Moravian Regional Library

What Moravian Regional Library does

Moravská zemská knihovna v Brně (Moravian Regional Library) is a public regional library founded in 1808 and headquartered in Brno, Czech Republic, operating as a government-funded nonprofit cultural institution under the Czech Ministry of Culture and the South Moravian Region. It functions as the statutory regional library for South Moravia, coordinating regional services, methodological support, and interlibrary lending for 495+ public libraries in the region, while also serving the general public, schools, universities, and academic researchers. Its holdings exceed 3 million documents and include unique collections such as the Milan Kundera Library and six foreign cultural libraries operated in cooperation with Goethe-Institut, the American Center, the British Council, the Austrian Library network, and French and Spanish cultural programs.

The library's product and technology portfolio centers on a VuFind-powered online catalog, the Kramerius digital library for digitized historical documents, the Manuscriptorium platform for manuscripts and early printed books, an ANL article bibliography database fed through a cooperative system, the obalkyknih.cz national book cover aggregation service, and a dedicated digitization center equipped with scanners and OCR pipelines. These systems are integrated into national infrastructure including the National Digital Library (NDK), the Knihovny.cz unified catalog portal, and the LINDAT/CLARIAH-CZ research infrastructure. The library also operates the Duha professional journal, the Czech Literary Center, and the Premia Bohemica literary award.

The institution is funded primarily through regional government allocations, Ministry of Culture support, and competitive grant funding from EU structural and operational programmes, NAKI/NAKI III, GA ČR, NPO, and VISK. Commercial revenue from ancillary services (registration, printing, copying, space rental, research consultations) is disclosed via a published fee schedule but is not a material funding source. Major in-flight initiatives include the ALKARO project (2023–2027, 33M CZK) and ongoing LINDAT/CLARIAH-CZ digital infrastructure modernization.

Name

Moravian Regional Library

Legal name

Moravská zemská knihovna v Brně

Website

https://mzk.cz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1808

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Public regional library in Brno, Czech Republic, serving the South Moravian Region with traditional library services, digital collections, and cultural programs; coordinates 495+ regional libraries and houses 3M+ documents including the Milan Kundera Library.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Library Operations & Community Branch Management (EDAEAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries) (EDAEAGAB), Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF), Special Libraries (Law, Medical, Corporate, Government) Operations (EDAEAGAD)

Keywords

• Public library services
• Document digitization services
• Digital library systems
• Interlibrary loan services
• Regional library coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Brno

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Moravská zemská knihovna v Brně (Moravian Regional Library) is a public regional library providing comprehensive library services, including physical collection access (over 3 million documents), interlibrary loans, printing/copying, research consultations, and educational programs. It operates specialized digital library infrastructure including the Kramerius digital library for historical documents, the Manuscriptorium platform for manuscripts and early printed books, the ANL article bibliography database, and a VuFind-powered online catalog, while also coordinating regional library services for 495+ public libraries across the South Moravian Region.

Product overview

Moravian Regional Library (Moravská zemská knihovna v Brně) is a public regional library providing comprehensive library services, access to physical collections, and digital resources. The core product portfolio centers on the VuFind-powered online catalog for bibliographic search and account management, the Kramerius digital library for historical documents, Manuscriptorium for manuscripts and early printed books, and the ANL article bibliography database. The Duha journal represents their scholarly publication arm. The library also developed and participates in the obalkyknih.cz book cover aggregation service. Major ongoing projects include the ALKARO project cataloging historical almanacs and calendars (1801–1945) through 2027, and the Czech Digital Library infrastructure modernization with LINDAT/CLARIAH-CZ computing expansion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Časopis Duha: Regional library science journal published since 1987 for professional library community focusing on Moravian libraries
• Knihovna Milana Kundery (Milan Kundera Library)
• České literární centrum

Products and services

• Online katalog MZK (VuFind)
• Digitální knihovna Kramerius (Kramerius Digital Library)
• Manuscriptorium
• ANL (Výběr článků / Article Bibliography Database)
• Obálkyknih.cz (Book Covers)
• Časopis Duha (Duha Journal) Professional library science journal published since 1987, serving the expert library community with quality articles on library theory and practice, focusing on Moravian libraries and regional trends.
• Knihovna Milana Kundery (Milan Kundera Library)

Quantifiable outcome

• 495 public libraries served through regional functions in South Moravian region
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Goethe-InstitutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman cultural institute operating German Library within MZK premises. Supports German language and cultural exchange, literature promotion, and cultural programming.
• American CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmerican cultural center providing access to American Library within MZK premises. Promotes American culture, literature, and language in cooperation with the library.
• Česká centraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCzech Centers - state-owned company promoting Czech culture abroad. Listed as library partner, cooperating on cultural and literary promotion.
• Národní knihovna ČR (National Library of the Czech Republic)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey strategic partner cooperating on national bibliography (ČNB), shared cataloging, national authority files, National Digital Library (NDK) project, and the Kooperační systém článkové bibliografie. MZK participates in creating Czech National Bibliography alongside the National Library.
• British CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBritish cultural institution listed as library partner, supporting English language and British cultural programming.
• Masarykova univerzita (Masaryk University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor academic partner in Brno. Cooperates on research projects, publications, student internships, and provides academic expertise. Home of Teiresiás Centre which conducts accessibility assessments for MZK.
• Rakouská knihovna (Austrian Library)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian Library within MZK premises, part of the Austrian foreign libraries network (Österreich-Bibliotheken), promoting Austrian literature and culture.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Národná knižnica Slovenska (Slovak National Library): Slovak national library with comparable mandate for national bibliography, regional coordination, and digitization of historical documents. Functions as a Central European peer with shared historical and linguistic context.

Direct peers

• Bayerische Staatsbibliothek: Bavarian state library serving as regional hub for public libraries in Bavaria, with extensive digitization programs (similar to Kramerius) and comparable role as research library and cultural heritage institution for a German federal state. Closely analogous regional library model.
• Národní knihovna České republiky (National Library of the Czech Republic): Czech national library and MZK's closest peer and strategic partner; jointly produces Czech National Bibliography, shares cataloging and National Digital Library (NDK) infrastructure, and operates comparable digital platforms (Manuscriptorium, Kramerius). Direct counterpart for national-level library functions.
• Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden (SLUB): Saxon State and University Library combines regional library functions with academic services in a single institution, similar to MZK's combined regional/academic role in South Moravia. Strong digital infrastructure comparable to MZK's stack.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MoravskaZemska
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@MZK-Brno
• Facebookfacebook.com/mzk.cz/?locale=cs_CZ
• Instagraminstagram.com/moravskazemska

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Moravian Regional Library