Other application projects
National projects
The Library Public Information Service (VISK) | Program Cultural activities
International Projects
Program Connecting Europe Facility in Telecom | Czechoslovak cooperation during the acquisition of documents | The Erasmus+ Program | The Visegrad Collection | Interreg Slovenia – Austria, the European Union – the European Regional Development Fund
1.1 The Library Public Information Service (VISK) Program
All the projects in the individual sub-programs are for a one-year period. These projects concern support for specific library activities in the areas of education, the operation of the digital libraries, the production of digital data (the retrospective conversion of catalogues and the digitisation of collections), the operation of information portals, access to digital sources and so on. The list of projects no longer includes the statutory activities that were formerly financed from the VISK program, for which the NL CR received funds directly into its budget.
VISK 1
The VISK coordination centre program
Responsible employee: Dr Vít Richter
URL: http://visk.nkp.cz/
The VISK coordination centre program secured all the specialist, organisational and coordination activities associated with the realisation of the entire VISK program.
The conversion of GOOGLE document data into the TEI P5 ENRICH format
Responsible employee: Dr Zdeněk Uhlíř
URL: http://www.manuscriptorium.eu/
In 2022, further batches of documents – early printed material – were converted and digitised in cooperation with Google (ca 15,269 individual comprehensive digital documents).
The coordinated creation of virtual collections above the content of the NDL – part of the NL CR
Responsible employee: Ing. Petr Kukač
The project was undertaken in cooperation with the ML and it mainly involved increasing work effectiveness with virtual collections that conceal significant potential from the point of view of their presentation and the acquaintance of readers with the contents of the digital libraries. The initial objective involved the establishment of a uniform concept for the creation of virtual collections within the Kramerius 7 environment. The new version of the system will bring innovative options for the creation of virtual collections, their organisation, presentation and ways of working with them. The first part of the project focussed on the testing of new tools and the procedures for the creation of virtual collections in the Kramerius 7 system, which was launched in a test version at the ML at that time. The new version of the Kramerius 7 system will bring a new perspective to virtual collections and the work with them, place them at the level of independent documents, enable the creation of hierarchically arranged collections and generally provide curators with greater room for their creation and presentation. A methodology intended for digital library content administrators was then created on the basis of the information garnered from the testing of the new interface and it will provide the described basic procedures from curatorial practise. A no less important part of the project involved the review of the existing virtual collections at the NDL, preparations for their gradual supplementation and the creation of proposals for their restructuring for subsequent use after the transition to the new version of the Kramerius 7 application. The establishment of contact with several institutions also gave rise to proposals for the creation of completely new virtual collections.
The NDL Complex Validator
Responsible employee: Bc. Václav Jiroušek
The project’s objective in 2022 was to create an updated form of the Complex Validator tool so that it supports the validation of data created according to the latest versions of the NDL standards for the digitisation of audio and printed text documents in the given year. The tool is used to validate the adherence of the created data to the rules for long-term archiving. Pilot operations of the Complex Validator web version, which is intended to serve users as a fully-fledged alternative to the desktop version of the tool in the future, were launched in addition to the updated version of the application.
VISK 2
Innovative information literacy courses
Responsible employee: Mgr. Roman Giebisch, Ph.D.
URL: https://ipk.nkp.cz/akce/03_OV_Akce/inovacni-kurzy-2022
The objective of the new innovative courses was to provide the required skills for working with ICT and at the same time to offer the option of deepening and expanding any advanced knowledge in the area of ICT to those who have already acquired the basic skills.
Educational courses for librarians in the area of book collection protection
Responsible employee: Mgr. Roman Giebisch, Ph.D.
In 2022, six expert courses focussing on preserving the good physical condition of the book collections in the Czech Republic were organised. They were targeted at the employees of public libraries of all types, especially those involved in the conservation of collections. The Průzkum fyzického stavu knihovních fondů [Research into the physical condition of book collections], Preventivní péče v knihovnách [Preventive care in libraries] and Ambulantní opravy knihovních fondů [Simple repairs in book collections] courses were held twice during the year and were attended by more 150 participants. The courses were led by qualified lecturers from the Book Collection Protection Department as part of their methodological roles. The courses’ objective was to improve and permanently develop the care for the physical condition of the cook collections in the Czech Republic by the employees of libraries from Prague and its environs, but also from the entire Czech Republic. The courses contributed to the systematic support for librarian education at the level of regional libraries (and furthermore at the level of their regional roles within the framework of their methodological obligations), specialised libraries and other workplaces that are involved in the performance of acts of conservation at their facilities.
