The new library of the city of H. Králové will open to the public in September 2012

Current state of the former Vertex factory

Hradec Králové, October 12 (CTK) - The new library of the city of Hradec Králové, which has been under construction since winter by converting the Vertex factory on Wonková Street, will open to the public in mid-September next year. In connection with the relocation of the library to the new building, the library will close its three branches in the city in the Elbe basin, in the Prague suburb, and on Eliška's waterfront by mid-next year. The library currently has its main office on Tomková Street in the historical center of the city. CTK was informed about this today by the spokesperson of the municipality, Magdaléna Vlčková.
    The construction of the new library, named the Center for Lifelong Learning, is currently the largest investment project of the city hall. The total costs are expected to reach almost 197 million crowns. The city hall has obtained a grant from European Union funds amounting to 137 million crowns, which represents 85 percent of the so-called eligible costs. The remaining approximately 60 million crowns will be covered by the city's budget.
    The library, which is being created according to the design of architect and actor David Vávra, will offer significantly better services for readers as well as better facilities for staff. In addition to an adult department, the library will have a children's department with a playroom after 16 years. The barrier-free building will also include an audio library for the blind and visually impaired, a study room, a lecture hall, and a café.
    The library's book collection will be newly located in one place, eliminating the need to transport books from the backup storage in Staré Nechanice. Readers will no longer have to wait long for books as they do today when they choose a title that is not in the open selection. "The delivery time will be in the order of minutes and not days, as it is now," said the library director Lenka Václavíková Antošová. In the main office in the city center, the library currently offers only a fraction of the total book collection, which consists of 650,000 units.
    Due to the move, the central lending library on Tomková Street will be out of operation from July 1, 2012, until the opening of the new library in September. The library will also leave the storage facility in Staré Nechanice.
    A characteristic feature of the library building will be a stairwell that will resemble the spine of a book. On the roof of the building, there will be a sculpture of a whale made from a steel skeleton overgrown with climbing plants. From the head of the whale, a geyser of water will occasionally spray.
    In Hradec Králové, a new regional Study and Scientific Library was established in 2008. The construction of the modern building in the shape of the letter X took four years and cost 405 million crowns. In addition to library services, it also offers a conference hall with a capacity of 100 seats, a literary café, and gallery spaces. The library has been built in close proximity to two new buildings of the Hradec Králové University.