And after the completion of the depository, students will continue to go to Klementinum

Prague - Even after the expansion of the Hostivař depository, whose new building the National Library inaugurated recently, students will still go to the historical complex of Klementinum for information. Although most of the books will be stored in the depository, two million of the most frequently borrowed volumes will remain in the main building of the library after the demanding and multi-year reconstruction of the baroque complex. Researchers will primarily travel to Hostivař for books that can only be studied on-site. Increasing the capacity of the depository does not yet mean more frequent transportation of books and, therefore, higher costs.
  The Central depository in Hostivař was created in the mid-90s from an older reinforced concrete hall, which was renovated and had a new administrative section added. The tender for the construction of the depository was announced by the NK in 2010, two years after the final end of plans for new construction according to Jan Kaplický's project. The building according to the design of the Atrea studio was completed in 2012, and last year the books were moved.
  The depository houses two million volumes, and in the older building, which is set for renovation, there are another five million books. There are plans for another building, which should accommodate three million volumes. "The older building should be repaired by the end of 2015, and the completion of the new one ideally by the end of 2018," said Hanuš Hemola, deputy director of the NK. However, he describes the ideal state where the process is not delayed by complications in the tender process. Afterwards, there should be ten million volumes in Hostivař, while about 1.7 million books will remain in Klementinum.
  The fact that most of the NK collections are outside Klementinum is not new. The NK has also utilized extra-Prague depositories such as Houska Castle, a warehouse in Neratovice, and castles in Postoloprty and Buštěhrad. Most of the library's facilities were abandoned after the depository was completed; at that time, about one-third of the collections were in Klementinum, with two-thirds in Hostivař. The NK still operates a depository in Neratovice, where reserve funds are stored.
  A car runs twice a day between the Central depository and Klementinum, transporting all paper mail, including the dispatch of books. Although less frequently accessed parts of the collections and archival and conservation funds are stored in Hostivař, the National Library is not a conventional lending library, therefore the requests of its users are more specific, reminds Hemola. Almost every NK user finds themselves in a situation now and then, where they have to wait longer for documents because they are stored in Hostivař or must travel there.
  The scope of the NK collections designated for borrowing at home is narrow. "General lending is not the primary mission of the NK; other libraries are established for these tasks. Given the small scope, it is possible to continue having this part of the collections in Klementinum," he says. According to Hemola, the volume of collections stored in Klementinum will decrease due to the overall construction design and increasing demands for quality and security of storage. "Here, the risks of placing the library in a building that is subject to the highest degree of heritage protection are added to its mission as a national library, whose main task is the growth of collections of national literary production and their conservation character," he reminded.
  "If the number of annual acquisitions and the decrease of the library is at a comparable level as in the last ten years, we should have a reserve for at least 40 years," says Hemola. This figure can also change, depending on publishing policies, where costs for individual titles are reduced due to budget constraints, and the number of titles published is expanded, printed books are published alongside digital ones, and other libraries gradually reduce their physical holdings, all of which affects the capacity of NK's spaces. "And of course, alongside the 'shelves,' the NK will need an increasingly larger data capacity - precisely parameterized data storage with security certifications," explains Hemola.