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The History of the Warsaw University Library

The Warsaw University Library was established in 1817 as part of the Royal University of Warsaw. As of March 1818 it became an independent public library, directly administered by the State Commission on Religion and Public Enlightenment. Its first director was the famous lexicographer Samuel Bogumił Linde, and one of its deputy librarians was Joachim Lelewel. Lelewel himself gathered materials for the Bibliograficznych ksiąg dwoje. The University Library received the valuable collection of the Warsaw Liceum which included holdings from the Knight's School, the private collection of Ignacy Krasicki, and the School of Law and Administration, as well as the majority of holdings of the Appellate Court Library. As of 1819 the Library was assured the deposit copy of current publications from the territory of the Polish Kingdom. The library also imported many periodicals and books from abroad, and took over holdings of cloisters which had been closed (about 50,000 volumes). Especially valuable were the holdings of the Kalisz Voivodship School, which included the collections of the Jesuit Collegium, Canon Regular, the Benedictines of the Holy Cross, and the God's Tomb's Guards of Miechów.

Undoubtedly the most valuable items were held in the Print Room. They included the collections of King Stanisław August Poniatowski and Stanisław Kostka Potocki. This royal collection numbers approximately 69,500 objects, including prints and drawings of Polish and other artists. The prints were held in 163 special portfolios, covered in gilt leather with coats of arms. The collection of Stanisław Kostka Potocki containes more than 5,000 prints and more than 300 drawings. The print collection has been enhanced with current purchases by the library. Equally interesting are the library collections of early imprints and manuscripts, including the archives of Marceli Bacciarelli (containing letters of King Stanisław August), which deserve particular attention. The library also has the valuable Medals and Ancient Art Room.

The library holdings were principally directed toward the arts and humanities. Most books concerned theology (one third of the collection) and history. In 1825 scientific holdings were increased with the addition of books from the Medical School. In 1831 holdings of the Public Library numbered more than 134,000 volumes, including 6,000 early imprints, 2,000 manuscripts, and more then 102,000 items in the Print Room. The library collections were held on the first and second floors of the Kazimierzowski Palace, which was then the seat of the University. Both the Print Room and the Reading Room were located on the first floor and books in each were arranged by subject. A separate part was called the Polish Library, which contained books written by Poles as well as books concerning Poland.

The library was closed by the Tsar's decree of November 21, 1831, following the failure of the November Uprising. The majority of holdings, as well as the Print Room, the numismatics collection, the catalogues, and the inventories were removed to St. Petersburg: in the library only about 40,000 imprints and 303 manuscripts in Polish remained. Because the library received no allocation for book purchases, the collection developed randomly. In 1834 the library was renamed the State Library; later that year the right of receiving the deposit copy was re-established. The holdings were enriched by collections from such institutions as the Society of the Friends of Sciences or the Piarist School, which were closed after the November Uprising. The situation of the library improved by 1840 upon the creation of the Warsaw Scientific District. As of 1849 a permanent fund was established for the purchase of books from abroad. Particular attention was devoted to books and periodicals from Russia. Also at that time some valuable collections, including those of Jan Klemens Szaniawski and Samuel Bogumił Linde, were bought by the library.

The library was reactivated in 1862 with the establishment of the Main School and was then named the Main Library. Its director was Józef Przyborowski and his deputy was the famous bibliographer Karol Estreicher, who used the collection in his work, The Polish Bibliography (Bibliografia polska). Once again the library could acquire scientific books. It received donations from St. Petersburg libraries, books from the Warsaw Censor's Office, as well as collections from various institutions such as the Codyfying Commission, Library of the Governing Senate, and the State Council of the Kingdom of Poland. It also benefitted from private collections, such as that of Minister Ignacy Turkułł. It purchased books at auction and from bookstores abroad. During the period of Positivism our library acquired scientific literature in French and German. After 1864 the impact of Russification was particularly apparent in collection development. In 1869 the Ancient History Museum, which included in its holdings archaeological finds, Egyptian mummies, and works of art, was incorporated into the library. By the end of the 1860's the library held more than 260,000 volumes (some uncatalogued), 742 manuscripts, as well as more than 5,000 periodicals, 1,800 maps, 10,000 coins, and varied prints and musical scores.

In July 1871, two years after the Main School became the Tsar's University, the Library fell under the control of this university.

