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
Nikolaos Papadakis (1949-2025), general director of the Eleftherios Venizelos Foundation, has passed away.
On Friday, September 5, the Eleftherios K. Venizelos National Research and Study Foundation, the city of Chania, and Crete bid farewell to Nikolaos Papadakis (Papadis). Nikolaos Papadakis, together with the Metropolitan of Kissamos and Selinos, Irineos Galanakis, were the driving forces behind the creation of the Eleftherios K. Venizelos National Research and Study Foundation "Eleftherios K. Venizelos," which was the result of many years of efforts by the community of Chania and Crete to create a nationwide institution in the city, a center for research and study of the work and era of Eleftherios Venizelos. During the Foundation's ...More
Lecture & Photography Exhibition by Muriel Pénicaud at the Hellenic American Union | The Shape of the Future, September 17-October 8, 2025
On Wednesday, September 17, at 6 p.m., Muriel Pénicaud, former French Minister of Labor and Ambassador, will present her ideas and multifaceted work at the Hellenic American Union, under the general theme "The Shape of the Future." This presentation is the fifth event in a series of Applied Greek-French Dialogues and is co-organized by the Hellenic American Union, Hellenic American University, CITRONNE Gallery, IOBE, and In Session Events. Muriel Pénicaud is a multifaceted personality with a wide influence on the political and economic scene in France. Less well known is her involvement in photography, which has earned her ...More
National Library of Greece | New acquisitions: Lexicon Gregorianum and Theologische Realenzyklopädie
While the primary role of a national library is to provide readers and researchers with access to authoritative editions of texts, it is also very important to offer them the tools they need to study them. Today we present two such tools from the NLG's acquisitions. Scholars of Gregory of Nyssa's work, to whose publication the eminent Hellenist Werner Geiger (1888-1961) devoted much of his efforts, now have at their disposal a unique tool for studying it. The ten-volume Lexicon Gregorianum (1999-2014), under the general scientific supervision of Friedhelm Mann, is the fruit of thirty years of scientific ...More
Presentation of the investigation into the possibilities for upgrading the building stock of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum | September 15, 2025
On Monday, September 15, 2025, at 6:00 p.m., a presentation will be held in the Lecture Hall of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum following the implementation of the programmatic agreement for the investigation of possibilities for upgrading the building stock of the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion and connecting it with the surrounding area, with the involvement of entities other than the museum itself, the Technical University of Crete and the Municipality of Heraklion. The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion is a museum space that is transforming into an extroverted hub in constant dialogue with its urban context. From a closed ...More
Leave A Comment