<div>South Bohemian University opened an academic library</div>

České Budějovice - Nearly 500 study places and 400,000 volumes are offered by the new academic library, which was opened today on the campus of the University of South Bohemia. Construction began simultaneously with the opposite building of the Faculty of Philosophy and the Rectorate in April 2008. The costs for the construction of the library and its equipment amounted to over 154 million crowns, said Hana Bumbová, university spokesperson, to ČTK.
    The University of South Bohemia has not had a central library so far; library and information services have been provided by five faculty libraries. The cramped spaces did not allow for an increase in the number of study places or the display of a larger library collection for open selection. If the current trend of acquisitions and losses continues, the existing storage space for books should suffice for at least 50 years.
    The library not only provides enough study places of various levels but also high-quality technical equipment, which, according to students, is incomparable to the conditions in the existing faculty libraries, both in the number of computers and copiers and in audiovisual equipment. The library also provides access to a wide range of online databases.
    At the beginning of November, the university opened a new building for the rectorate and the Faculty of Philosophy. The rectorate, which was previously rented, has obtained its first own headquarters, while the Faculty of Philosophy received modern facilities for education three years after its establishment. Both buildings cost 360.5 million crowns. The construction was funded by the Ministry of Education, and the university contributed more than 21 million crowns from its own resources.
    In the academic year 2009-2010, there are 12,820 students studying at the University of South Bohemia. Since last year, it has consisted of eight faculties and the Institute of Physical Biology in Nové Hrady.