| | Stanisław Czajka
New Library Buildings in Poland
The nineties abounded in construction of libraries in Poland and,
clearly, this was an answer to our society`s growing need for the
presence of books. Large number of graduating students definitely
affected this process.
The newly constructed objects are superior to the ones already existing,
much more technically advanced and better suited for ever-changing
library technology.
Despite the improvements, the real estate needed for new libraries is
still scarce as much is still lacking in general infrastructure.
It is clear that the very existence of new libraries as well as their
financial condition is dependent on their geographical location and the
community that uses them. The financial support for establishing or
upkeep of libraries plays a major role but the way the branch fills its
duties towards the local community is important as well. The
differences are easily noticeable if voivodship public libraries (quite
important and active in Polish library life) and university libraries
were to be compared. The latter, it seems, are likely to be favoured by
the powers-that-be.
A typical Polish voivodship library services local communities in a
number of ways. Usually, such an establishment possesses its own body
of books, reading rooms, areas destined for various expositions - all
these located in numerous branches. This seems to be the best and most
conforming way to fill the community`s expectations. Therefore, the
need for well-equipped, multifunctional real estate is fully justified.
According to a given community`s needs, the new investments and planning
are implemented.
The main characteristic of the library construction in Poland of the
nineties is a greatly improved technical standard. Unlike before, when
renovation rather or revamping of buildings prevailed, library objects
are being built from the ground up.
The major library projects completed in the nineties are:
- Warsaw National Library (completed in 1999).
The biggest project so far in the Polish librarianship,located in
Warsaw downtown, surrounded by a park, in the close proximity of subway
and railway station. The construction lasted over 20 years. In the
process of construction, the whole Library underwent thorough
modernisation. About 1/3 of the entire project was completed in the
nineties.
Stanislaw Fiajlkowski, a renowned Polish architect, designed it and is
the first ever Library location built from the scratch.
The complex area (60,000 square meters) is about 3.5 times bigger than
before and comprises six buildings, three big and three smaller ones.
There are eight reading rooms, three conference rooms and two exhibition
areas, also, a food court. The principle the architect employed while
doing the project, was one of the functional divisions. One of the
buildings holds the storage, another serves the conservation purposes
(with disinfecting chamber in it). The cumulative storage area can
house over 7 million volumes.
The undertaking was funded initially through central budgeting, and at a
later stage, by the Ministry of Culture as well as by National Library
itself.
- The Warsaw University Library
Second largest Polish library (40,000 square m.) built in its entirety
in the nineties. Its construction did not take up much time, thanks to
good financing and organisation. A talented architect, Mr. Marek
Budzynski, created this very interesting design. The library, located
close to main university offices, is well equipped and fully automated. Its innovative shape nicely complements Powisle, a historic Warsaw
district. There are two ground floors in the Library. One floor embraces book
storage and a bar, another - computer terminals, main reading room and
conference rooms. The storage for special collections and reading rooms
stacked with periodicals are located on two other floors. The library
has a `free book access` policy, a very rare phenomenon in Polish
libraries. A separate part of the building is used for expositions and
sales. The original glass-metal construction also sports a beautiful
rooftop garden. A very interesting modern architectural style Dr. Budzynski used for
creating the main entrance was inspired by ancient Athenian work.
- Silesian Library in Katowice.
This Library`s new location belongs to the largest library buildings in
Poland. In the beginning of this year, it was awarded the status of the
scientific/voivodship library, thus able to control one of the biggest
public library chains in the country. It specialises in gathering,
collecting, storage and processing of information referring to the
Silesia region (the Library published 25 annuals of the "The Silesian
Bibliography"). The new building was constructed from the ground up. The construction
(17,000 sq.m) started in 1991 and was completed by 1997. It was
state-funded. The Library is very well equipped technically; a great
deal of technical novelties were introduced, i.e., tools for
transporting and moving books, special storage system. There are many
elevators, sophisticated protection systems. All basic library
functions were computerised.
- Historic Library of Pomerania
This is a main voivodship library of Western Pomerania and, at the same
time, the biggest of the Polish public libraries. It underwent huge modernisation and revamping in the nineties, and the completion of the
first stage (11,000 square m., an eight-floor building) lasted about two
and-a-half years. The official opening of an entire construction took
place on September 18, 1999. The whole undertaking was a success in all
aspects of creation: project, legal and organisation. As all
above-listed libraries, this project was state-funded as well. The
chief architect, Mr. Zbigniew Paszkowski and Mr. Stanislaw Fijalkowski
collaborated on the project. This library houses about three million volumes; it is fully
computerised and, quite deservedly, is often called `an intelligent
building`. Despite a relatively short period of operation, it quickly
gained a `reader friendly library` status.
This concludes a brief list of the biggest library undertakings in
Poland in the nineties. There are many more - to name a few - the
library of the School of Economics in Poznan, the library of the Academy
of Agriculture in Warsaw, the Warsaw Polytechnic. Also, the libraries in
Walbrzych, Lomza, Suwalki, voivodship libraries in Cracow, Bydgoszcz,
and Opole (this particular one rebuilt after the flood), as well as the
Central Military Library in Warsaw. There are others - either newly
constructed or being in the process of modernisation.
And finally, a very important entity in Polish library community the
Library of Jagiellonian University with its archives of Polish print.
There are plans of extending the existing Library area by additional
52%.
Translated by: Dorota Jaglarz
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