít Richter
Chairman of SKIP