The cultural treasure of the city
Municipal Library of Patra
Adress: 110 Maizonos Str., Patras
Tel. of Reading Room +30 2610 224813
mail: [email protected]
https://patraslibrary.weebly.com
Municipal Library of Patra
The origins of the Municipal Library of Patras lie in the donation of the library of the “Patra Craft Company” to the Municipality of Patras in 1903.
Δημοτική Βιβλιοθήκη Πατρών – Αναγνωστήριο / Municipal Library of Patras – Reading Room
In 1908, after petitions through the local Press, the Municipal Library of Patras was founded, and the first Supervisory Committee was elected. The Library was housed in the school on the corner of Gounari and Karaiskaki Streets. Two years later, in 1910, the official opening ceremony took place.
The Library closed in 1926, abandoned, and its contents were stored in the basement of the Municipality until 1944, when a group of book lovers transported them to the house of former mayor Ioannis Vlachos and subsequently to the Karamandani Mansion, on 42 Maizonos Street.
Δημοτική Βιβλιοθήκη Πατρών – Αρχιτεκτονικό σχέδιο / Municipal Library of Patra – Floorplan
In 1947 the postwar Municipal Library was inaugurated, with 18,200 books, mostly donated by the public. In 1948, by royal decree, the Library became a legal entity governed by public law. In 1955 the new building was inaugurated, and the books transported there.
Since 2011, the Library is part of a newly founded legal entity governed by public law, under the name “Municipal Library-Cultural Organization of the Municipality of Patras”. It comprises the Central Library (110 Maizonos Street) and the Annex (Eleftheria Square, 26 Fokaias Street). The ground floor houses the Children’s Department and the Municipal Gallery. Visitors can use the reading room, borrow books, access the Internet, use the computers for research purposes, and there are workstations for people with disabilities.
Head of the Library is the librarion Ms. Aikaterini Kourou
Future plans
The Municipal Library of Patras falls under the category of public libraries. Within this framework, its plans include the restoration of the buildings and the upgrading of services and functions, in order to develop into a large central public library that will support the right to self-education and public education, providing access to every resident of the city. Furthermore, it may also become the centre of a network of municipal/public libraries in the neighbouring municipalities and regions.
Δημοτική Βιβλιοθήκη Πατρών – Εκπαιδευτικό πρόγραμμα / Municipal Library of Patra − Educational programme
For the moment, a study for the creation of a modern section for children/teenagers, a department for digital technologies and an exhibition of rare books and documents is underway.
Moreover, funding is being sought for the installation of digital services through the use of radio-frequency identification technology (RFID).
ΕΚΔΟΣΕΙΣ
“1922 – 2022, Histories of memory and art: Reflections on religious painting S. Papaloukas, F. Kontoglou, S. Vasileiou” at the Historical Archive – Museum of Hydra
In the context of the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the first-anniversary exhibition of memory begins on 11 June 2022 at the Historical Archive-Museum of Hydra, which will run during the months of June and July. The major special exhibition entitled "1922 - 2022, Stories of memory and art. The exhibition is based on the tragic events of the inter-war period, which prompted Greek artists to spiritual reflection and exploration of the Greek cultural heritage. Φώτης Κόντογλου, Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Πρόδρομος, ιδιωτική συλλογή / Fotis Kontoglou, Agios Ioannis Prodromos, private collection The ...More
oh earth 1922-2022: A tribute to the 100 years since the Asia Minor catastrophe
The Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation opens its doors, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, on Saturday, 28 May 2022, 12.30 - 22.00. With speeches, readings, film screenings, guided tours and music we welcome you to our buildings, the Historical Library, 2as Merarchias 36 & Akti Moutsopoulou and the building at 169 Praxitelous Street & Bouboulinas Street, in Piraeus. The conference will be chaired by Euripides Garantoudis, Professor of Modern Greek Philology at the University of Athens, Athens, Greece. Part 1 (building 169 Praxitelous & Bouboulinas) The first part of the ...More
ΕΜΣΤ Extra Muros: Séance. Screening Program of the Amazon Project
The site-specific project Amazonios takes place in the former house and studio of artists Nikos Kessanlis and Chryssa Romanos, in Polydroso a neighbourhood in the northern suburbs of Athens, next to the creek of Halandri, one of the few remaining natural attractions in the area, and occupies an interim space between the urban and the suburban. Amazonios unfolds in both the interior and exterior spaces of the atelier of Kessanlis and Romanos. As visitors move from the old darkroom (“Cargo”) to the main atelier and from the empty warehouses (“The Forest”) to the abandoned swimming pool (“The River”), they come across a number ...More
The first description of the fall of Constantinople at VERGOS Auctions auction
The first description of the Fall of Constantinople to appear in print is one of the extremely rare items included in VERGOS Auctions' auction of Rare Books, Manuscripts, Documents & Prints, among others. The auction will take place in public at the Athens Plaza Hotel on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 June 2022 (6:30 pm). In particular, the first description of the Fall of Constantinople to appear in print was written by Pope Pius II and first published in Rome around 1470. This was followed by this second edition (c. 1474), of which only 23 copies are known, ...More
Leave A Comment