Biblioteka Główna Województwa Mazowieckiego
The library popularly known as the "Library on Koszykowa" is one of the largest and oldest public libraries in Poland. It was established in 1907 on the initiative of the public, as a modern scientific bookstore for everyone. In 1914 it received its own building funded by Eugenia Kierbedziowa and soon became a centre of cultural life in Warsaw. In 1928, it came under the administration of the City as the Public Library of the City of Warsaw. Between 1928 and 1939 she organised an exemplary library network, created a modern information service and a central centre of methodology and instruction for the city's library network. It ran a library school and published the Librarian monthly, which is still published today. The Library's activities were interrupted by the Second World War. As a result, the institution lost 80 per cent of its collections.
Today, the institution has one of the largest collections in the country (approximately 1.5 million volumes). The Library's book collection is of a universal nature. The core collection of books includes Polish prints from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, from all fields of knowledge, and a selection of foreign prints. The basis of the collection is the obligatory copy coming from 1917 to the present day, handed over on a regular basis by Polish publishers. The collection of pre-1945 literature is systematically supplemented by purchases of more valuable publications; this is particularly true of the humanities. The book collection can be searched in two databases: The Scanned Book Catalogue (older prints, published up to and including 1993) and the Main Catalogue (newer prints, mostly from 1994 to the present). The bulk of the book collection is made available in the St. Kierbedzi Reading Room, the F. Czerwijowski Reading Room and the W. Bartoszewski Reading Room (Periodicals and Varsaviana).
The library on Koszykowa Street serves as the provincial library and the district library for the Warsaw district. It is a place where you can learn, broaden your interests, pursue your passions, view exhibitions, take part in author meetings, debates and book promotions. It also performs tasks resulting from the function of a library with scientific status: it conducts publishing activities, organises sessions and conferences, cooperates with institutions and organisations working for the development of culture and science, and participates in national and international programmes and projects.
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The library popularly known as the "Library on Koszykowa" is one of the largest and oldest public libraries in Poland. It was established in 1907 on the initiative of the public, as a modern scientific bookstore for everyone. In 1914 it received its own building funded by Eugenia Kierbedziowa and soon became a centre of cultural life in Warsaw. In 1928, it came under the administration of the City as the Public Library of the City of Warsaw. Between 1928 and 1939 she organised an exemplary library network, created a modern information service and a central centre of methodology and instruction for the city's library network. It ran a library school and published the Librarian monthly, which is still published today. The Library's activities were interrupted by the Second World War. As a result, the institution lost 80 per cent of its collections.
Today, the institution has one of the largest collections in the country (approximately 1.5 million volumes). The Library's book collection is of a universal nature. The core collection of books includes Polish prints from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, from all fields of knowledge, and a selection of foreign prints. The basis of the collection is the obligatory copy coming from 1917 to the present day, handed over on a regular basis by Polish publishers. The collection of pre-1945 literature is systematically supplemented by purchases of more valuable publications; this is particularly true of the humanities. The book collection can be searched in two databases: The Scanned Book Catalogue (older prints, published up to and including 1993) and the Main Catalogue (newer prints, mostly from 1994 to the present). The bulk of the book collection is made available in the St. Kierbedzi Reading Room, the F. Czerwijowski Reading Room and the W. Bartoszewski Reading Room (Periodicals and Varsaviana).
The library on Koszykowa Street serves as the provincial library and the district library for the Warsaw district. It is a place where you can learn, broaden your interests, pursue your passions, view exhibitions, take part in author meetings, debates and book promotions. It also performs tasks resulting from the function of a library with scientific status: it conducts publishing activities, organises sessions and conferences, cooperates with institutions and organisations working for the development of culture and science, and participates in national and international programmes and projects.
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