Requalification courses according to the National Register of Qualifications
Responsible employee: Mgr. Roman Giebisch, Ph.D.
URL: https://ipk.nkp.cz/akce/03_OV_Akce/04_OVrekv.htm
The project’s objective was to secure funds to finance the lecturers at librarianship courses in order to minimise the participation costs in these courses. The course content is based on the National Register of Qualifications and the teachers are accredited specialists from the NL CR and external institutions. The courses are attended by people who are employed at libraries, but also by those who are getting ready to work in libraries. In 2022, only the Knihovník v přímých službách [Librarian in direct services] course was opened due to the demand and the pandemic restrictions. A total of 27 participants enrolled in the course.
VISK 3
The development of NDL identities
Responsible employee: Mgr. Zdenko Vozár / Ing. Petr Kukač
In 2022, the project’s objective was to follow on from the existing operating experience of the identity management system implemented within the NL CR environment to support the authentication and authorisation of those NDL readers entering from connected libraries that are not members of the eduID federation.
The project dealt with the identification of any potential security weaknesses in the existing solution and the proposal of measures to eliminate them and respond to them commensurately. Specific specifications for the modification of the system were created using the results of an external audit and penetration tests performed by an independent entity. They were then supplemented with requirements for a review of the application’s internal processes during the import of new users from a connected library, a solution for the detailed administration of the individual user account records, the modification of the process for the initial login of a new reader, a procedure for blocking an institution based on a breach of the contractual conditions and so on. The NL CR concluded a contract with a supplier of the required modifications on the basis of the specifications process; these modifications were deployed in the production environment in the 4th quarter after they had been accepted.
The project’s objective was fully achieved and the NDL identity management system is currently being securely used in everyday operations.
VISK 5
The retrospective conversion of the General Catalogue for NL CR Universal Library Collection I
Responsible employee: Mgr. Nataša Mikšovská
The project’s objective involved the pre-selection and preparation of approximately 45,100 printed records. The records were prepared for a further stage of retro-conversion. 15,500 new records in the MARC 21 format, to which access has been provided in the NL CR online catalogue and transferred to the SL CR. 5,050 records were created or merged in the NL CR online catalogue. Field 920 with a TIFF image number from the General Catalogue of the NL CR Universal Library Collection I was added to these records. This mainly involved records of monographs that contain several works or reprints and have been analytically processed in the General Catalogue of the NL CR Universal Library Collection I. The records from the international book production of 1801–1950 were processed in the alphabetical range of KRAUS-LEFE. 4,300 records that had already been the subject of a retrospective conversion were supplemented with selected elements from the material description.
VISK 6
The digitisation of historical documents at the NL CR
Responsible employee: Dr Zdeněk Uhlíř
URL: http://www.manuscriptorium.eu
In 2022, a total of 52 documents, i.e. 21,805 images/pages, from the NL CR (the Manuscript and Early Printed Books Department and the SL) collection were digitalised. All of the digitalised documents have been included in the Manuscriptorium digital library.
The digitisation of rare historical manuscripts and printed works from the Music Department’s collection
Responsible employee: Mgr. Zuzana Petrášková
URL: http://www.manuscriptorium.eu
29 manuscript documents from the Music Department’s collection, i.e. a total of 4,358 images, were digitalised in 2022. The selected sheet music involves vocal-instrumental spiritual and operatic works by international and Czech authors. The digitalised sheet music is connected with an entry in the RISM International Inventory of Music Sources and is accessible to the researchers who use this database at www.rism.info and in the Manuscriptorium digital library.
