FAQ

The library was originally intended as the Dejvice Campus library and no one could have guessed that students from all over Prague would find their way and spend time here. However, we must also not forget the fire safety and hygiene limits that the library must meet. As of January 2024, we have accommodated our visitors and adjusted the opening hours, which we recommend you follow on our web. During the exam period, the After Hours Study Room can also be used for studying.

Even though the building rules allow food and drink inside the library, we cannot allow it to become a canteen. Hot meals can be purchased at Café Prostor_ on the library’s ground floor, which is just a few steps away and can be reached without leaving the library. Hygiene aspects must not be overlooked.

Air circulation in the library is controlled automatically by the system. In the event of poor air quality, extreme heat or cold, you may contact a security guard or library staff at the counters.

The lighting in the library is controlled automatically by the system. In the event of poor visibility or unnecessary lighting to the detriment of outdoor lighting conditions, you may contact a security guard or library staff at the counters.

In such case, please contact the nearest security guard, library staff at the counters or report it to reception at the NTK3 entrance.

Moving the blinds up and down is controlled automatically by the system based on the outdoor conditions. In the event of poor visibility or unnecessary lighting to the detriment of outdoor lighting conditions, you may contact a security guard or library staff at the counters.

The library, though it looks new, opened in 2009 when no one thought the era of mobile devices prone to regular recharging would one day arrive. If you need to recharge your device, use the space at the desks with sockets.

We are very concerned about this problem and it is true that filling bottles in the toilets is not the right thing to do from a hygiene point of view, but at the moment we have no way of resolving the situation.

Compared to other libraries, eating at our library is permitted. The rules are set out in the House Rules in Point 2.1.

In the event of inappropriate or suspicious behaviour by anyone near you, please contact a security guard or library staff at the counters. This matter is dealt with in our House Rules.

We are also concerned about this and are working on an alteration to the reservation system, in which we have involved selected library users. We will inform you about the launch of the new version in due course.

You can put your personal belongings (jackets, coats, large luggage, etc.) free of charge in the cloakroom located on the ground floor (in the corridor next to the toilets) or in the yellow lockers located on each floor. Yellow lockers for larger luggage are located in the cloakroom.

The building’s technical condition and repairs to it are dealt with regularly. It just doesn’t look like this due to the administration (project documentation, tenders for contractors, etc.) and everything takes longer than we would like. We are currently dealing with not only the reconstruction of the library’s collapsed sublayer (yellow strips on the pavement), but also the reconditioning of the signage and modifications to the library’s interior.

The library is completely non-smoking and smoking is strictly forbidden in all its spaces and in front of all its entrances, except for the NTK2 entrance, in front of which ashtrays are placed. Details of the conditions and rules for the services provided, as well as the rights and duties of customers and the library can be found in the Library Rules. The policies, regulations and rules necessary for the building’s smooth day-to-day operation can be found in the House Rules.

It is not expressly forbidden to move chairs and seats from other places in the library. However, visitors are obliged to return them to their original place afterwards. Moving chairs and seats into individual or team study areas is not permitted.

Could you not find a book or magazine in our collection that you think we should have in the National Technical Library? Suggest its purchase via the web form. If you are interested in multiple books or magazines, please use the form repeatedly.

As a rule, it is possible to pick up the ordered books on working days within one hour of ordering. You can influence ebook purchases through the ProQuest Ebook Central platform, which features nearly 300,000 titles “Available on Demand” in addition to 145,000 titles from the Academic Complete and Science & Technology collections. We can purchase a book at your request, or arrange for it to be lent to you. Detailed instructions can be found here.

There is a choice of quiet zones, located on the 3rd and 6th floors, quiet study rooms on the 3rd floor, the historical collection research rooms also on the 3rd floor and the team study rooms. In the exam period, we have expanded the quiet study area to include a Night Study Room.

You can always find all the latest information on our website and in our newsletters. Our social networks Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are also available. Follow our LinkedIn profile for the latest job openings.

Registered patrons can:

• Login to NTK-Simple Wi-Fi

• Download eBooks or eResources (from anywhere, not just in the library)

• Borrow print books and journals

• Use public computers (terminals) in the building

• Use self-service print/copy/scan machines

• Students and university teachers and researchers can use the After Hours Study Room and Team Study Rooms.

Anyone older than 15 years of age with a valid passport/ID.

To register, you need:

• A valid passport, identity card or residence permit

• A chip card with your name and photo which will serve as your patron card (e. g., ISIC, ITIC, OpenCard, ČD In-karta)

• Please complete the pre-registration form online first. Then come to the library registration desk within 30 days to complete the process.

• If you are not affiliated with CTU, UCT, IOCB, or CZU, pay a registration fee

   

  Students/faculty/staff of CTU Prague, UCT Prague, IOCB Prague and CZU Prague	Free
  Other students	50 CZK/per year or 25 CZK/six months
  General public, academic teachers and researchers from other institutions	100 CZK/per year or 50 CZK/six months
  residents of 65 years or older, disabled person	50 CZK/per year or 25 CZK/six months

You can enter the library without registering by using a free day pass.

Without registering, you will not be able to logon to computers or use NTK-Simple Wi-Fi.

Your username and password are required to:

• Login to NTK-Simple Wi-Fi

• Login to public computers (terminals)

• Access eResources from outside the library

• Access your user account.

