Polish Library in Paris
Ile Saint-Louis | |
Coordinates | 48°51'0"N, 2°21'35"E |
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Library Association Chairman | C. Pierre Zaleski |
Library Director | C. Pierre Zaleski |
Museum Head | A. Czarnocka |
Head of Manuscripts and Archives | Ewa Rutkowska |
Website | www |
The Polish Library in Paris (French: Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris, Polish: Biblioteka Polska w Paryżu) is a Polish cultural centre of national importance and is closely associated both with the historic Great Emigration of the Polish élite to Paris in the 19th-century and the formation in 1832 of the Literary Society (Towarzystwo Literackie), later the Historical and Literary Society. The Library was founded in 1838 by Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz and Karol Sienkiewicz, among others. Its first task was to safeguard all surviving books, documents, archives and treasures of national significance. It has become a historical and documentary resource open for the use of Poles and other researchers and visitors. The Library houses three museums related to significant Polish artists: the Salon Frédéric Chopin, the Adam Mickiewicz Museum and the Bolesław Biegas Art collection. UNESCO's Memory of the World Register rates it as an institution unique of its kind.[1]
History
The prime instigator for the creation of the Polish Library in Paris was Karol Sienkiewicz, who had managed to assemble the already existing book collections in the history and statistical departments of the Towarzystwo Literackie w Paryżu, and the Towarzystwo Pomocy Naukowej, the Polish Literary and Scientific Aid societies. A critical role in the venture was played by the French Société de Civilisation, which, spurred on by the effect Adam Mickiewicz had with his article, "Rabunek bibliotek i muzeów w Polsce"—the pillage of libraries and museums in Poland—started a public appeal to garner support for a library dedicated to Poland. The act of foundation was signed in November 1838, followed in March 1839 by a gala opening of the building. A library committee consisting of eight delegates took on the running of the enterprise. Prince Czartoryski was elected as its life president, while the functions of secretary, librarian and treasurer were entrusted to Sienkiewicz.
To satisfy French legal requirements, Czartoryski took on formal ownership of the institution, thus securing its material survival. The initial plan was to erect a purpose-built Polish mansion in Paris to house the collections, but the shortage of funds led to the abandonment of that ambition, and instead a 17th-century four storey mansion was bought, on the
Towards the end of the 19th century, the activities of the Literary Society had declined, and the maintenance of the library in Paris was transferred in 1893 to the responsibility of the
World War II
On the eve of
Current dilemmas
The Polish Library in Paris is the oldest cultural institution outside the territory of Poland. Since 1854 the Library has occupied the entire original building. Next to the Library are the premises of the
In 1989 the collection had grown to 220,000 volumes, around 5,000 Polish maps, 7,000 16th–20th century images, plus the collections of the Towarzystwo Historyczno-Literackie w Paryżu.[1]
Although in 1893 the Library came under the predecessor of the
The Library and its part-owner, the Historical and Literary Society, are jointly members of the Standing Conference of [Polish] Museums, Archives and Libraries in the West[ern hemisphere].[9] This body groups all recognised collections outside Poland, but it does not cover items held in foreign institutions, nor the many thousands of objects as yet unrecovered from war-time looting and displacement.[10]
In the present economic decline, although partly funded from Poland's higher education budget, the Library faces continuous challenges as maintenance costs rise, materials age and cultural institutions face financial competition from other social priorities and needs, not least digital ones. There is currently pressure on the Polish collection at Rapperswil Castle to leave its premises in Switzerland.[11] This bodes ill for other such centres which may be obliged either to be scattered or receive more fragile materials, as has already disastrously happened in the case of the decimated Polish Museum at Fawley Court, England.[12]
See also
- List of foreign cultural institutes in Paris
- List of museums in Paris
- Chateau de Montresor
- Rapperswil Castle
- Hotel Lambert
- Ossolineum
- Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
- Polish Social and Cultural Centre[13]
- Fawley Court
Bibliography
- Bieńkowska B.: Książka na przestrzeni dziejów, Warszawa 2005
- Pezda, Janusz: Historia biblioteki polskiej w Paryżu w latach 1838-1893, Historia Iagellonica, Kraków 2013, ISBN 978-83-62261-67-3
- Żukow-Karczewski Marek: Biblioteka przy Quai d'Orleans, "Życie Literackie", 2 IV 1989, nr 13 (1932)
References
- Notes
- ^ a b "Collections of the 19th century of the Polish Historical and Literary Society / Polish Library in Paris / Adam Mickiewicz Museum". UNESCO. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
- ^ Marek Żukow-Karczewski, Biblioteka przy Quai d'Orléans, "Życie Literackie", 2 IV 1989 r., nr 13 (1932), s. 4.
- ^ Zaleski (b).
- ^ Zaleski (c).
- ^ Nowacki, K. "The Polish libraries in Paris and London", Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Sage, April 1983 15: 87-104.
- ^ Zaleski (d).
- ^ Zaleski (e).
- ^ "ORGANIGRAMME DE LA GESTION QUOTIDIENNE DE LA SHLP/BPP" (PDF) (in French). Retrieved 2016-08-22.
- ^ Website of the Standing Conference of Polish Museums, Archives and Libraries
- ^ "What are wartime losses?". The Division for Looted Art. Archived from the original on 2015-10-18.
- ^ "Schweizerisches Inventar der Kulturgüter von nationaler Bedeutung: Kanton St. Gallen, A-Objekte" (PDF) (in German). bevoelkerungsschutz.admin.ch. 2015-01-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-19.
- ^ Rogaliński, Paweł (2013-01-14). "Fawley Court Campaign - For Your Freedom And Ours". Rogalinski.com.pl. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
- ^ which houses the Polish Library in London
- Sources
- Zaleski, Casimir (a), La création de la Bibliothèque Polonaise, (in French), website of the Bibliothèque Polonaise, accessed 11.2.2014.
- Zaleski, Casimir (b), Première periode, (in French), website of the Bibliothèque Polonaise, accessed 11.2.2014.
- Zaleski, Casimir (c), Deuxième periode : de 1893 à 1946, (in French), website of the Bibliothèque Polonaise, accessed 11.2.2014.
- Zaleski, Casimir (d), Troisième periode : de 1946 à 1989, (in French), website of the Bibliothèque Polonaise, accessed 11.2.2014.
- Zaleski, Casimir (e), Quatrième periode : de 1989 à 2004, (in French), website of the Bibliothèque Polonaise, accessed 11.2.2014.
External links
- Official website (in French)
- Website of the Standing Conference of Polish Museums, Archives and Libraries in the West (in Polish). The Polish Library in Paris in conjunction with the Historical and Literary Society is a member organisation of the Standing Conference, which held its first meeting in 1981 at the Château de Montrésor in France.