The mass digitisation of historical and rare documents in cooperation with Google – the continuation of the program
Responsible employee: Dr Lukáš Babka
In 2022, the second year of the preparatory work necessary for the planned continuation of the joint NL CR and Google digitisation program continued. The project focusses on the comprehensive pre-digitisation preparation of the documents from the collection of the Slavonic Library (SL). The SL performs part of the preparatory work associated with the realisation of the program as part of its own activities. The funds for the project enable cataloguing work with the documents prior to their digitisation and the processing of the appropriate metadata (amongst other things, equipping the documents with bar codes, the creation of new catalogue records, the modification, expansion and improved accuracy of the catalogue records, the creation of so-called hidden records in the case of multi-volume works, the processing of the appropriate metadata structures in the case of multiple-volume works and the compilation of the relevant authority data). The preparatory work has been distributed over three years (2021–2023) so that the digitisation can smoothly continue in 2024. During 2022, 1,800 document units were dispatched and verified. The physical condition and the content and formal aspects of the documents have enabled the digitisation of 1,400 such units, which have been fully prepared for transfer to Google and digitisation.
The successful conclusion of the preparatory work and the fully-fledged realisation of the digitisation have been put at risk by the fact that the project has not been approved for 2023.
VISK 7
The reformatting of Čs. sport and Svět práce (Stage III) and the mass deacidification and research into the Czech language documents from the NL CR collections
Responsible employee: Mgr. Bc. Michaela Bežová
URL: http://kramerius-info.nkp.cz/; http://visk.nkp.cz/visk-7
2022 was the last year when the NL CR was able to request a grant for the activities associated with both the digitisation and protection of book collections in a single project.
This year, funds were secured for the mass deacidification of the collections (a total of almost 550 kg of book material was deacidified), development work on the Aplikace pro průzkum novodobých fondů [Modern collection research application] and the Registr odkyselených dokumentů [Register of deacidified documents], as well as for the purchase of 1 pH meter, 5 electrodes and 1 set of scales used in the collection research. The part-time workers working on this project in 2022 spent a total of 1,827 hours systematically investigating the book collections in the individual depositories. It was also possible to use miscellaneous personnel costs to finance the activities that are associated with digitisation – the loosening of book bindings and simple repairs. The miscellaneous personnel costs were also used to support the production of protective packaging from acid free cardboard not only for the digitised Čs. sport and Svět práce periodicals, but also for the deacidified documents.
In addition to the actual work on the project, the regular autumn seminar for the VISK 4 and VISK 7 grant programs was also held and took place at the CDH, as well as using online platforms, at the start of November. Almost 100 people attended this seminar. The 2nd year of the Meet and Greet VISK event also took place at the end of November and it was attended by V. Richter (VISK 3), P. Vávrová and J. Neoralová (VISK 4), N. Mikšovská (VISK 5) and T. Foltýn (VISK 7). The purpose of this online meeting is to answer any questions concerning the tender documents brought by individuals interested in the grant programs and it once again met with a positive response.
VISK 8/A
Multi-license access to electronic information sources
Responsible employee: Mgr. Barbora Korandová
URL: http://visk.nkp.cz/visk-8-a
The service securing the provision of access to electronic information sources continued in 2022. This once again involved both Czech and international information sources, to which access was provided in the public libraries that had registered in the project. This involved the Newton media database company, which 56 libraries registered to use, as well as the ASPI legal information database, which was chosen by 26 libraries, while 29 libraries selected the PressReader database that offers foreign dailies and popular educational magazines.
VISK 9
The Union Catalogue of the Czech Republic, including its development
Responsible employee: Dr Eva Svobodová
URL: https://skc.nkp.cz or https://www.caslin.cz
As of 31. 12. 2022, the SL CR database contained 8,204,745 records (consisting of 181,616 serials, 325,039 early printed books and 621,903 special types of documents). 4,806 interlibrary loan service requests (from a total of 131 different libraries to 241 different libraries) were sent within the SL CR environment. A total of 513 libraries contribute to the SL CR. The number of libraries enabling the harvesting of records to the SL CR using the OAI protocol rose to 181 in 2022 (a ca 10 % year-on-year increase). This is also associated with an increase in the number of libraries with automatic write-offs for titles that have been withdrawn from the SL CR. These libraries are provided with expanded feedback with regard to the quality of the records that they supply. The SL CR harvests data on the Czech fiction processed by the Prague City Library under the CENTRAL project four times a day and in doing so enables its immediate use (download) by other libraries via the Z39.50 protocol. 103,678 duplications were manually removed from the SL CR in 2022. 3,364 records were connected with the National Authority Database. At the end of 2022, the Union Catalogue Department held its annual seminar in cooperation with the National Name Authority Department, which was attended by 281 librarians from all over the Czech Republic.
