From October 21 to November 2, I had the opportunity to visit the Czech Republic as part of the Librarian in Residence program on the topic of Digital Citizenship. My stay focused on the two cities of Prague and Brno, where I was able to get to know the diverse library landscape. This experience not only broadened my professional perspective, but also left me with many valuable impressions that I would like to share.
An unexpected highlight of my stay were two parallel special exhibitions on the library’s holdings in the fields of astronomy, astrology and magic. At the National Library in Prague, I was able to visit the Bibliotheca astronomica (Astronomical Prints of the 15th-17th Centuries in the Collections of the National Library of the CR) and at the Moravian Library in Brno the exhibition “Mezi kouzly, vírou a pověrou” – “Between spells, virus and superstition”. These exhibitions not only gave my stay a unique and unexpected framework for a personal field of research, but also added an inspiring bracket to my visit to the two library locations of Prague and Brno.
Czech libraries: modern concepts and digital diversity
Unfortunately, my first few days in Prague did not go quite as planned, as both my interview partners and I myself were in poor health and therefore had to postpone some appointments to online meetings and video calls. A first exchange took place with the “Archeologický ústav AV ČR, Praha, v. v. i.” Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, which plays a central role in the country’s digital infrastructure through the Archaeological Information System of the Czech Republic (AIS CR). Here I learned interesting details about domain-specific data models and the handling of sensitive data. Equally exciting was the exchange with the organizers of the “Tyden pro Digitalni Cesko” (Czech Digital Week) which takes place from 18-24 November. Their primary goal is to point out the need for digital education and one of the three main topics is digital citizenship (the other two are digital skills for the future job market and online safety for children). Libraries are also involved in this event to a large extent.
I was then able to visit one of these participating libraries. The Central Library of the Municipal Library of Prague immediately impressed me with its central location and impressive building. My meeting with the colleagues at the Central Library was extremely enriching: they showed me the digital offerings and the broad network of branches that ensure access to media and information for the population of Prague. I was particularly impressed by the cooperative branch in Velkým Mlýn during my visit, which showed me how libraries can build a bridge to the digital world through innovative projects. The Riesling wine served there is highly recommended.
Directly opposite the Central Library, also in the middle of the tourist crowds, I visited the National Library in the Klementinum. The historic building and its collection can hardly be appreciated in a few lines. All the more reason for me to mention the valuable exchange with colleagues on the topics of authentication and data protection, as well as the use of BankID as an authentication method.
The National Technical Library was another highlight: in addition to a detailed exchange on publication services and Persistent Identifiers, the building from 2009 impressed us with its extraordinary architecture. Special thanks go to the colleague who gave me a detailed tour of the impressive library.
The Goethe Institute in Prague is now home to a completely different building, one that impresses with its history. The building, which was originally built for a bank and later housed the GDR embassy, still bears traces of its various uses – such as a sauna in the basement. In addition to classic literature for language learning, the institute’s library offers an equally lively and low-threshold offer for young visitors. The digital apps presented by my colleagues, which enable playful access to information and knowledge, were particularly inspiring and showed how the library addresses the needs of the younger generation.
In Brno, I visited the Moravian Library, a modern new building that plays a central role in the field of digitization at a national level. In the exchange with colleagues, the focus was on current Library Management Systems and Optical Character Recognition (OCR), especially in connection with AI model training. The progress in this area shows the potential that modern technologies can also unfold in the library sector and offered me interesting insights into the future prospects of digitization.
An equally interesting experience was my visit to the Documentation Center of the Villa Tugendhat, which is located in the former servants’ quarters of the villa and deals with scientific research on the architectural history of the villa from all over the world. The Center offers digital copies and documents for research and is part of the Brno City Museums. The archive is located in another no less impressive building: the Spielberg Fortress. These two places, within sight of each other, were a wonderful way to end my stay in Brno.
Conclusion: Valuable experiences and a big thank you
My stay in the Czech Republic was characterized by a multitude of new impressions, which I greatly appreciate both professionally and personally. The local colleagues took a lot of time for the exchange and the organization of program points, which enriched my stay enormously. The freedom I was granted by the scholarship from the Goethe-Institut and Bibliothek & Information International (BII) deserves special mention. This freedom allowed me to pursue my own interests and priorities and to network directly with the projects and colleagues on site.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone involved for making these two inspiring weeks possible. This stay has not only sparked my interest in further visits, but also highlighted the importance of exchange between librarians on an international level. I can only warmly recommend this program to anyone who wants to deepen their professional knowledge and at the same time get to know the Czech library culture.
