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
“Oratos” Art Space, Thessaloniki| MEMORY GAPS: Visual Art Exhibition| 16 March-09 April 2025
The exhibition of artworks entitled "MEMORY GAPS" focuses on the engagement of young artists with issues of collective and individual memory, historical record and social differences. The exhibition is the result of the process of teaching and immersion in contemporary art at the Department of Audio and Visual Arts of the Ionian University. The exhibiting artists present works that explore the notion of the "memory gap" as a phenomenon that takes on a dimension in both individual and collective realms. Through a free approach to the subject, the artists were invited to present their position on ...More
Children and teenagers in crisis| Scientific two-day workshop – experiential workshops – discussions| 14-15 March 2025 at Kymi High School
A strong team from the Child Advocate, the KETHEA, from the University of Crete, educators, lawyers, psychotherapists, theatrologists and artists, comes to Kymi to talk to the students in the Gymnasium, teachers and parents. Teachers from the wider Evia and other regions of Greece can participate in the meeting. Aim: to create a safer environment for children. The programme on Friday 14 March includes experiential workshops with students of Kymi High School with George Moschos, Naya Boemi, Lia Lambrou and Evridiki Samara. On Saturday, March 15, 1) an experiential workshop for teachers and parents "Development of ...More
Greek Community of Melbourne| Greek history and culture seminars-Themistoklis Sofoulis – The man who could have saved Greece from the Civil War| 20 March 2025
Criminally forgotten in the modern era, renaissance man, archaeologist and social activist Themistocles Sofoulis was not only the architect of the union of Samos with Greece, but also a staunch proponent of democracy, playing pivotal roles in the development of Greece during the first world war, the national schism, the aftermath of the Asian minor catastrophe, the Metaxas dictatorship and the aftermath of the German occupation. Emollient, collegial and measured, always willing to include all sides of politics in the national conversation, had he been listened to, chances are the civil war never would have taken ...More
Anastasia Zissi| Interview with the Director of the Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Programme “Applied-Clinical Sociology and Arts”
Anastasia Zissi is a highly experienced researcher and Professor at the University of the Aegean, Department of Sociology, whose work focuses on community and mental health, the design and organization of psychosocial interventions, the diagnosis of needs and quality of life assessment of the general population and socially oppressed groups. Since 2004 he has been a founding member of the steering committee of the Postgraduate Programme of Studies in Social Cohesion and Community Development of the Department of Sociology of the University of the Aegean and today is a Directorof the M.Sc. course "Applied-Clinical Sociology and ...More
Leave A Comment