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
State Conservatory Thessaloniki| The restoration of the building is in full progress
An inspection of the maintenance and restoration project of the State Conservatory building in Thessaloniki, after the appointment of the contractor, was carried out by the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni at the head of an official team. As Lina Mendoni said, "Our goal is to give the Conservatory a modern, functional and universally accessible building. After the completion of the project, the State Conservatory Thessaloniki - the only state conservatory in the country - will return to the radically restored building to continue its important educational and cultural work. The Ministry of Culture, through its ...More
The Culture of the Olive| ELIA LESVOS CONFEST 2024 pre-conference event| War Museum, 3 April 2024
The Elaias Nisos Lesvos Cultural Association was founded in 2020 with the vision of promoting the unique cultural heritage of the olive tree, which encompasses all the history, culture and natural beauty of Greece, included in the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the country since 2019 and in the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO since 2013 through the Mediterranean diet based on olive oil. This year organizes the 2nd International Olive Festival "Olive Oil & Health" at the Vrana Museum in Gera (Mytilene), with the support of the leading Yale University and the National and Kapodistrian University ...More
National Library of Greece| Andreas Vourloumis Archive
In July 2023 Panagis Vourloumis donated to the National Library of Greece the archive of his father and painter Andreas Vourloumis (1910-1999), which consists of approximately 1,450 drawings of various dimensions and around 760 blocks of various sizes. Andreas Vourloumis began to deal with painting in his youth, although he never studied it systematically. In 1934 he graduated from the University of Athens as a chemist. He then went to Paris (1934-1935) to continue his studies, but in the end he painted and visited museums daily. He was also involved in Byzantine painting. His main interest ...More
Benaki Museum| The “Angelos Delivorrias” Annual Lecture | Speaker Michael Herzfeld-Harvard University| 19 March 2024
The Benaki Museum pays tribute to its long-standing director, the late Angelos Delivorrias, who envisioned and implemented its expansion and satellite scheme, by establishing the ‘Angelos Delivorrias’ Annual Lectures. Every March, a speaker active in one of the many cognitive fields in which Delivorrias excelled, will be invited to deliver a lecture, which will be published in printed form as part of a series. This year's lecture will be given by Michael Herzfeld, Ernest E. Monrad Professor of the Social Sciences , Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, and is entitled “Monuments of the Word” or Intangible Heritage? The History and Consequences of a Misleading Distinction in Greece and Elsewhere." The lecture will ...More
Leave A Comment