Vohlídalová wrote a book about the construction of the Liberec library

Liberec - Former director of the Regional Scientific Library in Liberec Věra Vohlídalová has written a book about the trials and tribulations that accompanied the construction of the new Liberec library. The work also serves as a collection of personal memories of the dramatic and contradictory fates of people living in the 20th century. The publication, released by the Liberec publisher Bor, is primarily intended for librarians. It is meant to guide them on how to avoid later problems when building new libraries, the author said today to ČTK.
    "The State Technical Library is being built. The National Library will be built, along with many other libraries, so experts can learn from this," she noted. In her book titled On the See-Saw Not Only with the Library, Vohlídalová describes the origin of the Liberec library project, problems with financing the construction, confusion at the Ministry of Culture, the struggle between construction companies, the completion of the work, its global reception, and the court case that she faced for several years due to suspicions of violating budgetary rules. She recounts the feelings of bitterness and anxiety that she experienced during the police investigation and until the court acquitted her two years ago.
    The book is complemented by archival photographs, written documents, and clippings from newspaper articles. Vohlídalová will introduce it to readers for the first time on October 1 at the Liberec library during an author reading, which is part of a national reading event in libraries. The book has been published in an edition of 1000 copies.
    Vohlídalová is now retired and is involved in the Czech-German Women's Forum. For the construction of the library with the Jewish synagogue, also called the Building of Reconciliation, which was supported in 2000 by the then-presidents of the Czech Republic and Germany, Václav Havel and Roman Herzog, she received the German Honorary Cross. She was nominated for a collective honor for the Nobel Peace Prize, and she has also received awards from the magazine Architekt, the Polish and German Library Associations, and in 2001 she was voted the Personality of Liberec by the people.