NK: We want the repository in Hostivař by the year 2013

Prague - The National Library (NK) is reviving plans for the construction of a depository in Prague's Hostivař, which had previously been overshadowed by the controversial "octopus" project of architect Jan Kaplický in Prague's Letná district. Recent developments in the case have likely contributed to this, as the antimonopoly office announced that the competition for the design of the new NK building was in conflict with the law according to the European Commission.
    The construction of the new depository, which is expected to accommodate 1.7 million volumes, should be completed by 2013 at the latest; construction is set to begin a year earlier. The library management will present its solution to the current lack of space for book storage to the Ministry of Culture by the end of August, NK director Vlastimil Ježek said today.
    "The new depository will at least alleviate the significant problem of lack of space in the depositories, but it does not solve the shortage of study places and space for employees," Ježek stated. He anticipates that annual increments until 2020 will be stored in the new depository. By then, they aim to definitively resolve the issue of constructing a new building, whether in Letná or elsewhere, he added.
    Recent estimates for the construction costs of the new depository range from 300 to 370 million crowns. The library management wishes to connect the new building with the existing depository at the first and second floor levels. However, according to Ježek, the depository is only a temporary solution; extensive transportation of collections from Hostivař to the Old Town is indeed uneconomical, slow, and detrimental to the books.
    The existing building of the depository was completed in the mid-90s due to a similar crisis of space shortages. It is approximately a 40-year-old building that originally belonged to the former national enterprise Výstavnictví. "It had structural issues because its foundation is sandy. Storing stage sets and books is indeed a very big difference. Therefore, new foundations with deep piles need to be created for the new building," explained Ježek.
    The area of the depository, the land of which is owned by NK, must be completed because the National Library has no other choice. However, as he adds, it is not a lost investment. If the problems with the new library building and Klementinum can be resolved, the Hostivař depository will reportedly be utilized as a deposit center for museums and galleries.
    Currently, approximately 2.5 million volumes of books are stored in Klementinum, while the old depository in Hostivař houses four million volumes. The average annual increment is around 80,000 to 100,000 volumes. The share of books that can be accessed within a matter of hours is continually decreasing at NK; books stored outside Klementinum are available within days.
    The management of NK has been striving for the construction of a new National Library building for four years. The facility should accommodate around ten million volumes, which is a reserve for roughly 50 years. However, the future of the project has been stagnant for more than a year.