Libraries of Department of Theory and History of Architecture, Department of Architectural Conservation, Research Centre for Industrial Heritage and Department of Urban Design and Planning specialize in literature on history and theory of architecture and art, on social sciences and on the issues of architectural conservation. The libraries history goes back to the 2nd half of 19th century and its bookstock is very specific thanks to its age and predominant focus on humanities in the context of a technical university.
Libraries are intended for educators, students and the public as well. Reading is only on-the-spot, documents are not lent home.

Library of the History and Theory of Architecture – room 722
Faculty of Architecture, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 9, 166 34 Praha 6
Mgr. Jan Calta: +420 224 356 352, +420 224 356 214; caltaja1@fa.cvut.cz
Mgr. Blanka Kynčlová: +420 224 356 361; kynclova@fa.cvut.cz

Opening Hours: Monday: 13.00 - 18.30; Tuesday - Thursday 10.00 - 11.30, 13.00 - 17.30; Friday 9.00 - 11.30
Opening Hours in Summer:
July - August: Monday - Thursday 9.00 - 11.30; closed on Friday
September: Monday - Thursday 9.00 - 11.30, 13.00 - 15.30; closed on Friday

Library of the Research Centre for Industrial Heritage – room 304-305
Mgr. Jan Calta: +420 224 356 352, +420 224 356 214; caltaja1@fa.cvut.cz

Library of the Urban Design and Planning – room 634
Mgr. Jan Calta: +420 224 356 352, +420 224 356 214; caltaja1@fa.cvut.cz

Orders out of these opening hours are possible by means of the below mentioned contacts. In this case the books will be prepared for disposal on the following day and reserved for 1 week. The order form should include your name and the required book title specified as exactly as possible.

Bookstocks

Libraries contain more than 13,000 volumes of thoroughly thematically profiled books and periodicals on architecture and art:

■ 76 rare old editions from the period between 16th and 18th centuries
■ cc. 5,000 titles from the period between 18th and mid-20th centuries
■ cc. 1,600 titles from the period 1950-1989, purchased by the Central Library of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture
■ more than 4,000 new titles purchased by the Departments 15113 and 15114, but also those financed from the faculty budget and various grants. Books purchased after 2001 are registered in the Central Library as well and can be found in its on-line catalogue on the address: https://aleph.cvut.cz/F
■ more than 1,700 titles deposited in the Library of the Research Centre for Industrial Heritage (VCPD), related predominantly to the issues of industrial architecture and its conversions
■ more than 160 film and multimedia DVDs, acquired first of all in 2011 thanks to a FRVŠ grant allocation (search signature R)

For immediate use there are books and documents kept in the reading hall. On request, other catalogue items (books deposited in teachers' reference libraries and in the archive) will be available on the following day. With an R pressmark there are films and multimedia programmes on historical and current architectural issues. Stocks with an ST pressmark are liable to special regulations and studying them requires permission granted by the head of the department.
Books with a V pressmark, focused on the issues of industrial architecture and its conversions, are deposited in the VCPD library, 3rd floor, room 304-305. The studying of these books shall be ordered beforehand (See VCPD contacts).
Books with a U pressmark, focused on the issues of urban design and planning, are deposited in the room 664. The studying of these books shall be ordered beforehand (See contacts).

History and Present of the Library

The library of the Department of History of Architecture was founded in 1864 on the establishment of independent professorship of architecture at the Prague Polytechnical Institute. The first professor, the architect Josef Zítek participated in the library constitution.
In 1886, when the polytechnic split into two separate parts - the Czech Department and the German Department - the library as a whole was transferred to the German Department. At the Czech Department the library was reconstituted from its very foundations. It consisted primarily of professors´ (Josef Schulz, Jan Koula) donations. In 1936 the library became part of the newly established Department of the History of Architecture of professor Stefan.
In 1945 the German Polytechnic was abolished and the library of the Department of History of Architecture of the German Polytechnic was transferred to the Czech Department. Thus the two sources of the present library merged together. The maltreatment of the library of the German Department is inter alia illustrated by the fact that neither its original catalogues nor its registers have been preserved.
After February 1948 the acquisitions from the confiscated libraries of aristocratic houses and monastic orders became part of the newly merged library.
From the beginning of the 1950s until the beginning of 1990s the book acquisition for the library was ensured by the Central Library of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture. These books are kept in the archive of the departmental library as a deposit of the central library. Only this part of the library holdings was catalogued and regularly checked up within the bookstock inventory-taking.
The historical holdings were not processed in any way. Their registration started as late as in 1995. Having been mapped out they proved a significant cultural value.
In 2000 the library moved to the basement of the faculty building at 7 Thákurova Street. It thus acquired large archive spaces and a pleasant reading hall and started to function five days a week as an on-the-spot reading hall for students, educators and the public.
In February 2011 the Faculty of Architecture moved to the new CTU building at 9 Thákurova Street. The Library of the History of Architecture acquired its representative reading hall on 7th floor, finally close to both departments and primarily in immediate contact with students and with the education spaces. Moreover, the archive rooms in the basement of the school with its generous capacity enable further development of the bookstock. The Research Centre for Industrial Heritage has moved from its existing dispersal site Na Julisce to the 3rd floor of the new faculty building so that even its library could be better available for its users.
During 2011 on the basis of a FRVŠ grant support a new mediateque is being constituted. This mediateque is focused on historical and contemporary architecture, which enables the enrichment of architectural studies with new aspects which cannot be fulfilled by traditional printed publications. Films and multimedia programmes will be for diposal on the PCs in the reading hall and presented in the database of the departmental library and in the on-line catalogue of the Central library as well.