Library Overview

The Moravian-Silesian Research Library in Ostrava is located in the New Town Hall building in Ostrava at Prokešovo nám. 9, where most of the services are provided to users. The library has a long history in Ostrava, celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2021. A new building, known as the Black Cube, is currently under construction.  

Virtual tour

Main building (lending room, study room..)

Left wing of the New Town Hall (makerspace)

The collection

The library collection is regularly expanded by adding both print and electronic publications on various scientific subjects, with only selective additions of fiction for adults and children. We are also expanding our special collection for the visually and hearing impaired. The catalogue is used to search the collection.

Services

We provide registered users with:    

• Borrowing publications, including documents from Czech and foreign production, foreign and bilingual publications, e-books, and audiobooks. We also loan all periodicals published in the Czech Republic and a number of foreign periodicals.    
• Access to electronic information resources from your home – the library’s own databases, Czech and foreign databases, as well as freely accessible resources.

Services are provided according to the library rules and fees.

Students up to 18 years of age, seniors over 70, and people with disabilities (holders of a ZTP card) are registered free of charge.

You do not need to register to use:

• Consultations on writing papers, theses, extended essays etc. – provided free of charge to university and high school students.
• Online training courses for students, librarians and the general public (Moodle, Czech only).
• Educational and cultural events for the public, schools, teachers and librarians. 
• Printing services (self-service copying, printing) and scanning. 
• 3D printer – introductory sessions for schools.
• Public internet – free WiFi is available in the building and internet access via several PC terminals.

Education

Education for public is a significant part of the library's mission. We center our educational programs around four core areas: media literacy, academic support, cybersecurity, and STEM education. We provide:

• consultations on writing papers, theses, extended essays etc. - provided free of charge to university and high school students,
• educational and cultural events for the public, schools, teachers and librarians,
• online training courses for students, librarians and the general public (Moodle, Czech only).

More activities

An important task of the library is digitization, aimed at the permanent preservation and protection of cultural heritage. Digitized documents are made available in the Digital Library. Our library is also active in publishing and participates in national and international projects. The library reports on its activities in its annual report (Czech only). The library serves as the regional library of the Moravian-Silesian Region and provides methodological support and guidance to libraries in the region.

Peek into the library