Construction, Culture, Education and Science, Latvia, Real Estate

Photo: lnb.lv

''After the opening of the new building, the National Library will become a creative science, cultural and educational center, which will offer guests book collections, services and a perfect environment for education, research, self-development and relaxation. The building will also have a multi-media center, a story room for children, conference and education areas, silent reading rooms, as well as entertainment zones,'' Vilks said.

The library will have over 350,000 books on-hand available to the public, as well as an extensive on-line resource collection.

The new library will also be open longer hours, from the current 40 hours per-week to 72 hours per-week. The library's information center will be open 24 hours per-day.

As reported, the total costs for the ''Palace of Light'' are to reach LVL 187 million (including VAT).

The total costs includes the construction of the building, including infrastructure and furniture, as well as equipment, moving costs, and other costs to ensure the building can be successfully opened.

It is likely that the National Library's branches in Riga will begin to move into the building at the beginning of 2014, which should be completed by August 2014.

The new ''Palace of Light'' National Library is one of the most important projects of the 21st Century in Latvia, which will become a modern world-class information and culture center.