The coordination of record supplementation and the administration of the ANL database
Responsible employee: Dr Petra Šťastná
As of 31.12.2022, the ANL database (a selection of articles in Czech newspapers, magazines and anthologies) contained 1,921,572 records. A total of 45,700 records from 28 regional and specialist libraries were added in 2022 via the projects from the VISK 9/1 program or by excerption. A total of 13 libraries (11 regional and 2 CAS libraries) contributed under the VISK 9/1 program and in doing so submitted 19,185 records (the libraries had committed to submitting 20,420). In 2022, the database administrator performed more than 82,000 modifications targeted at the correction and supplementation of the name and material authorities, the attachment of full texts or a material review of the records, including 779 new records.
The automatic synchronisation of the authority records with Wikidata
Responsible employee: Dr Petra Šťastná
The project follows on from the previous mutual cooperation activities between the NL CR as the administrator of the national authority database and Wikimedia ČR, which is contributing, amongst other things, to the construction of the Wikidata structured database. In 2020, a system was created for the regular extraction of any additions to the national name authority database for import into Wikidata, which, however, remained predominantly dependent on human work. The project focusses on a further shift towards automating selected processes. The project undertook an analysis and proposed possible technical solutions. A set of commands were created that can be used for the quick robotic synchronisation of Wikidata with the national authority database. The results of the project, including the accessible scripts and appropriate documentation, are available on the Github platform (https://github.com/wmcz/WMCZ-scripts).
The projects from the Cultural Activities program of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic last for one year.
The Bookstart project
Responsible employee: Mgr. Roman Giebisch, Ph.D.
The compilation and publication of a methodological handbook from the Bookstart VI project entitled Jak opravdu vstoupit S knížkou do života [How to really have a book for life] was intended for the employees of the children’s departments at the libraries involved in the international Bookstart project. The project’s objective is to convince the parents of newborns or young children that one of the most important things in a child’s development is spending time with their parents and a book (communication and interaction, gentle and natural guidance towards reading and understanding of the spoken word), to explain the significance of reading skills for a child’s success in life, to advise parents on how to achieve this and at the same time offer support services from libraries and space to share with other parents and so on. The project helps shape libraries so that they are popular places and become a natural part of people’s lives that remains of interest and needed throughout every stage of life. The Bookstart project stands at the very beginning of this life cycle of a person and a family (children aged 0–6 let + their families). The project is realised in close cooperation with the leadership of the towns and municipalities.
The preparation for the 2021 Library of the Year awards ceremony organised by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in the Mirrored Chapel at the Clementinum
Responsible employee for the NL CR: Dr Vít Richter
The official award ceremony for the 2022 Library of the Year awards presented by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic took place in the Clementinum’s Mirrored Chapel on 4 October 2022 in the presence of the Minister of Culture, Martin Baxa. In addition to the awards from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the SKIP award for the 2022 Municipal Library of the Year and the MARK award for young library employees were also presented.
The handbook for personnel work in libraries
Responsible employee for the NL CR: Dr Vít Richter
Richard Ščerba’s publication Personalistika v knihovnách. Příručka pro personální práci [Human resources management in libraries. Human resources handbook] was published. The handbook, which is designated for executive employees, can also be of use to other library personnel. The publication especially deals with maintaining the HR agenda, labour-law relations, employment, terminating employment, employee qualifications and education, working from home, collective bargaining, remuneration for work, personal data protection, the ethical codex and other topics.
