National Library of Poland, main building
Al. Niepodległości 213
02-086 Warsaw
Poland
+48 22 608 22 33
Dr Tomasz Makowski
Main Building: Stanisław Fijałkowski
The National Library buildings are currently under reconstruction; The new reading rooms have been designed by Tomasz Konior from KONIOR Studio and SOKKA consortium.
Palace of Commonwealth building: Tylman van Gameren (17th century)
1928
The National Library of Poland was one of the first national libraries in Europe. The original programme of its activities and mission was published in 1732 and the library was opened to public in 1747. In 1780 the Polish Parliament granted it the right to receive a legal deposit of every publication from Polish territory.
Today the NLP acts as the central library of the country with its mission being to protect national heritage preserved in the form of handwritten, printed, electronic, recorded sound and audiovisual documents. It also acts as the administrator of the nationwide network of libraries (and the common catalogue) which in 2024 consisted of more than 800 libraries.
In 2024 the NLP reopened its second location – the Palace of the Commonwealth. The Palace has become home to the NLP’s permanent exhibition which features treasures from Polish and global written heritage.
The Publications Office of the European Union has published the report Strengthening Europe through Public Libraries, prepared as part of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) under the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023–2026. The publication demonstrates how public libraries strengthen societal resilience and democracy and respond to the key challenges facing contemporary Europe.
