Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Books maybe studied in two ways:

• by being borrowed home (known as an absence loan)
• studied directly inside the library building (known as an on site loan)

The most effective way to search for books is through the online catalogue. Most of our books are stored in closed stacks and it is necessary to order them through the online catalogue.

To find out if a book is available or where it is located, see its status

If the book may be taken home (an absence loan)

• the loan period is one month, it could be extended up to three months (provided it is not reserved by another reader).

If the book is located in the closed stacks (its status will read: “Month”)

• Most of our books are located in closed stacks
• Books located in closed stacks may be ordered through the online catalogue – the order remains valid for 5 working days
• Books are usually prepared within one hour
• Books that should be retrieved from the closed stacks on the day of order have to be ordered prior to 6 p.m., on Saturdays prior to 1:30 p.m
• Retrieve books at the Loans counter located on the ground floor. The book will be located on a shelf organized according to the last two digits of your library card.

If the book is located in the open stacks (its status will read: “Open St. Month”)

• Use the open stacks collection on the 1^st floor and ground floor where you can choose from our newest and most frequently borrowed books  
• Search according to shelf location 2  - collect your book at the Registration and Loan Counter located on the ground floor.

If the book may only be studied in the MZK building (an on-site loan)

From reading rooms (its status will read: “Study Room”) 

• Anyone may come and study books placed on shelves in reading rooms
• Search according to shelf location no 2 (signatura2)

From the stacks (its status will read: “Study Room”)

• If you want to study books located in closed stacks you need to have a yearly or one-time registration
• Order via the online catalogue
• Books are usually prepared for readers in 1 hour
• Books and music materials that should be retrieved from the closed stacks on the day of order have to be ordered prior to 6 p.m.
• Loans are collected and returned at the On-site Loan Counter located on the 4th floor.

In the depository (its status will read: “Dep.”)

• Books are located in a depository outside Brno and will usually be prepared in one week.

Log in to the online catalogue (or other MZK applications) with your library card number or your nickname and password that you entered when you registered (more below).

For easier logging in, we recommend setting up a nickname, which you can then use instead of a long library card number.

What are my login credentials?

• login: the number on the library card including leading zeros or a nickname you have chosen yourself
• password: if you don't know your password, see below for instructions

I don't know the login (reader barcode):

• in the online catalogue / LOGIN select the option "Card number recovery" and follow the instructions

I don't know the password (PIN)

• in the online catalogue / LOGIN select the option „Password recovery“ and follow the instructions

1/ remember that you need to have wifi enabled (there is a button on most laptops to enable/disable wifi)

2/ view the list of available networks

If you don't have a wireless connection set up or enabled, you can enable it in your Control Panel under Settings. See below for details.

3/ choose the network

Windows 11: In Quick Settings, select Manage WiFi connection (> icon) 

• MZK - secure network available to all readers with valid registration
  • For Android mobile devices, you need to specify the wifi network settings: method PEAP, MSCHAPV2 authentication, do not verify the certificate.
    If you are logging in from an Android device with v. 13 or higher, it is also necessary to select "Use system certificates" from the "CA certificate" menu (do not verify the validity of the certificate) and enter "mzk.cz" in the "Domain" field.
• eduroam (for university students and academics only) - the first connection will take a while, but you get fast and secure internet that you can connect to in many educational and cultural institutions around the world.

4/ enter your login details: your reader's card number or nickname (if you have set one, you must use it when logging in to WiFi), and your password (enter only lower case letters)

If you are still unable to connect to WiFi, please check your reader account for any borrowing that should have been returned or any outstanding late fees.

5/ You can now work with the internet

Enabling WiFi

• Windows Vista - 10: Start menu → Control Panel → Network & Internet → Network Connection & Sharing Center → Set up a new connection or network → Connect to the Internet → Wireless network → choose from a list of available networks
• 

  Windows 11: On the right side of the taskbar (bottom bar), select the Network icon. To enable WiFi, click on the icon:

• Change the original password/remove WiFi settings: repeat steps 1 and 2, then select More network settings. Then select Manage Known Networks and remove the desired WiFi network. You can then log in with the new password.

