Development of the book collection of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning Library (1802-1832)

Abstract

The article presents history of donations for the Library of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning. Its collections, developing within 30 years thanks to donations, purchases, legal depot, and exchange of duplicates, defects and Society’s publications, amounted to a huge number of 30000 volumes before the Society was closed (1831). The author characterises categories of acquisitions mentioned above and presents many examples. She emphasises generosity of the Poles to the Society, and presents fragments of a few donators’ declarations, to illustrate their intentions. Referring to the WSFL records, she also mentions following librarians, library custodians and inspectors, their duties and merits for the collection development. Importantly, two concepts of acquisition can be determined in the result of the analysis, a library as a scientist’s workshop, and a universal national library, treasury of national writing, developed by the donators.