The Development of Czech Libraries, 1990–2013

In the last twenty years, libraries in the Czech Republic have undergone extensive changes, which were evoked by a transition to a democratic society and market economy. At the beginning of the millennium, the development of libraries was gradually stabilized; this process culminated in the adoption of the new library act in 2001. The role of the Ministry of Culture is characterized in relation to libraries and grant programs in support of libraries. This paper studies the changes and trends in the individual areas of library activities, such as library collections and information resources, the construction of libraries, the automation of library processes, the retrospective conversion of Czech library catalogs and portals, the digitization of library collections, the training of library staff, and the activities of library societies and associations. An emphasis is placed on the transformations connected with the development of information technologies. The paper is complemented by selected statistical data on the development of libraries.