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Vojta Náprstek began to build the library systematically after his return from the United States in 1858. It was open to everyone and also to the American Ladies’ Club. Náprstek’s friends, leading Czech scientists, politicians, writers and travellers, used to meet in the reading room, which has survived in its original form to this day, at the so-called parties, often associated with professional lectures. Náprstek’s library contains not only books and magazines, but also other collections, such as an extensive collection of photographs and stereoscopic images, scrapbooks, exlibris, posters, etc. This historical library does no longer accept new titles and contains around 60,000 books from various disciplines and genres, published in many languages until about 1950. In addition to this library, researchers are welcome to use a specialised section containing publications and periodicals on non-European nations (ethnography, archaeology, history, geography, art, etc.). The third, so-called compatriot library, is a unique one, housing prints (monographs, periodicals, calendars) of Czechs and Slovaks abroad. It was founded by Vojta Náprstek and is still accepting new arrivals mainly thanks to donations from compatriots.
Wednesday – Orders dispatched until 4 p.m.
