Festiwal im. Zygmunta Haupta | Zygmunt Haupt Festival | THE MUNICIPAL PUBLIC LIBRARY IN GORLICE

THE MUNICIPAL PUBLIC LIBRARY IN GORLICE

Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna im. Stanisława Gabryela w Gorlicach © fot. Janusz Fiega

The Stanisław Gabryel Municipal Public Library owes its name to the man who became director there in 1948.

The oldest traces of librarianship in the region of Gorlice date from 1870. At the Society of Friends of Education in Gorlice existed a reading room which had 1500 works. One of the more important libraries acting before the first World War was the Library of the Military Society (Biblioteka Towarzystwa Kasynowego). In the year 1925 the Library of the Union of Craftsmen and Dealers was founded. It was active during the occupation and after the liberation it functioned until 1947. In the period between the wars yet other libraries existed, e.g. the Library of Jewish Women and the Lending Establishment of Julia Kankoferowna. The Library in Gorlice was registred in 1948. Stanisław Gabryel, MSc was appointed the Director of the District Library. The first period of activity of the library (1945-48) was devoted to the improvement of the accessibility of the library collections to the public. Large contributions were made by the first librariens: Wilhelmina Stachnik, Maria Muszyńska, MSc, Stanisław Gabryel, MSc and Maria Wojtasiewicz. In 1975, as a result of administrative reform, the institute in Gorlice was renamed the Municipal Public Library. In 1999 the library in Gorlice has been the first in Region of Małopolska to function as a District Library.

The Municipal Public Library in Gorlice has fulfilled the “Polska Cyfrowa Równych Szans” project, whose goal was to introduce digital communication among adult Poles aged 50 and above. Recently the library has also partaken in a project to build an integrated system for information and collection management for public libraries in Lesser Poland, co-funded by the EU as part of Lesser Poland’s Regional Operational Program for 2007-2013.

The Municipal Public Library in Gorlice is taking part in the “Biblioteka Miejscem Spotkań Wielu Kultur” project, which aims to develop a library model that integrates a diverse community, and to equip librarians with the knowledge required for multicultural endeavours undertaken with minority representatives. Current projects include: “Bitwa Gorlicka 2.0,” “Tablety w Twojej Bibliotece,” “Zakup nowości wydawniczych do bibliotek.” Apart from cultural undertakings, the Municipal Public Library in Gorlice is also involved in the following projects: a DKK youth club, the “Nad Lipą” readers’ club, Klub Małego Czytelnika (little readers’ club), “All of Poland Reads to Kids,” “Odjazdowy Bibliotekarz.”