Library History

The Moravian-Silesian Research Library in Ostrava was founded in 1951 as the State Study Library, by decree of the Minister of Education, Science, and Art. From 1954 to 2000, it was called the State Research Library in Ostrava. 

 

Reading room and information desk in the 1950s

At the time of its establishment, it was specifically focused on mining and metallurgy in order to meet the needs of Bohemia and Moravia. The library collection was based on the sorted collection of the Technical Library of the Industrial Museum, gifts from the Technical University of Mining, the National Technical Museum in Prague, the Library of Technical Universities, various ministries and some enterprises. In the early years of its existence, the library's specialization was expanded to include Polonica. In addition to related technical fields, especially engineering, considerable weight was attached to work hygiene and occupational medicine.

During its development, the library has been opening up to a still wider range of users. The granting of legal deposit rights for Czechoslovak publications in 1964, together with the demands of the information environment, contributed to shaping the universal collection of our research library, which has continued to this day.

 

Library in the 1970s

The library has faced the problem of insufficient and unsatisfactory space since its inception and throughout its development. Borrowing services and study places are located in the building of the New Town Hall, as well as a part of the storage space for the library collection. However, most of the collection is located in several external buildings in Ostrava, where it is brought daily according to the needs of the readers.

Library in the 1970

Since 2001, the library has been a contributory organization of the Moravian-Silesian Region and operates under the name Moravian-Silesian Research Library in Ostrava. The library also took over the functions of the regional library and therefore, since 2002, it has placed great emphasis on regional functions and regional information (currently supporting more than 400 regional libraries). In addition to its statutory functions, the library takes care of the regional written heritage, for example by building the Digital Library of the Moravian-Silesian Region or a web portal dedicated to the personality and work of Vojtěch Martínek. The library publishes regional e-books and audiobooks under its own care. Despite changes in the library's collection, the library strives to maintain its general focus. The library's involvement in projects aimed at disabled citizens is socially significant - the collection is growing with audiobooks, books for the blind, films with subtitles, etc.

Since 2004, a new library project has been in progress, resulting from the tender of the Moravian-Silesian Region for a building corresponding to the needs of modern library science. The new facility should cover all the library collections and services provided in one modern and timeless space, increasing the comfort of the library visitors and its employees.

 

 

After reconstruction in 2018

The library is involved in a number of educational and cultural events in the city and the region. It is dedicated to leisure education and popularization of science. The library's consultation and educational activities for students and teachers of secondary schools and universities are significant.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the library, we published the publication 70 Years of the Research Library in Ostrava, where you can learn much more about the library history.