Jagiellonian Library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jagiellonian Library (Polish: Biblioteka Jagiellońska, popular nickname Jagiellonka) is the library of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and with almost 5.5 million volumes, one of the biggest libraries in Poland, serving as a public library, university library and part of the Polish national library system.[1] It has a large collection of medieval manuscripts, for example Copernicus' De Revolutionibus or Jan Długosz's Banderia Prutenorum, and a large collection of underground literature (so-called drugi obieg or samizdat) from the period of communist rule in Poland (1945-1989).
More controversially, the Jagiellonian houses the Berlinka art collection.
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[edit] Organization
The director of the Jagiellonian Library is selected by the university Senate for a period of five years, with no restrictions on renewal. There are three Deputy Directors (one for administration and construction, one for 19th and 20th century materials, and one for special collections, conservation and publishing) to help manage the 14 departments of the Library and the 283 staff members.[2]
[edit] Collections
Jagiellonian Library is one of the largest and most famous libraries in Poland; over its history it has received many donations and inherited many private collections.[2]
Its collection contains 1,503,178 volumes of monographs, 557,199 volumes of periodicals, 104,012 early printed books, 3,586 incunabula, 24,258 manuscripts, 12,819 maps, 35,105 music scores, and 77,336 microforms.[2] The library collects and preserves all published Polish materials as well as Polonica (publications about Poland or by Poles but published abroad).[2] It collects at least one copy of each title published between 1945 and 1968 and two copies of titles published after 1968.[2]
Notable rare books owned by the library include:
- 15th century copy of Bogurodzica
- Jan Długosz – Banderia Prutenorum
- Balthasar Behem Codex
- Paulus Paulirini de Praga – Liber viginti artium
- Nicolaus Copernicus – manuscript of De revolutionibus, and printed editions
- Rembrandt van Rijn – Faust
- Frédéric Chopin – Scherzo (E-dur)
- Stanisław Moniuszko – Trzeci śpiewnik domowy. Muzyka wokalna z towarzyszeniem fortepianu
- Stanisław Wyspiański – Wesele. Dramat w 3 aktach
- Ignacy Jan Paderewski – Stara Suita
In the 1990s several priceless books were stolen from the library, presumably in order to be sold in the West. In 1999 works of Galileo, Johannes Kepler and Basilius Bessarion were stolen; some were recovered from an auction in the German auction house Reiss&Sohn.
[edit] History
The beginning of the Jagiellonian Library is traditionally considered the same as that of the entire university (then known as Cracow Academy) - in the year 1364;[2] however instead of having one central library it had several smaller libraries at buildings of various departments (the largest collection was in Collegium Maius, where works related to theology and liberal arts were kept). In the 16th century, this library had the largest collection of books in Poland and was one of the most notable libraries in the world.[2] After 1775, during the reforms of Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, first ministry of education in the world, various small libraries of the University were formally centralized into one public collection in Collegioum Maius. During partitions of Poland, the library continued to grow thanks to the efforts of such people as Jerzy Samuel Bandtkie, Karol Józef Teofil Estreicher and Karol Estreicher. Its collections were made public in 1812. In 1932, the Library was granted legal deposit status for all Polish publications[2] and obtained the right to receive a copy of every book printed in Poland by a Polish publisher. In 1940, the library finally obtained a new building of its own. During the Second World War, library workers cooperated with underground universities. Since the 1990s, the library's collection is increasingly digital.
Currently the library is open six days a week. An average of 600,000 people use the Library each year.[2]
[edit] Building
The current building of the library located at Al. Mickiewicza 22 was constructed in the years 1931-1939 and expanded twice, in the years 1961-1963 and 1995-2001.
[edit] References
- ^ Official national library of Poland is the National Library of Poland in Warsaw; however Jagiellonian Library is considered a part of the Narodowy Zasób Biblioteczny. It was the National Library before the creation of the National Library in Warsaw, and today it contains the National Library collection for the period before 1801.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Visiting the Biblioteka Jagiellonska (Jagiellonian Library) in Cracow. Last accessed on 4 May 2007.