The České děti a mládež jako čtenáři v době pandemie 2021 [Czech children and young people as readers during the pandemic of 2021] publication
Responsible employee for the NL CR: Dr Vít Richter
The Czech Children and Young People as Readers during the Pandemic of 2021 publication was published in cooperation with the HOST publishing house in Brno. It presents the results of representative nationwide research, which took place in 2021 and followed on from research undertaken in 2017 and 2013. The publication answers a number of questions. How did the pandemic change the free time of children and young people? To what extent are electronic books competing with traditional printed books? Do children still use libraries? How do young people imagine the ideal library?
2.1 Program Connecting Europe Facility in Telecom
ARMA (the Art of Reading in the Middle Ages)
Project period: 2020–2022
Project leader: Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Responsible employee for the NL: Dr Zdeněk Uhlíř
The ARMA project, which was initially planned to last until 30 April 2022, but was then extended until 31 August 2022, was completed. The objective of gathering together collections of medieval manuscripts and providing access to them in Europeana was achieved. The NL CR contributed to the creation of the EDM ARMA Specification and IIIF ARMA Specification methodologies (best practices), which have become the standard for interoperability with Europeana. Sandbox ARMA, which was created for cooperation with Europeana was expanded into the TEI sandbox, which has been implemented in the Manuscriptorium. In addition to the harmonisation of the network digital environment between the Manuscriptorium, Europeana and third parties, which will simplify both the aggregation of documents in the Manuscriptorium and the integration of the services that the Manuscriptorium provides, it will also be possible to work with partners’ data without it having to be physically converted to the TEI P5 ENRICH Specification format used in the Manuscriptorium.
2.2 Czechoslovak cooperation during the acquisition of documents
The Czech Library at the Bratislava University Library and the Slovak Library at the National Library of the Czech Republic
Project period: continuously from 2006
Responsible employee for the NL: Mgr. Jeanne Janoušková
Financial support: the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic
The Česká knihovna při Univerzitní knihovně Bratislava a Slovenská knihovna v NK [Czech Library at the Bratislava University Library and the Slovak Library at the NL] project has been realised on the basis of an agreement between the Ministries of Culture of both countries. Under the project, the NL CR purchased 830 book titles valued at 300,033 CZK for the Bratislava University Library in 2022.
The Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic provided the amount of 12,000 EUR for the purchase of Slovak publications for the collections of the NL CR and the Slavonic Library, whereby this was utilised to the amount of 11,990 EUR: a total of 746 publications were purchased for the NL CR and the Slavonic Library. According to a reader preference poll, Slovak books have long been among the most loaned foreign language titles (second only to titles in English) at the NL CR.
The project has been highly successful and beneficial for both the participating parties, including thanks to the guarantee of mutual publishing access. The Slovak additions acquired throughout the years of the project’s duration are accessible on the NL CR website at http://aleph.nkp.cz/web/csknih/2022/index.htm.
Building a Network of Community Centered Librarianship (NEWCOMER)
Project period: 2020–2022
Project leader: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the Netherlands
Responsible employee for the NL: Mgr. Vladana Pillerová
The NEWCOMER project, in which the NL CR is a partner along with six other European libraries, continued in 2022. The project focuses on cooperation between European libraries in the area of adult education and it is represented by seven countries: the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Italy. The Public Libraries 2030 organisation also contributes to the project. The project’s objective is to make it easier for library workers who work with adults in their communities to investigate with their counterparts from EU countries why the provision of adult education differs so greatly, how to best support adult students within the library environment and what examples of tried-and-tested procedures need to be used when meeting the needs of disadvantaged and marginalised groups. The project’s main activity involves a series of international meetings with the participation of all the partners.
Three international project meetings and one closing meeting were held in 2022.
The first meeting took place at the NL CR in Prague on 27–28 April 2022. The participants at the meeting in Prague were presented with examples of community librarianship and adult education at libraries in the Czech Republic. Attention was also especially paid to the new services provided by Czech libraries for Ukrainian refugees and to media education. We visited the Jezerka branch of the Prague City Library, whose manager informed us of the community activities provided to its users by the branch.
