Aleš Kolařík: The CED library and archive will soon be available online

Where can we find the CED library and archive?

Aleš Kolařík: The CED library and archive is located in the historic building of the House of the Lords of Fanal on the Zelný trh in Brno, specifically on the 1st floor. Since 1993, the second floor of the building has housed the economic and administrative department of the Centre for Experimental Theatre.

Who has access to the library and archives?

The library and archive are regularly freely accessible to the professional public, especially to students of theatre schools and their teachers, but also, of course, to the staff of the Centre for Experimental Theatre and the individual theatres that fall under its responsibility.

What does one have to do if they are not an employee, student, or educator and would like to search for any materials?

If he comes to the library, he should register normally. That means filling out a library card. Then we'll put him in the library system and he can borrow books. If it's the archive area, it's always a good idea to make an appointment in advance by email. Write what kind of archival material you are interested in. And I will already arrange this with the researcher in question and we will arrange a date for a visit during opening hours.

If I want to register for the library, do I also have to email first or can I just drop by during opening hours?

It's obviously better to check in ahead of time, but it's also okay to stop by during open hours.

What can we find in the CED library and archive?

In the part of the library there is a collection of about 5000 monographs. Most of it is theatre-related literature and, of course, some interdisciplinary literature related to other fields that influence theatre studies. There are also drafts of individual productions, for example in the case of Provázek, we also have periodicals that we regularly subscribe to, and much more.

As far as the archive is concerned, at the moment we have all the materials, whether textual or audiovisual, that we collect from the Husa na provázku Theatre, HaDivadlo, Terén, as well as the now closed U stolu Theatre, Studio Dům or Project CED.

How is the digitization of the library and archive going? What is part of it?

Digitisation happens in several steps. The result should be a digital archive. Think of it as a web application through which you can find out information about the basic production series of each company or theatre that I mentioned in the previous question. In the first phase, which will be implemented by the end of 2025, we will cover the productions of the Husa na provázku Theatre, HaDivadlo and U stolu Theatre. At Provázek, that is some 99 productions, at HaDivadlo it is 70 and at DUS it is 26 productions.

In addition, we will be setting up new research workplaces, which today will serve the purpose of digitising the archive, but in the future will increase the research comfort.

What is important for us now is to actually transcribe the text files, or inventories of the collections that we have in the form of "authorities" (note: records), which we will then insert and link in the database we have created. So that is now the next big step that we will have to take.

When can we visit the library and archive?

You can visit the library and archive during regular opening hours, i.e. on Mondays and Fridays from 9 am to 12 pm and on Wednesdays from 9 am to 3 pm. As I have said in previous answers, if you need archive material, it would be a good idea to announce your visit via email knihovna@ced-brno.cz. I also recommend keeping an eye on the Centre for Experimental Theatre website for any changes in opening hours due to the ongoing digitisation.

When will we be able to use the digital archive?

The web application of the digital archive of the Centre for Experimental Theatre should be available by the end of 2025.