Libri Prohibiti is a nonprofit, private, independent,

archival research Archival research is a type of research which involves seeking out and extracting evidence from archival records. These records may be held either in collecting institutions, such as libraries and museums, or in the custody of the organization ( ...

library located in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

that collects

samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...

and exile literature. The organization is maintained and run by Jiří Gruntorád and includes more than 29,200 monographs and periodicals, about 2,900 reference resources, and over 5,000 audiovisual materials.

Overview

Location: Libri Prohibiti is located on the third floor of Senovazne namesti 2, Prague 1, Czech Republic Hours: Monday - Thursday, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. (except holidays and school vacations) The Libri Prohibiti is free to all visitors. The library houses a reading room that can accommodate eighteen people and averages approximately ten visitors per day. Reference services are provided in person, via email, and over the telephone. The collections are non-circulating due to the uniqueness and frailty of the items. The staff consists of the director - Jiří Gruntorád, a part-time Video and Audio Archivist, a part-time Magazine Archivist, and several unpaid volunteers and

library and information science Library and information science(s) or studies (LIS) is an interdisciplinary field of study that deals generally with organization, access, collection, and protection/regulation of information, whether in physical (e.g. art, legal proceedings, e ...

students from the nearby

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

and the

Josef Škvorecký Josef Škvorecký (; September 27, 1924 – January 3, 2012) was a Czech-Canadian writer and publisher. He spent half of his life in Canada, publishing and supporting banned Czech literature during the communist era. Škvorecký was awarded the ...

private college. As of the 2009 Annual Report, the Libri Prohibiti's main goals are to “accumulate the most complete and highest quality collection of…materials which were created by the Czech and Slovak exile” and “completely catalog these collections by computer and to make the results accessible for the purpose of further research, both in tscomputer network and in the form of book and periodical publications”. A majority of the library's 2009 income is acquired through government grants and individual sponsors. To aid in funding, the Libri Prohibiti constantly seeks grants from the Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. Since government funding is limited, the library depends on the generosity of individual donors for much of its income.

History of Samizdat in Czechoslovakia

When

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

was under Communist rule in the mid- to late-twentieth century, over 400 writers and journalists were prohibited from publishing and distributing any of their works. Some writers, such as

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...

, were persecuted and sentenced to prison if they did not comply with these regulations. During this time many different types of performers, entertainers, and various other creators were persecuted for and banned from performing or creating their specific art forms. It was almost impossible for these persecuted individuals to find any kind of employment after this. In defiance of these regulations, some banned authors began writing

articles and distributing them secretly in Czechoslovakia and abroad. In order to produce multiple copies of their works, they used

carbon paper Carbon paper (originally carbonic paper) consists of sheets of paper which create one or more copies simultaneously with the creation of an original document when inscribed by a typewriter or ballpoint pen. History In 1801, Pellegrino Turri, ...

to produce up to fifteen copies at once. Other methods of copying included

cyclostyle A monopteros (Ancient Greek: , from the Polytonic: μόνος, 'only, single, alone', and , 'wing') is a circular colonnade supporting a roof but without any walls. Unlike a tholos (in its wider sense as a circular building), it does not have w ...

spirit duplicator A spirit duplicator (also referred to as a Rexograph or Ditto machine in North America, Banda machine in the UK, Gestetner machine in Australia) is a printing method invented in 1923 by Wilhelm Ritzerfeld that was commonly used for much of the r ...

photocopying A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers u ...

, and

xerography Xerography is a dry photocopying technique. Originally called electrophotography, it was renamed xerography—from the roots el, ξηρός, label=none ''xeros'', meaning "dry" and -γραφία ''-graphia'', meaning "writing"—to emphasize ...

. The materials were secretly distributed among dissidents and sometimes smuggled abroad. All of these actions were very dangerous and those caught faced imprisonment or exile. During this time, Jiří Gruntorád, the current caretaker of the Libri Prohibiti, was imprisoned for four years for distributing samizdat literature. In addition to dissident articles, many popular books were banned and subsequently distributed as samizdats. Some of the most famous works include

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

’s ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

'' and

J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

’s ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'', both of which are held at the Libri Prohibiti.

History of the Libri Prohibiti

On October 22, 1990, the Libri Prohibiti opened with help from different organizations including the Czechoslovak

Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech and Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Jiří Něm ...

and the

President of the Czech Republic The president of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The president mostly has ceremonial powers as the day-to-day business of the executive governm ...

