The glass sculpture Book by Václav Cígler stands out in the entrance hall of the Slovak National Library. The large-format optical glass symbolically proclaims the victory of the human mind to the open space. The work with dimensions of 75 x 75 x 25 cm stands on a shiny stainless-steel cylinder. The striking effect of Book is enhanced not only by its placement in the middle of the foyer, but also by the colour contrast of the dark grey stripe which interrupts the white marble floor on its central axis of the hall. The glass sculpture is visually connected to a line of columns made of the same material as its pedestal, thus forming single unit in space. Unlike the figurative works elsewhere in the SNL, the sculptor Václav Cígler represents applied art and design. 

Václav Cígler is a major figure in modern Czech visual art. He was born on 21 April 1929 in Vsetín (present-day Czech Republic). He studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. From 1965 to 1979 he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. He was the founder and head of the Glass in Architecture department. In the late 1950s, he began experimenting with optical glass, in which he discovered new possibilities for shape, colour, and light. He incorporated the new phenomenon of virtual space and movement into his work, together with elements of project and land art.