NTK and CTU CL are located in the same building but they are two independent institutions.

Information about NTK and CTU CL library services is available on their respective websites. CTU CL is located on the right side of the Central Desk on the second floor and in CTU Study Room on the fifth floor.

If you want to use both libraries’ services, you must register separately at each library.

We use email and telephone numbers to communicate with you regarding reservations, due dates, and to send you NTK news. Minimally we require an email when you register.

You can find the opening hours on the NTK homepage and on the Opening Hours page.

There are two Wi-Fi options:

• NTK-Simple: for registered users only

• Eduroam: for students, university teachers, and researchers only; Eduroam is provided by your home institution (NTK doesn´t maintain this Wi-Fi network and you don´t need to register with NTK to login using Eduroam).

Patron services (staffed) hours are provided on the Opening Hours page. Many library services are available when the library desks are unstaffed.

During patron services (staffed) periods:

• Information professionals are present at desks

• The Main Service Desk is open (second floor)

• Consultations are provided

• The Cash Desk is open (second floor)

• Periodicals Reading Room services are available

• You can check out eReaders and assorted materials (headphones, power banks, chargers, umbrellas, games, and so on)

• Library staff can answer your inquiries and complaints and help you use computers, self-service print/scan/copy machines, and assist you in reserving Team Study Rooms.

When the library desks are unstaffed, you can:

• Check out (self-check machines are located on the ground, second, and third floors) and return materials (two self-service return machines are located on the ground floor and a return box is located near the NTK3 entrance)

• Reserve team study rooms

• Add money to your financial account (without cash)

• Use print/copy/scan self-service machines

• Places to study are available on Floors 3 to 6

• Team Study Rooms and Individual Study Carrels: fee-based services, reservations required

• After Hours Study Room: registered students, university teachers and researchers only

• Quiet Study: on Floors 3 and 6 and in the Rare Books & Special Collections Reading Room

• View the number of visitors in the library from anywhere.

• Self-service print/copy/scan machines are located on floors 3 to 6 and can only be used by registered patrons.

• Printing from public computers using a USB flash drive: printers are located on Floors 3 to 6; for registered patrons only.

90 public computers (terminals) are available to all registered patrons on Floors 3 to 6. Several PCs are also available in the After Hours Study Room.

If printing doesn´t work, please contact an information professional during Patron Services (staffed) hours.

If something printed or copied incorrectly you can request a refund by filling out this form and giving the incorrectly printed or copied pages to staff at the Registration/Information desk (ground floor) or the Main Services Desk (second floor). The library will process each refund request within 30 days. For information about the status of your refund, ask library staff in person or contact us via email.

Please ask for assistance at the Information Desk on the ground floor or at the Main Services Desk on the second floor. During hours when Patron Services are unavailable, please contact security personnel.

If for any reason there is a technical problem while reserving a Team Study Room, you can file a complaint.

You can rent an individual study carrel for a day, week or a month - depending on your user group and needs (only students, professors and researchers are eligible - see the details here). 

You have to bring the form to the Information Desk (ground floor), Main Services Desk (second floor) or Periodicals Reading Room (third floor) during library patron service opening hours.

You have to return anything you have checked out and pay any outstanding fines before we can approve your checklist.

You can find this information in your user account. Login using your username and password.

Your financial account can be charged from home (via online payment or bank transfer) or at the Cash Desk on the ground floor (open only during Patron Services hours).

Login to your user account in the top right-hand corner of the NTK website. User the username and password you selected when you registered.

You can change your password when you login to your user account or ask for help at the Information desk (ground floor) or Main Service Desk (second floor).

Ask for your password using the Forgotten Password website or ask for help at the Information desk (ground floor) or Main Service Desk (second floor).

• An office supply vending machine is located on the third floor (the machine only accepts coins).

We will be happy to assist you with searching, citing, and writing during a consultation . You can also visit one of our workshops or webinars.

You can use the following options:

• Subject Guides: information about print and electronic resources in selected fields

• Open Stacks Guide: location of books and other library materials, grouped by subject

Search using the NTK catalog or ask our information professionals during Patron Services hours.

You can access technical standards in the Periodicals Reading Room (you cannot take copy or take pictures of them).

• Electronic versions: use the computers in the Periodicals Reading Room

• Print versions: order them from the library stacks

The Periodicals Reading Room is open during Patron Services hours.

You can use the self-check machines; two are located on the ground floor near the entrance tourniquets, two are on the second floor across from the Main Service Desk, and one is on the third floor near the reserves bookshelf.

There are several reasons; ask library staff for assistance:

• The item (marked with a red dot) is available only for study in the library. Usually these are popular items used by many patrons.

• You have an outstanding fee

• Your need to provide the library with proof of your residence in the Czech Republic

• Your registration is going to expire soon.

• When the library’s open, you can return books using the two self-service return machine on the ground floor (one is across from the NTK Gallery; the other one is near the cash/registration desk).

• When the library’s not open, you can use the return box located at the NTK3 entrance. If you return something there, your user account will be updated the next business day.

Manuals – How to return materials

Yes, you have to pay a fine. Late return charges are typically 2 CZK per item per business day. For eReaders, power banks, or iPads, the late fee is 20 CZK/business day.

Read more here: Borrow, Return, Renew.