Professional activities of the Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books.
Historical collections of the NLCR
The Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books of the NLCR manages historical book collections from the beginnings of writing to 1800 with some chronological overlaps
The Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books of the NLCR holds manuscript and printed book collections from the beginnings of writing to 1800 with some chronological overlaps. The manuscript collection contains over 15,000 library units, and its core comprises manuscripts from the University of Prague and its colleges, codices from dissolved Czech monasteries, and manuscripts from Jesuit college libraries. Later donations and purchases include important items such as the Prague Lobkowicz and Thun-Hohenstein libraries or the monastery libraries of the Premonstratensians in Teplá and the Franciscans in Cheb. The collection includes Asian manuscripts, Indian manuscripts written on palm leaves, the Graeci-Wessely collection of Greek papyri, and the Adalbert Stifter archive. The department also manages the deposits (about 650 library units) of the Order of the Crusaders, the Benedictines of Břevnov, the Minorites of Krumlov and the Cistercians of Osek. The collection of Bohemian Reformation manuscripts is part of the UNESCO Memory of the World list. Individual manuscripts are gradually digitised and made available in the Manuscriptorium digital library. An equally important part of the collections are the incunabula (over 4,200 specimens) containing some unique or rare items. The collection of old printed works dates from 1501 to 1800 and comprises over 170,000 volumes. The primary task of the NLCR is to collect Czech language printed materials and other bohemical prints. The non-bohemical printed materials in the collection carry on the tradition of the Jesuit college library and some private libraries (such as the Prague Lobkowicz Library and the Kinsky Library). Another part of the historical collections is the collection of old maps from the 16th and 18th centuries, with sporadic overlaps into the 19th century, which includes over 640 individual maps and 32 atlases (about 2,500 maps in total), the core part of which is the Lobkowicz map collection. A separate unit is an extensive collection (529 pieces) of graphic one-sheets of Jesuit university theses from the Baroque period, which served as diplomas at the Jesuit university. The collection has also been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World list. Old prints, incunabula, maps, and theses are gradually being digitised, recatalogued, and made available in the *STT database*. An integral part of the department's holdings is the reference library (about 25,000 volumes), which serves both as a service library for the professional processing of book collections and as an open user library, focusing on historical book collections, their contents, and the history of book culture.
Internships
Organisation of internships for Czech and foreign students. The department offers internships for students at all levels of university studies. During the internship, trainees will get acquainted with the department, the collection's layout, and the current working procedures. The aim is to enable students to gain professional experience and to create an active intergenerational professional environment.
Certificates for the Export of Objects of Cultural Value
Assessment of requests for the sale and export of objects of cultural value
The Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books is responsible for carrying out activities relating to Act No.71/1994 Coll., on the Sale and Export of Objects of Cultural Value. Reviews applications for exporting objects relating to book culture:
- manuscripts of a book nature, manuscripts of literary works, and original cartographic works
- documentary material and personal memorabilia relating to significant personalities of cultural and public life
- surviving covers of unpublished prints
- first editions and old prints, including maps, atlases, and printing matrices up to 1800
- books, printed maps, and atlases published in the territory of the Czech Republic older than 100 years
Applications can be delivered to the NLCR office by mail or in person.
Bibliography of Czech and Slovak Printed Books from the Earliest Times to the End of the 18th Century
A national retrospective bibliography containing bibliographic records of Czech-language early printed books published between 1501 and 1800 in the territory of the present-day Czech Republic or abroad. Descriptions of Czech and Latin first editions printed in Bohemia (but not in Moravia) between 1476 and 1500 have been added to the database.
The Bibliography of Czech and Slovak Printed Books from the Earliest Times to the End of the 18th Century is a national retrospective bibliography. It contains records of early Czech-language printed books published between 1501 and 1800 in the territory of the present-day Czech Republic or abroad. The database also includes descriptions of Czech and Latin first editions printed in Bohemia (but not in Moravia or Silesia) between 1476 and 1500. The database is based on bibliographic data transcribed from printed publications: Knihopis českých a slovenských tisků od doby nejstarší až do konce XVIII. Století (Bibliography of Czech and Slovak Printed Books from the Earliest Times to the End of the 18th Century), Volume II, edited by Zdeněk Václav Tobolka, František Horák, and Bedřiška Wižďálková (Prague, 1939-1967) and Soupis prvotisků českého původu (Inventory of Early Printed Books of Czech Origin) by Emma Urbánková (Prague, 1986). The original creator of the electronic form of the Knihopis (“Knihopis-Digital”) was the Cabinet for Classical Studies of the CAS. Since March 2015, the NLCR has managed the database. The current database administrators work closely with the Library Science Department of the Library of the CAS - the guarantor of the Bibliography of Foreign-Language Printed Bohemica up to 1800, which represents the second branch of the national retrospective bibliography. The database is part of the projects and electronic portals Knihověda.cz and E-ilustrace. The bibliographic data in the database are continuously updated; digital copies of registered specimens, links to catalogues of specific libraries, and iconographic characteristics of illustrations created in the first half of the 16th century are also added to the records.
Lecture, Exhibition, and Publication Activities
Presentation of the professional activities of the department and its collections through publications, exhibitions, lectures, and excursions. The Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books presents the results of its research on the history of book culture in monographs and studies in professional periodicals. It prepares thematic exhibitions related to the department's collections and activities. In terms of educational activities for the public, it organises lectures, virtual exhibitions, and excursions for students and experts from scientific and memorial institutions.
The regular series of lectures for the public, ”Treasures from the Klementinum,” is held every second Tuesday of the month (October-May) and presents the results of research through original documents from the historical collections of the NLCR. Recordings of the lectures are available on the NLCR’s YouTube channel. The virtual exhibitions draw on historical collections and are created in cooperation with other institutions and experts (such as ...and the Word Became Music, Astronomical Engravings of the 17th century from the NLCR, The Book and the Veil, The Lipnice Bible, The Heart of the Library: Bibliotheca nationalis, etc.). Some were created to accompany a physical exhibition. The videos, whose topics have been selected across manuscript and print holdings, seek interesting formats and engaging topics and can be viewed on the NLCR’s YouTube channel.
Working Group on Historical Collections
Working Group for cooperation between memory institutions in working with historical collections. The working group acts as a platform for cooperation between all types of memory institutions that manage historical collections and for cooperation on standardising work with historical collections. One of the main outputs is cataloguing recommendations for processing historical collections.
Loans of Documents from the Historical Collection of the NLCR
Applications for loans of documents from the historical collection of the NLCR for exhibitions. Loan applications must be submitted six months before the exhibition's opening. Museums, galleries and other cultural institutions (borrowers) must first address their request to the General Director of the NLCR, meet the security requirements of the NLCR, and ensure appropriate climatic conditions. The borrower pays all costs associated with the loan (restoration, adjustment, mount or framing of the print, packaging, transport, travel and accommodation of the escort, carrier fees, photography, administrative fees, etc.). The loan must be insured at the borrower's expense against all risks from when it leaves the Czech Republic until it is returned. In the event of damage, the borrower must pay for it in full from their insurance.
Use of Reproductions from Historical Collections
Conditions for the use of reproductions from historical collections / Orders for reprographic services. To obtain permission to use reproductions from historical collections, it is necessary to contact the authorised staff member, fill in the Declaration, and pay the reproduction fee according to the valid Price List of the NLCR. Moreover, a proof copy of the publication containing the reproduction must be submitted, and will be included in the department's reference library.