Warsaw Public Library
Encyclopedia
Warsaw Public Library is one of the main libraries in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

, and one of the largest in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

.

The library was founded in 1907 by the Public Library Society, which was formed by foremost Polish educators and intelligentsia, like Stanisław Leszczyński, Samuel Dickstein
Samuel Dickstein (mathematician)
Samuel Dickstein was a Polish mathematician of Jewish origin. He was one of the founders of the Jewish party "Zjednoczenie" , which advocated the assimilation of Polish Jews....

, Ludwik Krzywicki
Ludwik Krzywicki
Ludwik Krzywicki was a Polish anthropologist, economist and sociologist. One of the early champions of sociology in Poland, he approached historical materialism from a sociological viewpoint...

 and Stefan Żeromski
Stefan Zeromski
Stefan Żeromski was a Polish novelist and dramatist. He was called the "conscience of Polish literature". He also wrote under the pen names: Maurycy Zych, Józef Katerla and Stefan Iksmoreż.- Life :...

. Since 1914 the library resides on the Koszykowa Street. At that time the institution was led by Faustyn Czerwijowski, the first chairman of the library, who served in this position till 1937. Before the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

the library already contained 500,000 book volumes. In January 1945 it was set ablaze by retreating Nazi German soldiers. As a result 300,000 books were destroyed, another 100,000 were stolen.

As of late 2008 the library contains 1,380,000 volumes. New books, magazines, manuscripts and other materials are gradually supplied.

Further reading

  • Kazimiera Maleczyńska, Książki i biblioteki w Polsce okresu zaborów, Książki o książce, Ossolineum, Wrocław 1987.
  • Ewa Popławska-Bukało: Siedziba Biblioteki Publicznej m.st. Warszawy - Dzieje i architektura gmachu, Warszawa 2006.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK