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
The Hellenic Parliament Foundation| “…beloved works of their hands” | Ceramics by refugee artists from Faliro’s Kütahya
"‘…step inside this workshop. Here a true cosmogony is taking place, which these humble and selfless people are trying to capture on the beloved works of their hands.’ In this way, Stratis Doukas – artistic director of the Anonymous Pottery Company Kütahya – in 1932 encouraged newspaper readers to support the refugee craft industry, which his friend Minas Pesmatzoglou had founded nine years earlier." From the day after the Asia Minor Catastrophe and for nearly four decades, Armenian and Greek potters and ceramic painters from Kütahya in Asia Minor kept alive the tradition of their homeland ...More
Historical Archive of the National Bank of Greece | Award and hybrid event on the archival unit of “White Anthrax”
In the context of the annual celebration of the International Archives Day and following the completion of the digitization and enrichment project of the archival unit of "White Anthrax," which in 2024 received an award from the Archives Portal Europe (APE), the Historical Archive of the National Bank of Greece is co-organizing a related hybrid event with APE. At the event, the project itself will be presented, as well as research efforts that highlight the potential of this material for documenting the history of energy in Greece. The archival unit "White Anthrax" of the Historical Archive ...More
New Online MSc in Autism:”Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Health Promotion, Early Diagnosis, Special Education, Individual and Community Intervention” Extension of the call until 30/6/2025
Title: MSc "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Health Promotion, Early Diagnosis, Special Education, Individual and Community Intervention" Scientific Disciplines: Humanities, Health Universities: University of West Attica University of the Peloponnese Language of instruction: Greek Duration: 4 semesters For more information, you may visit the website: https://asdmaster.uniwa.gr Description The unique in Greece Inter-institutional Postgraduate Studies Programme entitled "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Health Promotion, Early Diagnosis, Special Education, Individual and Community Intervention" offers a unique opportunity for professionals and young scientists to acquire high-level expertise in ...More
Petroloukas Halkias (1934-2025)| The clarinet that glorified Epirus to the ends of the world is now “silenced”
Greece's traditional music has become poorer in recent hours, since the internationally renowned clarinet virtuoso Petroloukas Halkias passed away at the age of 90. Born in 1934 in Delvinaki, Ioannina, Petroloukas started playing the clarinet at the age of 11, despite his father's objections and immediately stood out at popular events for his innate gift for music. In the 1960s he emigrated to the United States for twenty years, accompanying the expatriates with his musical instrument in their joys and sorrows, in their meetings and in their longing for their homeland. Besides, as he himself had ...More
Leave A Comment