More information about WiFi

• WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) is a wireless network designed primarily to replace wired connections, it is used to connect wirelessly to the Internet or to connect computers
• MZK WiFi networks are secured in WPA2 Enterprise mode.
• You can connect to wifi via laptops and mobile devices

The wireless network operates over IEEE 802.11b/g compliant hardware and is implemented by Dlink access points. To connect to the network, it is therefore necessary to have your device equipped with a card that is certified for IEEE 802.11b/g - WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) interoperability by the WECA alliance. The identifier (SSID) of the library wireless network is "MZK", the identifier of the eduroam wireless network is "eduroam".

Each device receives an IP address dynamically via DHCP. After obtaining the address, the user is blocked from accessing the external network until he logs in and unblocks access for his device.

Almost all of our documents can be borrowed for one month. You will receive an email notification when the end of the loan period is approaching. If you still need the book, you can extend the loan period, but only if another reader has not already reserved the book.

How do I do that?

1. Log in to the online catalogue
2. A list of your checked out items will be displayed
3. Click on "Renew all items" or select only some of them and click on "Renew selected itmes"

Are you doing everything according to the instructions, but you still don't see the renew option?
Please check your reader account to see if you have any outstanding fees - if so, you can pay them online. This may also be because your registration has less than one month to expire. In that case, you can also pay the registration fee by online payment.

You can use our self-service:

• copy in black & white and colour
• print in black and white (MZK_cernobila_MyQ) and colour (MZK_barevna_MyQ) from computers located in the study rooms
• for printing and copying you need a library card with a charged credit
• credit can be deposited at the Registration and Circulation desk on the ground floor (minimum balance is 16 CZK)
• you can only copy and print for personal use from the MZK, up to A3 format; you can select "single/ double-sided B&W" on the printer touch screen,  in which case a copy is made immediately without the need to enter further options
• you can monitor your account status on myq.mzk.cz, the system allows you to:
  • track your printing history, when, how much and for how much you have printed
  • cancel prints sent for printing
• Fees and Services Pricelist

Printers/copiers can be found in:

• Loan department / ground floor
• Foreign libraries / 2nd floor
• Periodicals reading room / 2nd floor
• Humanities study room / 4th floor
• Science, technology and medicine study room  / 6th floor

Other services:

• digital copies from historical collections can be ordered in the Manuscripts and Early Printed Books Study Room / 4th floor
• digital copies of copyright free works" (published more than 75 years after the author's death) can be ordered through the EOD service - order directly from the online catalogue
• Fees and Services Pricelist

A registered user of the MZK with limited access to library services (see below) is a user with a validated mojeID account, BrnoiD or MUNI students who have filled in the electronic registration form on the registrace.mzk.cz page using their account. The user then has the same rights as the pre-registered user, and after paying the registration fee can also use electronic information resources or access to the Digital Library of Works Not Available on the Market (DNNT).

Licensed resources, which the MZK makes available to its individually registered users (access to resources is not possible with a company card), must be used by the user only for non-commercial purposes, i.e. exclusively for teaching, study and research purposes and for his/her personal use. The user undertakes to use these resources in the standard way and only with the tools offered by the selected licensed resource. The use of various forms of robots or other automated downloading programs is not permitted when working with licensed resources.

A registered user with limited access becomes a fully registered MZK user with a valid reader's card after the first physical visit to the registration desk, where an MZK employee will issue a reader's card.

If you already have an account on mojeID, BrnoiD or are a student at MUNI, you can make it easier to register in our library. However, you must follow the following procedure:

1. On the home page, click on the "Register" button:

2. Choose the appropriate option:
 

3. To access the databases, you still need to pay the registration fee, if applicable.

Do you have any outstanding fines with us, but don't have a way in? Now you don't have to go to the Moravian Library in person - we accept online credit card payments through our online catalogue. If you pay through the payment gateway, the fine is immediately deleted from your account and your block is also removed within 5 minutes. You can therefore check immediately in your account whether the payment has been made in order, and you can also order and borrow books almost immediately.

How do I do that?

1. Log in to the online catalogue
2. Click on "Fines" in your account menu
3. Click on "Pay your fine fees online" link

You will then be redirected to a payment gateway where you will enter your card number, card expiry date and verification code.

For now, online payments only work for paying fines for late returned books. You can pay fines (online and offline) for books that have already been returned (directly at the circulation desk or in the bibliobox). Do you have a book that has not been returned on time? Return it as soon as possible. A late fee is charged for each additional day (5 CZK for each book per day).

Can't renew your borrowing because your registration is about to expire? Don't want to lose remote access to online resources (daily newspapers, specialist magazines, listening to music...)?
Now you no longer have to come to us just to pay the registration fee - you can pay it online.

The instructions below do not apply to readers who are eligible for free registration - seniors 70 years and older, readers under 20 years of age (inclusive), disabled persons and disabled persons with disabilities.

1. First, log in to our online catalogue and click on the "Extend your registration online" button in your profile:

2. On the following page, just confirm "agree to the fee":

3. You will then find the outstanding registration in your profile under "fees and fines". Clicking on the "Pay fees and fines online" link will take you to the payment gateway to make your payment.

4. On your next visit to the MZK, please first stop by the Registration Desk on the ground floor, where colleagues will verify your details. Please remember to bring your ID card and, if you are a student, your ISIC card with a valid sticker or proof of study.

A physical visit to the library is not required to renew access to online resources.

You have probably already exceeded the maximum loan period (in which case the books must be brought to the library) or the work has been reserved by another user. Alternatively, you may have an expired registration (the system will block the possibility of renewal if there is less than one month left until the end of the registration validity period) or an unpaid fee. Check your account status, any fees can be also paid online. You can also register renew online - then the renewal option will be unlocked again.

If another reader is not interested in the book, you can extend its loan. In total, you can have the book on loan for up to 3 months if no other reservation is placed for it.

You can extend your loan through your reader account. 

Click on log in in the top right hand corner (on our website) - then fill in your details and once you are logged in, you will see "Your Checked Out Items" page where you can renew one or more of your loans. 

We send the ordered books on the 2nd-3rd day after receiving the request form.

No, unfortunately. We do not lend individual issues or bound volumes of periodicals by absentee loan.
However, we can make a copy of the article / chapter for you.

No, our partner is always the library/institution. The library/institution is the one who requests the loan and is responsible for proper record keeping and for the return of the book.

Please fill out the web form that you will find after logging into the catalogue.

Article copy: 1 hour to 3 weeks. Borrowing a book takes about 2-4 weeks (depending on the supplying library and its delivery method).

The loan period is set by the supplying, lending library and is usually 3-4 weeks.

You will receive a personal email from the librarian telling you what and where to check out, what the loan period is, and how much it will cost.

On the 1st floor during opening hours.

See the pricelist. Payment can be made by cash, card or invoice.

International interlibrary loans cannot be extended. Borrowing from Czech libraries can be extended, just let us know by email mvs@mzk.cz or by phone 541 646 175.

Where they have been issued to you - in the Interlibrary Loan Services department during its opening hours. Do not use the book box for returns under any circumstances!

Unfortunately, no. However, you can use the copiers and scanners in the study rooms.

Anyone with a valid Moravian Library reader's card. 

Yes, just make a request:

1. Online catalog (VuFind)
2. log in
3. select Interlibrary Loan Requests in My Account
4. choose to request an interlibrary loan for a book or article and fill in the form
5. You will see that the system has accepted your request under "Interlibrary Loan Requests"

After logging into the catalogue, select -> Interlibrary Loan Request -> New ILL request for Serial. Then fill in the required information in the form.

Unfortunately, no. You can make a reservation. If we own the book ourselves, we can't request it from elsewhere. Exceptions are long-term loans and unavailable volumes.

In the online catalogue, click on log in, select "Card number recovery" and follow the instructions.

Go to "Password recovery" page and follow the instructions. If you are in the library building, you can ask the librarians at the registration desk on the ground floor. You will need to show you ID card to reset your password.

For easier logging in, we recommend entering a nickname, which you can then use instead of a long library card number.

