Kladno will transform the motor shop into a new city library

Kladno - Kladno will build a new central city library, which will be located in the former car service at Sítná Square. The library currently resides in a nearby building of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering of the Czech Technical University, and the city must relocate it because the university needs these spaces for its development. The costs for the reconstruction and furnishing of the new library building are estimated at 25 million crowns. CTK was informed today by Mayor Dan Jiránek (ODS).
     The new library is expected to become the main center for readers, according to Jiránek. There will be 120,000 to 140,000 books available for loan. The facility will be accessible to people with disabilities, and it will include a reading room and computer rooms with internet access. "Everything will be in one place, which will improve services. In some branches, people currently have to wait for books," Jiránek noted.
     The city library has five branches. After the opening of the new facility, Jiránek stated that the branches in Kročehlavy and the Kladno Castle would be closed. The first building will then be used to expand the capacity of the nursery, while the exhibition spaces of the local gallery will be expanded in the castle library.
     According to the mayor, the closure of these branches should not be a problem for readers. "We chose this location mainly because it is very well accessible; several main bus lines go there," Jiránek believes.
     The city intends to cover part of the costs for creating the library with European subsidies, for which it will apply in August or September. According to Jiránek, work on the project is now concluding, and construction could begin later this year. "The library is something that can be done over the winter. A significant advantage is that it is an adjustment of internal spaces," Jiránek added.
     At the end of last year, the Kladno City Library had 4,374 registered readers who borrowed 231,568 books and documents last year. The regional Central Bohemian Scientific Library is also located in Kladno.