The second meeting took place in Slovenia, at the Kranj City Library, on 7 and 8 June. The first day took the form of a conference, during which a paper on the topic of Czech libraries and refugees from Ukraine was repeated due to significant interest and a second paper dealt with the education system in the field of librarianship in the Czech Republic. During the second day, the project meeting’s participants visited a number of small public libraries in the Kranj Region and were acquainted with their activities.
The third meeting was held in the in Germany, at the Cologne Public Library, on 1 and 2 September. On the first day, each participant informed the others as to how the lifelong education of librarians was progressing in their given country and a discussion was held on the topic. The other topics especially involved the digital services of the future, the library as a democratic space and SDGs and STEM in libraries. On the second day, we visited a branch in the suburb of Kalk, which is home to large numbers of migrants, for whom the library organises a wide range of activities.
The closing meeting was held in Brussels on 8 and 9 November. In addition to the project participants, the representatives of the libraries or library associations of other European states (Finland, Poland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Austria, Ireland and others) were also invited to the meeting. Presentations were given to acquaint the participants with the course and the results of the project. A further point on the program involved a workshop where SDGs, migrants, co-creation and adult education were discussed. The second day involved a meeting with representatives of the member countries at EU institutions. The meetings were also attended by Yvona Havel, the Czech representative of the Steering Committee for Culture established by the Council of Europe. The MEP Michaela Šojdrová and other MEPs from the member countries were invited to a meeting in the European Parliament and the problems and challenges faced by public libraries were discussed.
All the international meetings planned in the project took place. The project will be formally concluded in the following year once all the mandatory outputs have been completed. Consideration is being given to the continuation of the project, which would be focussed on the creation of an education course on community librarianship at a European level.
The Written Visegrad Heritage – Protection for the Future
Project period: 2020–2022
Project leader: Budapest Főváros Levéltára
Responsible employee for the NL: Ing. Petra Vávrová, Ph.D.
The project’s objective is to share knowledge from the area of the disinfection of archive and book documents, the creation of methodological documents, workshops-practical exercises on how to proceed and the creation of a multilingual dictionary of the terms and terminology in the languages of the V4. The cooperating institutions are Budapest Főváros Levéltára (the Budapest Municipal Archive), Slovenská národná knižnica (the Slovak National Library) and Wydział Biologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego (the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw). The individual countries are losing a significant part of their cultural heritage which is decisive for the preservation of their national identity and national cultural treasures. Archive and library documents are often used by the wider public; the management of memory institutions is directly responsible for preventing the spread of infectious diseases via loaned documents. It is also necessary to educate future generations in caring for their cultural heritage and protecting it. Specialist workshops for the archivists and librarians in the given region are planned under the auspices of the project. The objective is to provide access to the knowledge of restorers, to share specialist know-how as part of the cooperation between the V4 countries and to present knowledge in the area of the permanent preservation of collections and documents, including their deacidification. In 2022, there were another two workshops and a project team meeting in Martin, Slovakia and Warsaw, Poland, the subject of which was the creation and completion of the online five-language (English, Slovak, Hungarian, Polish, Czech) dictionary of specialist terminology and a global or general crisis plan in the case of any natural disasters and accidents, including the use of case studies. A dictionary consisting of more than 1,500 terms was created during the workshops (https://bparchiv.hu/sites/default/files/atoms/files/v4_five_language_dictionary_1.pdf) and published on the project’s website during 2022: https://bparchiv.hu/visegrad. A further topic at the workshops involved the creation of a universal Emergency Plan and case studies (https://bparchiv.hu/sites/default/files/atoms/files/v4_emergency_protocol_guidelines_0.pdf), which should assist in securing the collections and their storage sites. Emphasis has been placed on risk identification and possible solutions and approaches in the case of different types of natural disasters or building emergencies.
2.5 Interreg Slovenia – Austria, the European Union – the European Regional Development Fund
ABC – Ancient Book Crafts
Project period: 2022–2024
Project leader: Dr Johannes Tintner-Olifiers, BOKU, Austria; Matija Strlič, PhD FIIC FRSC (he, him); Professor of Analytical Chemistry / Professor of Heritage Science, the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Responsible employee for the NL: Ing. Petra Vávrová, Ph.D.