. The original location was on Podskalska Street, and later moved to its current location at Senovazne namesti 2. The collection began with around 2,000 monographs and magazines that were acquired by Jiri Gruntorad during the years of “ normalization” in the Czech Republic. Since then, the collection has continued to grow and expand with the help and support of government grants and generous donors. The Society of Libri Prohibiti was formed on April 24, 1991, to help the library establish itself as a legal entity. The society was officially established after registering with the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. The primary goal of the society is to help the Libri Prohibiti continue operating and acquiring new materials for its collections. Many of the founding members of this society were significant and established authors, former government and academic leaders and employees, and teachers and other prominent members of the community. Among some of the most prominent founders of the society were

, Ivan Klima, and

Jan Vladislav Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

. Today there are over 180 members of the Society of Libri Prohibiti. The society invites any interested people to join if they would like to contribute or help the Libri Prohibiti in any way.

Collections

The Libri Prohibiti's collection contains Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian exile and

literature and includes monographs, periodicals, archival works, reference resources, and audiovisual materials. As of the 2009, the collection comprises over 29,200 library units and over 2,560 periodicals. The library is divided into eleven categories based on type, origin, and content of the item. * Czech Samizdat Monographs and Periodicals ::* Includes 14,300 units created from the 1950s through the 1980s during the time of Communist rule. Over 390 of these items are periodicals. ::Some of the titles within this section are: :::* ''Edice Expedice'' :::* ''Petlice'' :::* ''Popelnice'' :::* ''Information about Charter 77'' (periodical) :::* ''

Revolver Revue ''Revolver Revue'' is a Czech Republic, Czech quarterly literary magazine published in Prague, Czech Republic. The magazine was an underground periodical and issued legally after the Velvet Revolution. History and profile ''Revolver Revue'' was e ...

'' (periodical) :::* ''Vokno'' (periodical) * Czech Exile Monographs and Periodicals :* Includes 7,400 exiled items representing more than 435 publishers and individuals. The library holds many of the publishers' complete productions or editions. * Monographs and Periodicals of the First and Second World War Resistances :* From

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, there are a total of 90 items of legionnaire’s literature. From the Czech war exile (1930 to 1945) there is a total of 840 monographs. This collection also includes over 100 different magazines from World War I and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. * Foreign Samizdat Monographs and Periodicals :* Includes more than 380 samizdats and 43 periodicals from Slovakia and over 1,100 samizdats and 290 periodicals of Poland. Russian samizdat and periodicals are marginally represented. * Foreign Exile Monographs and Periodicals :* Includes more than 720 Slovak and 420 Russian and Ukrainian exile monographs, as well as 50 Slovak and 30 Russian and Ukrainian periodicals. Polish exile literature is marginally represented. * Foreign-Language Monographs and Periodicals :* Includes over 2,800 monographs and 480 periodicals related to the former Czechoslovakia. * Documentation and Archives :* Includes a partially processed collection of 1,500 unpublished manuscripts, flyers, posters, photographs, and newspaper clippings that vary in topic and medium. Most of the collection contains written documents that originated from the activity of different organizations and agencies, such as

, the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted (VONS), and the East European Information Agency. * Reference Library - General Subject and Secondary Literature :* Includes over 2,900 books, magazines, and other writings about samizdat and exile literature. * Audiovisual Section :* Includes recordings of non-conformist music on 2,530 cassettes, 1,200 CD-ROMs, and 200 gramophone records; 750 audio recordings of underground lectures and seminars; 1,260 video documentaries and films, 670 video cassettes, and 350 DVDs.

Publications

:1. ''Exilova periodika: Katalog periodik ceskeho a slovenskeho exilu a krajanských tisku vydavanych po roce 1945'' (Exile Periodicals: Catalog of Czech and Slovak Exile Periodicals and Czech Printed Material Issued Abroad after 1945) :2. ''Informace o Charte 77: Clánkova bibliografie 1978-1990'' (Information about Charter 77: An Article Bibliography, 1978-1990) :3. ''Katalog knih ceskeho exilu 1948-1994'' (Catalog of Books of the Czech Exile, 1948-1994) :4. ''Sdelení Vyboru na obranu nespravedlive stíhanych a Zpravy Vychodoevropske informacni agentury'' (Communications of the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted and Reports of the East European Information Agency)

Name

The name ''Libri Prohibiti'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for ''forbidden books''.

References

{{Authority control Libraries in the Czech Republic Libraries established in 1990 1990 establishments in Czechoslovakia 20th-century architecture in the Czech Republic