Act No. 53 / 1959 Coll.
Law on the Single System of Libraries (Librarian Act)
Valid
Effective from 01.08.1959
53
Law
of 9 July 1959
on a single library system (library law)
The National Assembly of the Czechoslovak Republic decided on the following Act:
Preliminary provisions
The mission of libraries, an important and effective mass actor of socialist education, is to contribute to the universal education of workers in the spirit of scientific world opinion and to help raise their political, cultural and professional level; in particular, to contribute to the development of science and technology, to the dissemination of their knowledge and to help solve political and economic challenges and to develop the creative initiative of the people in the fight for the victory of socialism.
Uniform library system
The tasks referred to in Article 1 shall be provided by a single system of libraries established and managed by central offices, national committees and other national authorities, bodies of social organisations associated in the National Front, single agricultural cooperatives, economic and budgetary organisations, scientific and cultural institutions (hereinafter referred to as "offices, organisations and institutions'), whether those libraries are organisational separate establishments (institutes) or components of other establishments.
(1) Libraries effectively and in accordance with their tasks collect the necessary literature, disseminate it deliberately among the population and carry out mass work on the book between readers. They provide readers with consistent and versatile help in the selection and acquisition of literature to enable each citizen to borrow the necessary book from any publicly available library of the single system.
(2) To improve and deepen the services of readers, libraries of the single system
(a) they are required to lend and procure, upon request, individual books, magazines and other collection materials, or files thereof, of any other library of the single system (interlibrary borrowing service), unless special reasons prevent this;
(b) where appropriate, cooperate or assist each other in supplementing library collections in the purchase or exchange of literature, in the field of information and bibliographic activities, in methodological matters, in the import of literature from abroad and in the promotion of literature;
(c) have priority rights in obtaining books, magazines and other collection materials.
(3) In order to improve the coordination of activities and their further development, single system libraries are required to register with the Executive Authority of the relevant District National Committee. If libraries are an organisational component of other facilities (institutes), they are entered in the register by such facilities (institutes).
(4) Paragraph 3 shall not apply to libraries of the armed forces; such libraries shall be subject to reporting obligations with the competent authorities.
(5) Detailed provisions on the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 3 shall be laid down by the Ministry of Education and Culture in agreement with the central authorities involved.
State Library of the Czechoslovak Republic
(1) The Central Library of the Single System of Libraries is the State Library of the Czechoslovak Republic ("the State Library"); carry out in particular the following tasks:
(a) keeps home literature and other bohemics and verbs permanently,
b) Bibliographically processes current and past literary production and coordinates bibliographic work on a national scale;
(c) as a central universal scientific library, collect and make available to the public domestic and most important world literature;
d) carry out research and scientifically process theoretical questions in the field of library and provide methodological assistance to libraries of the single system.
(2) More detailed tasks of the State Library and its organisation are laid down in the Statute issued by the Minister for Education and Culture in agreement with the competent central authorities and bodies.
Library networks
(1) Libraries in the field of competence of individual central offices and bodies are generally composed of organised networks of libraries of a particular kind (libraries of folk, school, scientific, Revolutionary Trade Union Movement, technical libraries, academia, medical libraries, armed forces, etc.).
(2) The competent central authorities and authorities shall ensure close cooperation between the libraries of their network and effective assistance for better organised and equipped libraries of smaller libraries, in particular those managed by voluntary staff.
(3) Ideas and professional assistance to libraries of a network is generally concentrated in a library entrusted with this function by the competent central authority or authority (central network library).
(4) The library network can form, due to their specific tasks and libraries of the same kind, in the field of competence of several central offices (technical libraries in races, etc.). In such a case, one of the libraries of the network of functions of the central library shall be entrusted by the Ministry of Education and Culture, after consulting the Central Library Board and in agreement with the relevant central authorities and authorities.
People's libraries
(1) People's libraries (local, district, county) form the basis of the single system, as they form the largest network of libraries serving all the population and are within their respective remit, in particular as regards the libraries of district and county, centres of methodology, bibliographic information and interlibrary borrowing services for all libraries of the single system, if they need such a service and assistance.
(2) People's libraries are set up in every village. People's libraries shall be established, maintained and managed by the executive body of the relevant national committee. In the seat of the Regional National Committee, the Regional People's Library usually also performs the function of the Regional and Urban Library, in the seat of the Regional National Committee the District People's Library also performs the function of the Local Library. The local People's Library may be established, where appropriate, also as an organisational component of the local National Committee's information facility. With the approval of the Executive Authority of the District National Committee, the local People's Library of the Single Agricultural Cooperative, the Revolutionary Trade Union Movement, or another library of the Single System may carry out the tasks of the local People's Library if it is provided for.
(3) Paragraphs 14 and 15 of the Information Act apply mutatis mutandis to the legal status and manner of management of folk libraries, except for libraries which are the organisational components of the information facilities of national committees.