Compared with the Public or Main Library, the Library of the Tsar's University significantly regressed. Books from the Austrian and Prussian sectors were no longer purchased. Through the Office of Censorship it still received imprints from the Polish Kingdom and purchased books from abroad, mainly Russian. The holdings were significantly increased by donations from Russian institutions and individuals. Among these especially valuable were: an 1897 gift from the high-level Russian administrator, Arkady Tolloczanov (more than 15,000 volumes); and the liquidated holdings of the Polish Bank (12,000 volumes). Before World War I the holdings of the Library of the Tsar's University in Warsaw numbered about 610,000 volumes. The library's Rossica collection was acknowledged to be one of the richest in the world, after Russian libraries.

In 1894 an important event took place in the life of the library: a new building was opened for use. Before, the space in the Kazimierzowski Palace was hopelessly inadequate. The architectural project was designed by Antoni Jabłoński and Stefan Szyller and represented the newest developments in library technology. The structure, built from 1891 to 1894, consisted of two parts: a 7-story storage area made of cast-iron crates, and a 3-story section reserved for reading rooms, circulation, and technical services. Both parts were separated by an anti-flammatory wall. The building was designed to hold 1,000,000 volumes.

After the Russians left Warsaw, in August 1915, the Tsar's University was evacuated to Rostov-on-the-Don. With it went our most valuable library collections: incunabula, manuscripts, part of the inventories, and library archives. The library was reopened in autumn 1915, along with the re-establishment of the Polish University in Warsaw.

In the Interwar Years the library collections quickly developed. Aside from deposit copies of imprints published in the Warsaw, Łódź and Lublin Voivods, the library received valuable donations from Poland and from foreign universities and academic societies. Very important was the return (under the terms of the Riga Convention) of both manuscripts and the Print Room, which had been taken after the November Uprising. Early imprints which had been evacuated in 1915 were also returned. Serious lack of space was created because of three factors: increased holdings; catalogues; and a larger number of readers. Initial requests for library expansion were made in 1920.

At the beginning of World War II the library housed about 1,000,000 items. In 1940 the National Library, as well as the Libraries of the University and the Krasińskis Library, were joined to create the Staatsbibliothek Warchau. This was divided into three parts: the Warsaw University Library with foreign books; the National Library with Polonica; and the Krasińskis Library with special collections. The University Library was forced to transfer to the Krasińskis Library its manuscripts, incunabula, and graphics collection; simultaneously it had to give its Polish periodicals to the National Library. At the same time our library received foreign publications from their collections. During the entire period of occupation the library illegally circulated holdings to the underground universities of Warsaw and Poznań. The losses caused by the War were very serious, due not to quantity but to quality. The special collections held at the Okólnik were burned along with the rest of the Krasińskis Library. A part of the collection was walled in and hidden in the library building.

In January 1945, just after the liberation of Warsaw, restoration and preservation began, while at the beginning of the academic year 1945-1946 the main reading room was opened. In the first post-War years the library focused on the return of its holdings, as well as the acquisition of the collections, mainly abandoned by Germans and the Polish nobility. In the years 1947-1950 the library recovered Polish periodicals from the National Library. At same time, the library received numerous gifts, especially academic journals, from foreign libraries and international institutions (200,000 volumes in the years 1945-1950 alone). Also worth mentioning are the holdings of the Scientific Society of Warsaw, Mianowski Foundation, and the Evangelical-Reformed (Lutheran) Church. In the first five years after the War the library increased its holdings by 350,000 volumes and became the largest academic library in the country. Unfortunately, this rapid increase was curtailed in the following years. A conscious decision of the government forced the limitation of funding for Warsaw University. Consequently, by the end of 1970's the library lost its status as the leading academic library of Poland to both the Jagiellonian (Kraków) and Poznań Universities.

Limitations in collection development, as well as significant difficulties with storage and circulation, were dramatically affected by lack of space. Attempts to increase library space were begun in the period between the World Wars and continued after WW II. Over the years the Library acquired new space on the main University campus (Krakowskie Przedmieście) as well as other locations. These included rooms in the Palace of Culture, the former St. Roch Chapel, and rooms designed especially for preservation and conservation. However, because of the collection's rapid growth, the space still appeared insufficient. Up until the end of the 1990's most of the holdings were stored under very bad conditions: on the floor of the storage room; on the staircases; and in cellars and attics in buildings other than the library. Not one of the promises made by authorites either of the Ministry or the city was kept. The memorable decision of Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki resulted in the opening of a new building, which marked a new stage in a history of the Warsaw University Library.