Year 11 of Science and Technology Week at the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

SPECIAL OFFER valid only for the week 1–11. 11. 2011

A year’s pass for the price of six months
A pass for absence and attendance loans, including use of the computer study, for the price of a six-month pass, i.e. for 100 CZK rather than 170 CZK (including price of production).
Free one-day entry to the study with use of the library collection
Free one-day entry (120 minutes) to the computer study
Contact:Tel.: +420 221 403 254, e-mail: servis@knav.cz
Opening hours: Monday-Friday, 9-19

Open Day at the Digitalisation Centre in Jenštejn u Prahy

A half-hour guided tour of the unit, with demonstrations of document digitalisation and the creation of the Digital Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, will be available from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. from Tuesday 1 November to Friday 11 November for groups of a maximum of 10 people.
Tel: 286 851 955, e-mail: digitalizace@knav.cz
Connections: buses 367 and 378 (find more)

A Tour of the Hall of the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

The Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is offering a guided tour of its historical hall for individuals and groups. Visits must be ordered in advance: PhDr. Jana Šrajerová, tel: 221 403 208, e-mail: srajerova@knav.cz

Exhibition

The Rožmberk Library: Myths and Facts…

With the organisation of an exhibition about the library of the Lords of Rožmberk, the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is connecting its Science and Technology Week with this year’s 400th anniversary of the departure of this influential noble family from the historical scene. The last member of the family, Petr Vok of Rožmberk, died at the beginning of November 1611. He was responsible for turning the family’s collection of books into a Renaissance collecting library that matched the largest libraries in Central Library. The Rožmberk library could even boast a four-volume catalogue that was of an extraordinarily high standard for its time, drawn up by Václav Březan, librarian, archivist and historian from Rožmberk. Today, a large part of the Rožmberk library, including the original catalogue, is to be found in Sweden, where it was taken from Prague as spoils of war in 1649 after spending the winter in Mecklenburg’s border fortress Dömitz. The exhibition at the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is to give an account of the creation and growth of the library, its contents, its destiny and scientific research.

The exhibition will be open in the Hall of the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m., Monday to Friday, from 1 November to 23 December 2011.

A series of accompanying lectures

Lectures to be held in the Oval Study at the Library of the Academy of Sciences, admission free.

3.00 p.m., 2 November 2011
PhDr. Richard Šípek (The Library of the National Museum)

Aristocratic and Civic Libraries of the Early Modern Age

The Rožmberk Library, though important, was no isolated case of its time. In his lecture PhDr. R. Šípek from the Library of the National Museum will be comparing the libraries and reading of other contemporary owners of book collections with the Rožmberk Library. He will be explaining the general trends and concepts applied in the foundation of aristocratic libraries during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, including the popular collections of items other than books that were frequently presented as part of a library. The basic features of the creation and development of civic libraries and the most important differences between them and aristocratic libraries are also to be presented.

3.00 p.m., 3 November 2011
Prof. PhDr. Jaroslav Pánek, DrSc. (The Historical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, The Academic Council of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic)

The Last Rožmberks as a Czech and European Phenomenon

This lecture given on the occasion of Rožmberk Year and the 400th anniversary of the end of the most famous Czech aristocratic family is to focus on Petr Vok (1539–1611) and his older brother Vilém of Rožmberk (1535–1592). It will attempt to convey the individual features of their personalities and their work in public and private life (with a particular view to their religious orientation and its cultural and political consequences), this as an expression of the confrontation between domestic and foreign (European) impulses and manifestations.

3.00 p.m., 7 November 2011
PhDr. Lenka Veselá, Ph.D. (The Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic)

The Rožmberk Library – Myths and Facts…

The most famous aristocratic library in the Czech Lands before the Battle of White Mountain is usually associated with the name of Petr Vok of Rožmberk, its last owner. Lenka Veselá from the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, author of a monograph on the Rožmberk Library, will be presenting an interpretation of the people who contributed to the creation and development of this unique collection of books and giving an account of its tragic fate in Sweden, where it was taken from Prague at the end of the Thirty Years’ War. Her lecture is to be accompanied by examples of reproductions of Rožmberk bookplates and copies of books preserved in libraries in Sweden and the Czech Republic. Those attending will also be able to leaf through a photocopy of the library’s four-volume catalogue drawn up by archivist and librarian Václav Březan from South Bohemia.

3.00 p.m., 10 November 2011
Prof. PhDr. Václav Bok, CSc. (The University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice)

German Literature in the Rožmberk Library

Prof. Václav Bok from the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice will be painting a broader picture of the Rožmberk Library with an account of the interests of the Rožmberks as readers and collectors of German literature, with a special emphasis on books relating to content on the Czech Lands.