The history of The Koszalin Public Library dates back to the early years after WWII. The Library was opened on June 15th, 1947, which was the first step to forming the Voivodeship Public Library in 1950. On January 1st, 1999 after administrative changes in Poland, the library lost its status and became the Koszalin Public Library.
The Library comprises of a main building and ten other branches scattered all over the town. The library gathers, drafts and gives access to books of almost every kind including scientific and popular literature as well as fiction for all users. We have managed to gather almost 400.000 volumes of books and apart from that magazines and periodicals as well as CDs, audio books, videotapes, DVDs and multimedia. A member of the library is almost every fourth Koszalin citizen. Each year the library lends over 500.000 books and buys 9.000 new ones.
The readers can use 33 computers to search in a fully computerized catalogues. For their comfort, the library modernized the reading room with access not only to Polish collection of press but also German and English magazines like Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, Newsweek, The Economist. In the Library’s offer there is also The Regional Reading Room. It focuses on gathering books and local magazines on history and tourism of past and present day of Western Pomerania.
Being fully computerized and modernized, the library is also disabled users friendly, to whom we offer biblio- and music therapy and apart from that we also deliver books and audio books for bedridden readers.
The Library organizes exhibitions, book promotions, author’s meetings and contests. It publishes different materials like monthly issues of A Month in Koszalin and annuals like Koszalin Culture. The Almanac and Yearbook of Koszalin, which is a popular scientific magazine.
The Library offers an Internet access, photocopying facilities, bookbinding and rental of a modern, air conditioned, multimedia board room. On our Internet page www.biblioteka.koszalin.pl we offer access to on-line catalogues and the opportunity to make a request for needed books.
