Declaration of the National Library regarding the case of the new building

Prague - Statement of the leadership of the National Library (NL) regarding the developments concerning the new building of the NL:

Response of the leadership of the National Library of the Czech Republic to the statement of the Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička regarding the construction of the new building of the NL CR

Missing land - this is, according to the late evening appearance of the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic Václav Jehlička (Events and Comments ČT), the main and essentially only obstacle to the construction of the new building of the National Library. The leadership of the National Library, relying on the memorandum of cooperation from December 2004, various supportive statements and resolutions at the level of the City of Prague and especially on the still valid resolution of the City Council of Prague from March 2006, has long believed that it was dealing with a partner from whom it need not fear the violation of promises or dishonest conduct. However, this trust has been shattered in recent months. Therefore, the National Library will explore the possibility of filing a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator from the Magistrate of the City of Prague for the potential large-scale damage due to the non-fulfillment of the still valid resolution of the City Council of Prague. At the same time, it will turn to the Ombudsman of the Czech Republic JUDr. Otakar Motejl for help, as valid official procedures in the negotiations regarding the land have repeatedly been replaced by the individual positions of the city representatives - contrary to everything that has been declared verbally and in writing.

Given the constantly returning doubts about the real need for a new building of the National Library, we will organize a conference on the National Library and Klementinum at the end of this year, to which we will invite representatives of all opinion groups and movements.

We consider the preservation of 1.9 billion from the state budget for the construction of the new building, the increase of finances for the revitalization of Klementinum to 1.1 billion, and the resolution regarding the financing of the completion of the Hostivař depository as positive regarding the future of the National Library. In recent weeks, we have been in intensive discussions with the Ministry of Culture on how to bridge the insufficient storage capacities while postponing the construction of the new library. We agreed that the solution would be the expansion of the Central Depository of the NL in Hostivař. If the Minister of Culture has now stated that he has the necessary funds for its completion, then we are also gaining the time needed for the construction of the new building of the National Library to move forward.

Regarding the claims made by the Minister of Culture in his statement yesterday, we would like to add two important notes:

1) We do not consider the project for the new building of the National Library to be an unprepared or even "adventurous" action.
a) The future locations of the National Library (Klementinum + Hostivař or a new building) were intensely addressed by the former management of the NL CR already in the 80s and 90s. After the floods in 2002, it became evident (given the impossibility of placing the collections underground) that the National Library cannot remain solely in Klementinum without an external location for the majority of its collections, which significantly reduces the quality of services.
b) More than a year before the announcement of the competition, we began to hold intensive talks at all important levels - starting from the City of Prague, through the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic to the Government of the Czech Republic. (A list of all important resolutions and statements can be found at http://www.nkp.cz/novabudova/novabudova_usneseni.htm.)

2) The National Library has never intended to leave the historic complex of Klementinum. Therefore, it is confusing when the Minister of Culture states that instead of constructing a new building, Klementinum will be renovated, where the National Library will remain. In Klementinum, there will not be - even after the relocation of the National Technical Library to a new building in Dejvice - sufficient capacity for the collections of the NL. Furthermore, the division and nature of the monument-protected buildings will not allow offering users modern study rooms with adequate capacity and building adequate library support here. (A more detailed explanation can be found at http://www.nkp.cz/files/skip_otevreny_dopis.pdf.)

Since December 2004, when the plans for the new building of the National Library and the site selected for its construction were first reported in the newspapers, more than two years have passed until the announcement of the results of the architectural competition. During this time, no one publicly opposed either the intention or the selected site!
We now have a project that represents - according to the opinions of leading experts from various countries - a real world-class standard in the field of librarianship. (This is evidenced by invited lectures at prestigious world conferences, among other things.) It should be realized in a location that will be well accessible to thousands of its users. Even heritage preservationists have no objections against the location of the library. Only at this stage have opponents appeared, who, apart from aesthetic discontent, vaguely claim that "the library according to Kaplický's project cannot be built here". While it is possible to discuss specific arguments, similar fact-free statements like "it cannot be done" only evoke very unpleasant feelings and memories of pre-November times.

Vlastimil Ježek, General Director of the NL CR
Bohdana Stoklasová, Director of Modern Collections and Services of the NL CR
Lukáš Babka, Director of the Slavonic Library
Dagmar Růžičková, Director of the Economic and Personnel Department of the NL CR
Martin Vácha, Director of the Investment Development Department