<h1>Call for the Construction of the New Moravian-Silesian Scientific Library in Ostrava</h1>

The leadership of the Moravian-Silesian Regional Office decided, according to a press release dated June 11, 2009, that it will not proceed with the implementation of the already completed and approved project for the new construction of the regional scientific library on 28. října street in Ostrava. The winning project from a regular architectural competition organized by the regional office in 2004 not only won first place in the contest, which serves as proof that without transparent competition, there is no free society, but it also gained our sympathy.
This is because we consider the project to be high quality, prominent, and worthy of a public building of such significance as a public library with a scientific focus. We firmly believe that a pluralistic society cannot be imagined without quality access to diverse sources of information. A democracy worthy of its name must offer more such sources – including municipal, university, private, or specifically scientific libraries, now in regions managed by the counties. Therefore, our civic and politically independent initiative, uniting citizens who recognize the importance of libraries for the development of society, turns to the widest public with a request for support.

We address the current leadership of the Moravian-Silesian Regional Office, led by Governor Ing. Jaroslav Palas, with a protest against the current approach and simultaneously request that the regional leadership revoke its decision regarding the rejection of the already existing and approved project. We believe that it is necessary to further discuss possibilities for its financing, both with the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the European Union, the city of Ostrava, as well as with other entities. We demand that the regional office announce a tender for the construction contractor and that it begin its implementation as soon as possible.

Furthermore, we are addressing this petition to the European Commission to review the possibility of alternative uses for the funds designated for the construction of the library, and to the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, Prof. Václav Riedlbauch, to consider ways to support the existing project. We also turn to the Mayor of the city of Ostrava, Ing. Petr Kajnar, to support the project through his position, the significance of which for the forthcoming event – Ostrava, European Capital of Culture 2015 - although not its immediate part, is undeniable.

Ostrava is, in the field of higher services in science and culture, in many ways a city of makeshifts, a city deeply rooted in the last century, which has not yet managed to tackle many problems of its cultural infrastructure inherited from both the distant and recent past. Therefore, we consider it important to oppose the creation of another makeshift and a poor solution. Moreover, it is an undeniable fact that while the current project was to be substantially financed from European Union and state funds, the regional office now plans to allocate the acquired money for completely different purposes and intends to shift the financing of the library to the shoulders of the state and future regional budget. As a result, the allegedly "cheaper" future construction of the Moravian-Silesian Scientific Library for Czech taxpayers could turn out to be more expensive than the implementation of the current project, which the regional office claims is allegedly more expensive. It is also worth noting that part of the current project includes an integrated parking garage, incorporated beyond the original winning design at the request of the city of Ostrava and with the consent of the regional office. While this did increase the cost of implementation, on the other hand, this intention was supposed to provide the city with the missing parking spaces, which are so important in the immediate vicinity of the Ostrava Cultural House. The current leadership of the regional office does not mention these facts in its arguments, although they completely change the perception of the alleged excessive cost of the current project.

We do not agree with such a distortion of facts. Good solutions must be earned. This petition may also contribute to that – a voice in support of the "Black Cube" according to the winning project from the regular architectural competition by architects Ladislav Kuba and Tomáš Pilař. We thank everyone who supports the new construction of the scientific library in Ostrava – the Black Cube – according to the existing proposal through this petition.

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