Libraries and archives
Libraries
The traditional work of the library is to collect, process, store, protect and render accessible published documentation in whatever form s this may take . The library is an important instrument for the practical realization of basic human rights on equality of access to information (which applies to all irrespective of difference, whether this difference is between inhabitants of town and country, people with and people without disabilities, members of minorities and the majority in society), for the free exchange of information, for the acquisition of knowledge and for the free form ing of opinion. It serves as a means for the fulfilment of the rights on information laid down in the constitution, and as such is one of the pillars of a democracy.
The act no. 257/2001 Sb. on libraries and conditions for the operating of public library and information services (the Libraries Act ) is the first new delimitation of the scope of library and information services provision for the general public to have been issued for more than forty years; it accommodates modifications to legislation concerning library services as determined by contemporary developments in society and technology.
In accordance with the act no. 257/2001 Sb. on libraries and conditions for the operating of public library and information services, the system of libraries in the Czech Republic is as follows:
a) libraries governed by the Ministry of Culture − the National Library of the Czech Republic, the Moravian Library and the K. E. Macan Library and Printworks for the Blind
b) regional libraries governed by the competent regional authorities
c) basic libraries governed by the competent municipal authorities or another governing body
d) specialized libraries
Every year the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic gives away the Library of the Year Award, the award was initiated in 2003.
Links
- Database of libraries and information institutions of the Czech Republic (maintained by the National Library of the Czech Republic)
- Database of libraries, archives and museum (maintained by the Arts Institute)
- Database of universities´ libraries
- Knihovny.cz − portal about Czech libraries
- Knihovna.cz − web-site of the Municipal Library in Prostějov focused on libraries in the Czech Republic
- Knihovny.net − libraries in the Czech Republic
- National Digital Library (NDK)
- Association of Libraries of the Czech Republic (SDRUK)
- Association of Librarians and Information Workers of the Czech Republic (SKIP)
- Central Council of Librarians of the Czech Republic
- Institute for Libraries and Librarians of the National Library of the Czech Republic
- Association of Users of the Library System LANius (SKAT)
- Copyright and libraries
- Librarianship and Information Science (KIV)
Archives
The field od archives is covered by the act no. 499/2004 Sb. Documents older than thirty years are available for studying, otherwise only with the approval of the archive´s director.
List of public archives
b) state regional archives in Prague, Třeboň, Plzeň, Litoměřice, Zámrsk, Brno (Moravian Archive), Opava
c) state district archives
d) specialized archives (eg. Archive of Czech Radio, Archive of Czech Television, Archive of the National Museum, Literary Archive of the Museum of Czech Literature or Archive of the National Library)
e) private archives (eg. Archive of the Jewish Museum)
Links
- Archive Funds and collections in the Czech Republic − database of archive funds and collections
- Badatelna.cz − official public portal for searching in the archive funds and collections in the Czech Republic
- Database of libraries, archives and museums − maintained by the Arts Institute
- Czech Archive Society − association of archivists