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Reports the results of a survey rating the amount and degree of the utilisation of printed materials in Polish academic libraries. The results which are presented by type (for example chemical, biological, technical libraries etc.) as well as by function (research libraries and libraries of educational institutions), concern the number of materials, including both books and periodicals. The authors include the amount of material in English as well as in other foreign languages. Figures illustrating the annual increase of these materials are also included. In addition, the article offers data which cover a number of issues, including the range of materials which were ordered at the request of users, the time of cataloguing, the number of loans, the number of unfilled orders, the extent of the utilisation of the collections, the number of interlibrary loans, as well as the relegation of outdated materials. Finally, the survey reveals information on the number of libraries which research into user needs, the number of libraries which are open on Saturdays and Sundays, and the number of libraries which provide special services such as weekend loans.

Reports the results of an inquiry directed at Polish academic, research and scientific libraries. An appraisal of the current IT infrastructure, degree of advances in automation in libraries, and utilization of the electronic sources has been carried out, based on the completed questionnaires received from the libraries in question. It has been recognized that the best developed IT infrastructure is to be found in the academic libraries and that they are well prepared for automation. The situation is much worse in the special libraries of the research and scientific institutes. Half of the libraries in the latter group are not engaged in any preparation for automation, mainly owing to a lack of financial resources. Also, they do not provide readers with access to sources in an electronic format. Points out that a relevant consistent programme for the implementation and utilization of IT in Polish libraries has not yet been prepared.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate the role played by digital libraries in Polish society, particularly in relation to users who are not in education or professionally engaged in academic work.

Results are presented from a survey of non-academic users, identified as one of the key groups of digital library users in an exploratory survey in 2008-2009. The targeted survey was carried out by sending e-mails to persons who had supplied their addresses in the first survey or had set up accounts with the Digital Library of Wielkopolska. Analysis was also made of e-mail correspondence between digital library users and librarians, and data from digital library server logs, during 2008-2013.

The research provided three interesting results. The first is that the creation of digital libraries in Poland has caused a significant number of people to pursue an interest in genealogical or local historical research. The second result is that the evaluations of digital libraries made by non-academics do not differ significantly from those made by students and academics. The third is the fact that at present, approximately 50 per cent of digital library users in the non-academic category are over 50 years of age.

This is the first comprehensive study on the use of digital libraries in Poland by non-academic users. It shows what role digital libraries play, and to what extent, in the stimulation of cultural activity in Polish society.

To review selected activities of Polish libraries in the field of digitising library collections.

Provides descriptive information on Wielkopolska Digital Library (WDL) – organisational assumptions, technology, functionality and resources. This paper discusses the problem of relations between regional libraries and central library.

It describes the organisation and technological solutions applied in the WDL, and characterises its resources and functionality. In addition, main problems of librarians developing digital libraries in Poland were indicated.

A concept of a network of regional digital libraries in Poland was presented. Tasks were discussed, which regional libraries should carry out as the completion of tasks performed by the central library.

The chapter discusses the transformation of the functions Polish academic libraries fulfill. Once inaccessible for ordinary people, the libraries now have become real public libraries. However, their main problem is the lack of adequate staff. This prevents the libraries from acting as effective providers of “memory outsourcing.”

This volume brings together a range of reflective essays and empirical analyses of the changing character of the library world in what is sometimes called, “post-Soviet space.” Specifically, individual contributions from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, the New Republic of Kosovo, and the post-Soviet successor states of Eurasia all provide different perspectives on Library and Information Sciences within the former Soviet Union and “Eastern Bloc” in terms of national and cultural identity and diverse institutional contexts. Thus, the included chapters range in focus from broad transformations in National Libraries and national library systems to the more specific problems facing municipal and local public libraries and information institutions within decentralized and, in some cases, privatized post-Soviet environments.