Management and coordination
(1) The national committees responsible for the economic and cultural development of their territories lay down the principles of the planned development of libraries of the single system according to the political, economic and cultural needs of their respective territories. The principles shall be developed in cooperation with the competent authorities, organisations and institutions and shall evaluate, together with them, the development of libraries of the single system; in so doing, the district and local national committees shall be based on the principles laid down by the national committee of higher degrees and on the conditions and needs of their district.
(2) In cooperation with the competent authorities, organisations and bodies, the national committees shall monitor and, with the exception of centrally managed libraries, check the activities of the libraries of the single system in their district in order to meet the needs of the socialist society with its ideal content and create favourable conditions for the development of libraries and their uniform cultural and educational activities.
(1) The central management and control of the libraries of the single system are the responsibility of the central authorities and bodies in whose field the libraries are established. Such authorities and bodies shall issue for libraries, where they are organisationally independent establishments (institutes), model or library-specific statutes, specifying the legal status, detailed tasks, internal organisation and management and the management of libraries in their field of competence.
(2) The Ministry of Education and Culture monitors all activities of libraries of the single system in terms of their uniform cultural and educational activities and recommends appropriate measures to central authorities and authorities.
(1) The central library council is the advisory, initiative and coordination body of the Minister of Education and Culture for the fundamental issues of libraries of the single system; its members shall be appointed by the Minister for Education and Culture on a proposal from the central authorities and bodies in whose field the library is concerned. The Slovak Librarian Council is the advisory, initiative and coordinating body of the education and culture officer; its members shall be appointed mutatis mutandis by the responsible authority of education and culture. The functions of the President and members of the Central Librarian Council and the Slovak Librarian Council are honorable. The Organisational and Rules of Procedure of the Central Library Board shall be issued by the Ministry of Education and Culture in agreement with the relevant central authorities and bodies, the Organisationand the Rules of Procedure of the Slovak Library Board, by analogy, to the mandates of education and culture.
(2) The Regional and Regional National Libraries Committees are advisory, initiative and coordination bodies; the members shall be appointed by the Board of the competent national committee. Membership in regional and district librarian committees is honorable.
Library staff
(1) A librarian in a people's democratic state fulfils an important political mission and must therefore have the necessary political and professional qualifications. In particular, it is a duty to actively acquire new readers, to take care of readers individually and to help all ways of working with the book to increase political awareness and to meet the ever growing needs of citizens in deepening their general and vocational education and cultural perspective. This also applies to voluntary librarians, to whom the authorities, organisations and institutions which establish and manage libraries provide universal assistance in the performance of these tasks. In the performance of his duties, the librarian relies on the assets of the library's voluntary staff.
(2) The rules on the qualification assumptions of library staff shall be issued by the competent central authorities and bodies, in agreement with the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Central Committee of the relevant trade union, where this does not fall within the competence of other bodies under specific regulations; At the same time, it sets out which libraries professional librarians work in.
(3) The offices, organisations and institutions which establish and manage libraries ensure the continuous addition and deepening of the necessary qualifications of both library staff and voluntary staff.
Maturity of libraries
The offices, organisations and institutions that establish and manage libraries ensure that libraries are located in buildings (rooms) of adequate range of library collections, tasks and the importance of libraries, and provide them with the necessary equipment and means to complement library collections, to operate libraries and develop them further. You can only move the library or part of it if you get a suitable location. Buildings (rooms) may be removed for library purposes only with the approval of the authority of the supervisor of the managing body. For libraries centrally managed by this authority, the central authority or authority shall be competent, for regional folk libraries, the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Final provisions
The regulations implementing this law shall be issued by the Ministry of Education and Culture in agreement with the competent central authorities and authorities.
_
1. Act No. 430 / 1919 Coll., on Public Libraries of Municipality,
2. Government Decree No. 607 / 1919 Coll., implementing the Act on Public Libraries of the Municipality of 22 July 1919 No. 430 Coll., as amended by Government Decree No. 212 / 1921 Coll.
This Law shall take effect from 1 August 1959; it shall be carried out by all members of the Government.
Novotný v. r.
Fierlinger v. r.
Broad v. r.
Dolan v. r.
Kopecký v. r.
Bark v. r.
Shimonek v. r.
Jankovcová v. r.
Dr Acid v. r.
Plojhar v. r.
Dr Nobility v. r.
David v. r.
Děuriš v. r.
Krajčir v. r.
Kromir
Colonel General Lomský v. r.
Machachová v. r.
Dr Non-edible v. r.
Polack v. r.
Strougal v. r.
Uher v. r.
Lamb
Jonah v. r.
Dr Kahuda v. r.
Reitmajer v. r.
Dr Skoda v. r.
Dr Hlasák v. r.
Potato
ge. Black v. r.
Dr Neuman v. r.
Ouzký v. r.
Pospíšil v. r.
ge. Púčik v. r.
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Act No. 53 / 1959 Coll., on the Single System of Libraries (Librarian Act) |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | - |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 25.07.1959 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 01.08.1959 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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