Archives and book collection of The Polish-Scandinavian Research Institute

Abstract

The Polish-Scandinavian Institute was established within the framework of the Polish state in exile at a time when Poland was a part of the Soviet bloc. The Institute, founded in 1985 and based in Copenhagen, has archives and a book collection more than 15 years old. The documentation occupies about 40 meters of shelf space. It consists of materials from scientific dissertations, correspondences with members of the Institute and institutions, materials related to the history of Polish emigration and their organization in the Scandinavian countries. The collection contains about 2000 volumes. It consists of the scientific works of the members of the Institute, „The Yearbook of Polish Scientific Society in Exile”, „Acta Cassubiana”, the Institute’s own publications, literature in Scandinavian languages concerning Poland, Polish literature on the history of Gdańsk and Pomerania, journals published beyond Poland and many others. The Institute receives various publications which are beyond the Institute’s interests, but are still valuable in terms of knowledge of Polish history and culture in Scandinavia. We deliver such publications to the National Library of Poland or the Royal Library in Copenhagen. The Institute has never had any specialized administration for these collections, nor has it had the financial means to employ appropriate staff. Hence, after the changes in the political system in the country, the documentation and the book collection are being successively transferred to the Central Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw, the Archives of Polish Emigration at the University Library in Toruń and other specialist libraries in Poland.