Library overview

 The Moravian-Silesian Research Library in Ostrava is located in the building of the New Town Hall in Ostrava at Prokešovo nám. 9, where most of the services are provided to the users. The library has a long history in Ostrava, celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2021. Currently, the groundwork is being prepared for the construction of a new building – the so-called Black Cube. In 2022, we expect the construction work to begin. 

Virtual tour

Main building (lending room, study room..)

left wing of the New Town Hall (makerspace)

The collection

The library collection is being regularly expanded by adding both print and electronic publications on various scientific subjects, with only selective additions of fiction for adults and children. We are also expanding our special collection for the visually and hearing impaired. A catalogue is used to search the collection.

Services

We provide registered users with:    

• Borrowing publications (documents from Czech and foreign production, foreign and bilingual publications, e-books or audiobooks). We also loan all periodicals published in the Czech Republic and a number of foreign periodicals.    
• Access to electronic information resources from your home to a number of databases – library’s own, Czech and foreign, we also map freely accessible resources.

Services are provided according to the library rules and fees.

Students up to 18 years of age, seniors over 70 years of age and the disabled (holders of a ZTP card) are registered free of charge.

You do not need to register to use:

• Consultations on writing papers, theses, extended essays etc. – provided free of charge to university and high school students.
• Online training courses for students, librarians and the general public (Moodle, Czech only).
• Educational and cultural events for the public, schools, teachers and librarians. 
• Printing services (self-service copying, printing) and scanning. 
• 3D printer – introduction into operation for schools, printing for the public for a fee.
• Public internet – free WiFi is available in the building and internet access via several PC terminals.

More activities

An important task of the library is digitization, aimed at the permanent preservation and protection of cultural heritage. Digitized documents are made available in the Digital Library. Our library also has a rich publishing activity and participates in national and transnational projects. The library reports on its activities in its annual report (Czech only). The library serves as the regional library of the Moravian-Silesian Region and provides methodological support and guidance to libraries in the region.

Peek into the library