The goal of the ABC project will initially be to systematically investigate potential dating methods based on evidence, existing historical methods associated with spectroscopy and the provision of non-destructive access to book materials. This will be achieved using Near Infrared (NIR) or Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) Fourier-Transform mid-Infrared (FTIR) technology followed by multidimensional calibration based on a set of well dated objects from the collections in Klosterneuburg (Austria) and the National and University Library (Slovenia) in cooperation with other collections in the Czech Republic (NL CR). The first meeting of the realisation team and the individual teams took place in 2022 and the activity and workshop plan was drawn up.
The integrated system for the protection of movable cultural heritage (ISO)
Hanwell system supplement – microclimate monitoring
Project leader: Ing. Petra Vávrová, Ph.D.
Financial support: the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
In 2022, the project focussed on supplementing the Hanwell radio system for monitoring climatic parameters and modifying this system in the premises of the NL CR, specifically in the Clementinum (the existing reading rooms, the safe room, the corridors, some parts of the Baroque Book Hall, the depository with a special protection regimen and the Slavonic Library) and the Central Depository (the microfilm archive, the central catalogue and the cardboard store for archiving purposes). The results of the project – climatic condition monitoring – are already being used not only for the purposes of protection and the improved quality and efficacy of the care for book collections in the form of so-called preventative conservation, but also by the collection administrators or building administrators, who can note any deviations from the norm, malfunctions in the technical equipment or natural disasters operatively and in real-time and immediately respond to the arisen situation (the data from the sensors is also accessible remotely). It is not possible to ascertain the real values and secure the long-term stability of the climatic parameters and the depositories, especially the temperature and relative humidity, without the long-term monitoring of the climatic parameters. The stability of the climatic parameters is a fundamental step in the preventative care for the book collections. A request for the expansion of the existing Hanwell climatic parameter monitoring system in the depositories and installed in the NL CR buildings (the Clementinum and the CDH) was issued on the basis of an expert consultation and the parameter measurements. The newly installed Hanwell wireless measuring system is currently fully functional in both buildings. The Hanwell system has been supplemented to include RH/T radio transmitters with a display (24), LUX light intensity radio transmitters (2), a LUX/UV logger with a probe on a cable (1), Y119 stainless steel brackets (27) and an SX and TX relay station, including the bracket to mount the module (1). The system design has been prepared and modified, the transmitter parameters have been set, the configuration and graphic design for the specific application have been prepared, the sensors have been installed in the selected areas and the entire system has been commissioned and handed over. This has resulted in flexible supervision of the climatic parameters (the temperature and relative humidity) in selected depositories in the CDH building by the employees in the Book Collection Protection Department (the climatologist, restorers, conservationists and technologists) and the collection and building administration workers in real-time and remotely.
The digitisation of the Czech Press Agency’s (ČTK) photographic archive
Project period: 1.7.2019 – 31.12.2025
Responsible employee for the NL CR: Ing. Richard Ščerba
Financial support: the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
The main objective of this project undertaken in a partnership between the NL CR and the Czech Press Agency involves the preservation of the cultural heritage consisting of the agency’s photographic collection which has been stored on traditional analogue materials since its inception. The project secures the digitisation of the collection and at the same time the increased protection of the original physical media by means of their expert treatment and storage in suitable packaging. The project work was practically shut down at the end of 2021 due to uncertain financing.
The project activities were able to be gradually revived in the second half of 2022. As a consequence of this, a total of 128,569 images from black and white originals and 8,130 original envelopes from those originals were able to be processed and digitised according to the previously prepared methodology. The files of the digitised pictures were duly stored in backed-up storage sites at both the NL CR and the Czech Press Agency. The physical media were returned to the archive at the Czech Press Agency after having been expertly handled and placed in new packaging.
The expectation for 2023 involves a continuation of the digitisation of the black and white originals and the gradual start-up of similar processing for colour materials, including the preparation of the appropriate methodology and the establishment of adequate work processes. All the project activities will also be optimised based on the operating experience of previous years.
