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
Face-Powder Poupée, Marika Kotopouli and the advertisements for womens’ beauty products in the 1930’s.
Asimina Stathopoulou, Archivist, Reading Room and Archival Research Department General State Archives of Greece – Central Service In Athens in the year 1933, the ladies of the time who read the weekly literary review “Panathenaea”, apart from being entertained by short stories such as “The Great Love” by Gregorios Xenopoulos or “The story of Avramis” by Napoleon Lapathiotis, were also the addressees of a series of advertisements aimed at women consumers. So, when the dilemma arose as to where a lady of the Athenian bourgeois society should have her dress made if she were to be ...More
“Images of the city of Trikala through the lens of G. Manolakis” Exhibition of photographs from the archive of Georgios Manolakis (1918 – 2007) at the Art & Culture House of the Leonidas K. Makris Foundation – doctor in Trikala
The Leonidas K. Makris - Doctor Foundation inaugurates on Friday, June 16, 2023 at 20:30 in the building of the Foundation's Art & Culture House, the exhibition of photographs from the archive of Georgios Manolakis (1918 - 2007) "Images of the city of Trikala through the lens of G. Manolakis", curated by Lambrini Karakourtis - Orfanopoulou, Art Historian, N.G.A.S.M. The exhibition includes a selection of photographs from the archive of the late pediatrician and prominent member of the society of the city of Trikala, Georgios Manolakis (1918 - 2007), which was donated to the Foundation by ...More
The National Park of Ainosis declared the first International Dark Sky Park in Greece
The Greek branch of DarkSky International announces that today, 9 June 2023, the Aenos National Park is declared the first International Dark Sky Park in Greece (Aenos International Dark Sky Park). This recognition comes after three years of close cooperation between the National Park of Ainos and the Greek chapter of DarkSky International, coordinated by the Astronomical Society of Patras "Orion". In order to achieve this recognition, important activities were carried out in Kefalonia such as light pollution measurements in the National Park of Ainos and the surrounding areas, recording of public lighting in Kefalonia, upgrading ...More
Summer Reading and Creativity Campaign 2023 of the National Library of Greece
The Summer Reading and Creativity Campaign of the National Library of Greece returns! This summer, young library friends will learn about the books of the grown-ups, their readings, the value of friendship, and travel to different parts of the country through literary narratives and characters that have influenced generations of readers. And all this through the works of two beloved authors, Alki Zei and Georges Sari. KE2023, entitled "100 exactly! Treasures of Alkis and Georges...", will start on 16/6 and will end on 9/9. The activities are linked to works by the two authors and lead ...More
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