Books can be ordered in our online catalogue, by first logging in, then searching for the book you are interested in and clicking on the "Order from stock" link next to the selected copy. Once you have selected an expiry date for your request, click on the "OK" button to order the book.

No, the library does not provide such a service. Please order books through our online catalogue.

Most documents can be picked up within an hour of ordering them. In the online catalogue this is always specifically stated. Documents placed in non-Brno depositories will be delivered within a week. If you have provided your e-mail address when registering, you will be notified by this method if your request is successful or unsuccessful.

Since we have more than 4 million books in our collection, it is not physically possible to put them all in the study rooms. Therefore, some books need to be placed in the storerooms. It takes approximately one hour for your request to reach the responsible staff member who will locate the items you have ordered in our depositories and prepare it on your shelf. The best approach is to order books the day before you arrive at the library - the books will then be ready for you the next morning. To ensure that the book is ready the same day, it must be ordered no later than 6pm on weekdays. The warehouse does not dispatch on Saturdays.

At the same time, a maximum of 40 absent and present loans can be borrowed in the entire MZK.

Books can be ordered in our online catalogue, by first logging in, then searching for the book you are interested in and clicking on the "Order from stock" link next to the selected copy. Once you have selected an expiry date for your request, click on the "OK" button to order the book.

Most absentee loans are available for 1 month (marked "Month" in the catalogue), with the option to extend for up to 3 months. Some publications from foreign libraries are available for 14 days.

After you place an order request, the document (if it is not currently on loan) is found in closed stacks and ready for you to pick up at the circulation desk, the order is valid for 5 working days. However, if the document has already been loaned to someone else, you must place a reservation. In this case, two things are important to you: the time up to which your reservation is valid and the order in the queue waiting for that book. This is because when the book is returned, the first person in the queue will automatically receive an email notification that the book is ready for them to collect. The book is then ready for that reader for 5 working days at the circulation desk. If the reader does not pick it up within this time, the next reader in the queue will get their turn. Your reservation must still be valid on the day your email is sent.

An overview of your own reservations and orders can be found, after logging in, in our online catalogue.

Reservation notifications are sent to the email address you provided when you registered.

After logging in to the online catalogue in My Account > Profile > "Change email" or in person at the circulation desk.

If you are no longer interested, you can cancel your reservation through your reader account. Click on "Holds and Recalls", select the reservation you wish to cancel and click on the "cancel selected holds" button.

The minimum amount is 16 CZK. Below that, the system will no longer allow printing/copying.

Charging and discharging your MyQ account can be done at the circulation / registration desk on the ground floor.

It is likely that you logged on to one copier and then another. You need to log out of the first copier because you cannot work on multiple machines at the same time. If you are unable to log out, please contact the staff in the study room.

The prohibition of dissemination of technical standards is given by Act No. 22/1997 Coll.

Such an approach is common practice in libraries of similar type in the Czech Republic and abroad. The main reason for this is to protect the unique preservation collection. Other reasons are consideration (taking up more space) and the desire to prevent destruction/soiling of furniture, especially chair covers.

The RETRO status is used in our library for documents that have only been partially transcribed into the online catalogue and do not yet have a barcode. You can order these documents, but before they are loaned to you, the code will be affixed and a decision will be made as to whether the document can be loaned to your home or only to the study room.
A "binding started" status means that the unit is in the bindery, where things like repairing loose bindings or binding periodicals into larger units occur. Units are usually in this status for 14 days. 

The Moravian Library is obliged by law to archive all publications it receives as part of the legal deposit. Therefore, we lend these documents only for study in the library to prevent possible loss or damage. The library lends home only those books that it purchases with its own funds (eg. books with multiple copies, foreign literature).

If it is an identical item, it is possible. The problem arises with different editions of the same title. The first copy of each title is supplied as the legal deposit and therefore cannot be loaned home.

Manuscripts and Early Printed Books reading room is open to researchers after ringing the bell located next to the door. This security of the reading room is based on the practice of domestic and foreign study rooms of this type. The reason for the increased security of the reading room is the fact that readers come into contact with rare documents here. To study these documents, researchers also require complete silence.