The Municipal Library has announced the closure of five of its branches, including Chmelnice branch, for budgetary reasons. Prague 3 had already said that it has to prevent the closure of the Chmelnice branch. According to the Deputy-Mayor Pavel Sladkovský, the branch is used by children from all of the area of Jarov for whom a travel to the other branch in Prague 3 in Husitská Street would be very complicated.
Besides Chmelnice, the Municipal Library also plans to close the Vršovic branch and the adult libraries in Letná, Pankrác and Cibulka. The library representatives said that the library chose those branches, which will not greatly affect the accessibility of library services in Prague. Other planned changes are increased fees and changes in opening times.
The Municipal Library, which in total manages 43 branches, has to save 13 million crowns this year.