Biographical Archive Section

A biographical research group first formed at the Biographical Archive in the 1970s. The current version dates from 2016. As part of their ongoing archival and field research, staff collect biographical information about key Czech literary figures. One goal of this work is to build the section’s analogue card index and publicly accessible online Czech Literary Biographical Database. Working with different sections of the CLB, the team also creates and updates records on individuals and corporate bodies (associations, publishers, companies, government agencies, institutions, NGOs, performing groups, etc.) and systematically researches literary pseudonyms and acronyms. No less significant is its role in a joint national-level project to establish and standardise authority files for individuals and corporate bodies. This project is organised and led by the Czech National Library. For some years, a parallel project has also been under way to align the ICL’s authority data for individuals with the national name authority file of the Czech National Library. This work is funded by the annual grant from the Public Libraries Information Service.

As part of its coordination role, the Biographical Archive Section offers expert advice and consultations to the general public. Staff also promote research and scholarship in their lectures and publications and provide other expert services including study tours for secondary school students. These trips are mostly linked to the Czech Academy of Sciences’s Open Science project for research-minded students.

Head: PhDr. Petra Večeřová, Ph.D.

Contact address: bioarchiv@ucl.cas.cz