The Early Printed Books Department of the University Library in Warsaw 1949-1977

Abstract

The article presents organisation and tasks of the Early Prints Department of the University Library in Warsaw (ULW), established in 1949, and consisting of the early prints of the 15^th-18^th centuries, magazines, an inventory, a catalogue, a reference collection and a reading room. The Department has been located in the Potocki Palace since 1959. At the beginning the Department’s tasks include: clearance, ordering, and inventorying its collection, as well as employing qualified staff. Over time, preservation and indexing has been intensified, and circulation of its resources enlarged. Education, research, and publishing activities have been introduced. Primarily provenance studies have been undertaken, concerning resources including (among others) parts of the post-church and post-monastic collections, royal collections; collections of people renowned or deserved for the Polish culture and science; people closely related to Warsaw, the former Załuski Library, and collection of the Evangelical and Reformed Synod in Warsaw. According to the author’s estimation, the collections amount to approx. 107 274 volumes. The article is annexed with a list of the employees; a scheme of subject organisation of the reference collection; a list of the most important works and events, and a list of the Department’s catalogues and files, as well as illustrations of the ULW provenance signs.