depositories -- clippings archive -- photo archive -- audio and video
On January 1, 1964, the literary archive became a collections department of the Museum of Czech Literature. Until then, it had been a part of the collections of the National Museum. The origins and the history of the archive are intimately connected with the revivalist efforts of the National Awakening movement, which began to keep important documents of national literature in the manuscript department of the National Museum after its foundation in 1818. At the time the PNP was put in charge of these archive collections, they contained about 1'700 000 units, i.e., about one fourth of today's volume. Currently, more than 6 million archive units are deposited in the archive, documenting the development of Czech literature from the end of the 18th century until today. Aside from the various depositories, three separate collections also belong to the literary archive: the photo archive, the clippings archive, and the audio/video archive.
The depositories and collections of the archive are used for research, exhibitions, editorial and documentary purposes. Since 2006, the archived material has been indexed in the Janus database. Aside from catalogues and print indices, the public has also access to a database browser, in which the data of all indexed depositories has been incorporated. Scholars may study archive materials in the study hall of the literary archive on the Prague premises of the PNP or on the premises of the field office in Staré Hrady. Indexed depositories are accessible to the general public subject to the terms of usage set out in the Rules of Research (MS Word / 60KB), in compliance with the Archiving and Record-Keeping Act (act No. 499/2004 Coll.) and the Data Protection Act (act No. 101/2000 Coll.).
