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Libraries

Pilsen’s status of a cultural and humanistic centre dates back to the Renaissance times. It is no coincidence that it was Pilsen where the first Czech book, the so called the Trojan Chronicle, was printed in 1468.

Pilsen Municipal Library

Pilsen Municipal Library ranks among the oldest cultural institutions in Pilsen. Called the Pilsen Municipal Public Library it first opened as early as late 1876. The library acquires and maintains resources of imaginative literature (fiction, poetry, drama), specialized literature, periodicals and other materials within the scope and structure relevant to its function. It creates regional literary and informational resources focused on the City of Pilsen and the Pilsen region. It specializes namely in the humanities, linguistics, literary criticism and theory, and culture in general.

ul. B. Smetany 13, Plzeň
www.kmp.plzen-city.cz

The Study and Research Library of the Pilsen Region

The Study and Research Library of the Pilsen Region was founded in 1950. One of the reasons for setting up a universal research library was the foundation of faculties and colleges in Pilsen: the Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, the College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and the Faculty of Education. It was located on the premises of the former Dominican Convent, one of the dominant and outstanding historical buildings of the city. The library became one of the most advanced institutions of its time. It also maintained the resources of the convent libraries, sorted out and integrated among regular loan books and thus enriching the library’s historical resources. Nowadays, the library includes the English, German and Austrian Libraries and Library for the Blinds. The Department of Foreign Libraries is located in the European House in the Square of the Republic.
Study and Research Library - Smetanovy sady 2
European House - Square of the Republic12, Pilsen

www.svkpl.cz

European House

The European House originated with the opening of the Austrian Library, a specialized detached department, located in a house in the Square of the Republic No. 12, as a result of a joint initiative of the Pilsen Municipality, the Study and Research Library and the Austrian Cultural Institute. In November 1997, the German Library was opened with the assistance of the Goethe Institute in the same house and later also the English Library maintained by the British Council. The Alliance Française shares the same premises. Hosting cultural and social centres of four different countries under the same roof, the house became nicknamed European House.

Nám. Republiky 12, Plzeň
Německá knihovna nemecka@svkpl.cz
Rakouská knihovna rakouska@svkpl.cz
Anglická knihovna anglicka@svkpl.cz

The Alliance Française de Plzeň Library

The Alliance Française de Plzeň was founded in 1910 presided by, Karel Klostermann, a famous writer of the Šumava Region. This cultural and educational international institution whose mission is to propagate French culture and French language is located in the European House in the Square of the Republic since 1995.

náměstí Republiky 12, Plzeň
www.afplzen.cz

American Public Library

The American Public Library in American Center Plzeň is part of Project Info USA. The Study Library offers hundreds of English-language books focused on a wide range of themes related to life in the USA, e.g. history, geography, politics, economy, law and art, but also classic and contemporary fiction, encyclopaedias, cook books, travel books, biographies, and even children’s books.

Dominikánská 9, Plzeň
www.americancenter.cz

The Museum of West Bohemia Library

Both the facilities and the book resources of the museum library in art nouveau style belong to the most precious parts of the museum. It dates back to the foundation of the museum itself in 1878 and contains more than 90 thousand copies including two resources collections. The “Old Prints” collection contains manuscripts, early prints (15th century), old prints (16th – 19th century) and a large collection of rare prints and bibliophiles (19th and 20th century) including samples of artistic binding. The second collection, “Regional Literature” contains regional prints related to Pilsen and the Pilsen Region.