Proces of digital consolidation of the collection of the Polish press (1801-1939) of National Ossoliński Institute splited after world war II

A case study and methodological conculusion

Abstract

The aim of the study is to present digitalization as a method of virtual consolidation and sharing of scattered collections or those remaining outside the country, which due to their nature are closely related to the circle of Polish culture. The analysis was based on the conclusions resulting from the project of digital consolidation of the collection of the Polish press (1801– 1939) of the National Ossoliński Institute during the Lviv period of activity, numbering in September 1939 no fewer than 5000 titles, which, as a result of territorial changes (1945), ended up outside the country. As a result of the efforts undertaken in the years 1946–1947, nearly 1,300 press titles were donated to Wrocław in the form of a “gift”, more than half of which were distributed as a result of the transfer of some annuals or only a supplement, when the main journal was kept. As a result, a total of about 3000 titles remained in Lviv, including over 700 completely or partially unavailable in Poland, currently stored in the Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientific Library of Ukraine in Lviv. The study attempts to search for a method to increase the efficiency of creating digital collections of collections scattered or unavailable in Poland, the comprehensive disclosure of which is often possible only through digital archiving.