Libraries and study rooms in Prague
Tips for places in Prague to write your papers and cram for exams
Parties and social life aside, Erasmus is also about studying. If your idea of a study place is a quiet and peaceful spot you should definitely check out one of the libraries' study rooms. As a peaceful getaway from you fellow roomies, or a way of getting the books for your courses, Prague’s libraries are a perfect option. They are cheap to join, have lots to offer in foreign languages department, the staff can communicate in English, and add to your authentic experience of Prague as a local. Here is an overview of Prague’s best libraries.
Municipal Library – Městská knihovna
Located in the center of the city in Mariánské Square, the headquarters of the Municipal library is a popular and busy place, which has 48 branches sprinkled around the city. Study desks are spread around the whole library, with a larger study area on the first floor in the right wing and you don’t need to be a member only to study there. If you do join, the registration fee for a one year membership is 80 CZK, which is fairly cheap considering you can borrow books from most of the branches, not to mention the internet access for library members. To become a member you need an ID, such as a driver’s license or a passport, and official proof of your long-term or permanent residency. If you don’t have that, you can pay a deposit (1,000 CZK) and borrow books this way. The library offers fiction, non-fiction, magazines, newspapers, maps, an English fiction section with a great selection of classics, and books in other foreign languages. If you happen to be in the area, pop in to check out the cool book tower in the foyer!
The library is open daily except Sundays and Mondays (Tuesday-Friday: 9am-8pm, Saturday: 10am-5pm and the nearest tram stop and metro station is Staroměstská (green line C, trams 17, 18 & 53). For more information, see: www.mlp.cz/en.
For the more ambitious students there is the National Library of the Czech Republic, located in the vicinity of the Municipal Library, in the same Mariánské Square. Soak up the academic atmosphere and centuries of history – this is an old Jesuit library that dates back to the 17th century and boasts an extensive collection of fiction and non-fiction in English (covering subjects such as literary criticism, European history, philosophy, art etc.). The fee to join is 100 CZK for a year´s membership, and 10 CZK for a library card. To gain the membership you need official proof of your temporary or permanent residency in the Czech Republic. However, you can get a day pass for 10 CZK, study in the reading room and use books within the library. The highlight of the library is the General Reading Room (it’s on your right, once you pass the security gate) – it has lots of academic books, most of them in English, you can read here the books that are only available for use in the reading room and, last but not least, it has Wi-Fi. This spacious room is an ideal place to cram for your finals or do research for your paper and it’s extremely popular among study abroad and local students who spend many a day reading at the lamp-lit desks. If you need to copy something or use a computer, check out the Reference Center to your left, past the security gate. Upon entry, make sure to check your coat and a backpack in the clock room, the diligent staff will make sure, if you don’t.
To your convenience the General Reading Room is open Mon-Fri from 9am-10pm and Sat 9am-7pm. Main Hall and Reference Center are open from Mon to Sat 9am-7pm. To find out more, visit: http://www.en.nkp.cz/.
The Academy of Sciences Library
Located opposite the National Theater on the river bank, it is truly a gorgeous library. With its huge hall with ornate archways, marble lamp-posts and gold everywhere, it offers a great atmosphere for reading and studying. The center is occupied with desks for reading with Internet connections and the books are located alongside the walls. Here you can enjoy a wide range of English-language books on art, science, politics, history books, journals and periodicals. You can borrow most items, except from journals, periodicals, and some older books. If you’re looking for a specific book, try out their database, they have a huge number of books that you can get upon request. To study in the library you have to become a member – to join use your ID (passport or driver’s license) and the price is 150 CZK for a year’s membership or 80 CZK per half a year, plus 20 CZK for the card. A day pass will cost you 10 CZK.
The library is open Monday – Friday from 9am till 7pm. The nearest tram stop is Národní Třída (trams 6, 9, 17, 22, and 23) and the nearest metro station is Můstek (yellow B line). For more information, see http://www.lib.cas.cz/ (unfortunately, the website is in English only).
National Library of Technology
If you’re looking for modernity, look no further! The National Library of Technology is housed in a modern glass building, in the heart of the Czech Technical University Campus in Dejvice. Prague 6. It is the largest and the oldest library of technical literature in the Czech Republic, with a collection of over 1.5 million volumes.
NTK provides great environment for students of all majors. Here, you can work individually, or in a team on a group assignment, there are classrooms, printing and copying services, computers, and there is a night study room on the ground floor so the building provides the 24 hour service. There are 330,000 freely-accessible volumes of scientific literature (and more than 800,000 in storage), 1,200 print journals, and access to over 50,000 electronic resources and hundreds of eBooks. This place is also a social and cultural center, with frequent lectures, educational tours, events, and exhibits. The library was designed to house over a large number of volumes with an exhibition hall, conference center, café, and bookshop. The interior of the library is breathtaking; the building has three floors below ground (for storage and parking) and six floors above and there are drawings and paintings all over the walls. The upper floors are arranged around the central atrium, with natural light coming in and the concrete interiors have brightly-colored floors and furniture. The architect of the National Technical Library is Projektil architekti, whose design got 1st prize among approximately 50 proposals; the construction of the building was completed January 2009. For more information, see: https://www.techlib.cz/en/.
By Vero Arutyunyan
veronika.arutyunyan@gmail.com
