Challenging Beginnings
The Public Library in Koszalin has been an integral part of the city since 1947. Its beginnings were very modest. A letter written just after the war by one of the first settlers to his family has been preserved, reading: "We have opened a bakery, send books!". For people who remembered the atrocities of the war, books were a synonym for the normalcy they were trying to re-establish in their new home. Created out of the passion of a handful of community activists and book donations, the library was established in a building shared with the City Museum. The grand opening took place on June 15, 1947, and became a celebration for the entire local community.
On the very first day, 12 readers registered, and the collection consisted of 200 volumes. The dynamic development of Koszalin and the urgent need to make up for wartime educational setbacks meant that the library had to expand rapidly to meet its new challenges. In 1948, the institution was moved to a building at Stalin Square (now Liberty Square / pl. Wolności). However, this was not its final destination, as it relocated again in 1949 to the Cultural Center. The year 1954 brought further changes, and the municipal library, along with its collection and staff, moved back to Stalin Square.
In 1953, the first library outreach point was established at 4 Świerczewskiego Street (currently Dworcowa Street). Shortly after, another one opened in the Karol Marx Housing Estate, located inside the private home of the Hoffman family. These outreach points became the library's very first branches. Remarkably, early library branches were frequently located in private residences; for instance, another branch found its home with the Kafel family.
Expansion
Following the creation of the Koszalin Voivodeship in 1950, the Voivodeship Public Library was temporarily located in Białogard due to the lack of a suitable building in Koszalin. This "temporary" arrangement lasted for five years, until 1955, when the Municipal Public Library was merged with the Voivodeship Public Library. The newly formed Voivodeship and Municipal Public Library in Koszalin continued to occupy the municipal library building, located at Liberty Square (pl. Wolności, formerly Stalin Square).
Aleksander Majorek became the director of the merged institutions, with Maria Hudymowa serving as his deputy. These two enthusiasts managed the library for twenty years, contributing significantly to its current shape. The continuous growth of the library, along with a massive surge in readers and the expanding book collection, meant that the premises at Liberty Square became too cramped. In 1963, the scientific reading room, the book repository, and the library's administrative departments moved to a building at the intersection of Zwycięstwa and Świerczewskiego (now Dworcowa) streets. By the late 1960s, when the construction of a dedicated library building began thanks to the efforts of Aleksander Majorek and Maria Hudymowa, the number of readers had reached 13,500, and the number of branches had grown to 9.
The grand opening of the main building of the Voivodeship and Municipal Public Library in Koszalin at 24 Kościuszki Street did not happen without its difficulties. It took place on September 12, 1973. It was the first modern library built completely from scratch in post-war Poland. It seemed that the long journey of the Koszalin library had finally come to an end. The new premises housed a collection of 250,000 volumes, reading rooms, an academic lending library, and the crown jewel of the institution – a modern Children's Department featuring a lending section, two reading rooms, and a fairytale room.
A Library on a Cemetery
After 1989, people began searching for traces of Koszalin’s former residents. It was finally understood that the history of Koszalin did not simply begin right after the war in 1945. People started speaking more openly about the fact that our library building was constructed on a pre-war German cemetery—a truth that had previously been silenced. Today, we strive to make amends for the barbarism inflicted upon the ashes of those past inhabitants. We honor the memory of those who came before us by lighting a candle every November on the remains of a stone bench in the park behind the library. We also organize meetings with former Koszalin residents and their descendants. Thanks to the research of historians, the stories of notable past citizens buried in the old cemetery have been brought back to life—including Johann Ernst Benno, a historical writer, and Ernst August Braun, the city’s mayor, among many others. Perhaps a library standing upon these ashes can truly connect past generations with those yet to come...
Changing Winds
In the second half of the 1970s and throughout the 1980s, the Koszalin library continuously expanded its services for readers. A dense network of library branches was established; by the late 1980s, there were 16 branches operating across the city. Additionally, a music library section (fonoteka) was opened within the record-lending department, providing a dedicated space for listening to music.
Initiatives aimed at preserving the literary legacy of local writers continue to protect the region's intellectual heritage and foster local identity to this day. The library gathered, among others, the original manuscripts of Gracjan Bojar-Fijałkowski, a well-known local author, and Władysław Turowski, the composer of Koszalin's official anthem.
The turn of the 1980s and 1990s brought significant challenges for the cultural sector in Koszalin. All cultural institutions underwent political and structural reforms. As a result, the Voivodeship and Municipal Public Library was split. The Voivodeship Public Library was merged with the Voivodeship Cultural Center, while the municipal library was integrated into the Municipal Cultural Center. The management of the Municipal Public Library was relegated to a single room within the Municipal Cultural Center, managing 12 remaining branches and the Children's Department, which was relocated to a new facility in the Północ housing estate. Meanwhile, the Voivodeship Public Library retained the main building's departments, focusing on adult readers and regional library duties.
This separation lasted for just under 9 years. Following Poland's administrative reform and the dissolution of the Koszalin Voivodeship, the two libraries were reunited. On July 1, 1999, the Koszalińska Biblioteka Publiczna (Public Library in Koszalin) was officially established.
The 21st-Century Library
The 21st century brought new challenges for the Koszalin library, sparking its development on a grand scale. Significant investments in infrastructure and book acquisitions have transformed the library into a state-of-the-art cultural institution.
Today, the Koszalińska Biblioteka Publiczna consists of the main building and 10 library branches. It serves over 20,000 readers annually, lending nearly 500,000 items across various fields of knowledge. Although the number of branches has decreased, the remaining locations have been beautifully modernized. Excellent examples include Branch No. 9 on Struga Street, Branch No. 6 on Lelewela Street, Branch No. 4 on Ruszczyca Street, and Branch No. 3 on Młyńska Street.
The computerization of the library began in the 1990s, though the very first roots of automation trace back thirty years earlier. A popular anecdote among the staff recounts how employees in the reading rooms and book stacks on Świerczewskiego Street "automated" the transfer of library call slips using a wire to avoid walking up and down the stairs. The slip, attached to the wire, was pulled up to the storage room—but the books still had to be carried down to the reading room by hand. Such was our very first "automated" circulation process!
True computerization started in the main building, completely automating all library procedures. We take great pride in the fact that every single library process is now fully computerized. The entire catalog is presented on the library's website, allowing users to request items electronically; the only effort required is coming to the lending desk to pick them up.
Since 2023, the library has been operating on the ALMA system, which enables readers to manage their individual accounts and handle numerous services entirely online
Library users have access to computer stations and free internet in the reading room. Since 2007, our library has been a member of the West Pomeranian Library Agreement. In 2008, KBP joined the co-creation of the West Pomeranian Digital Library "Pomerania". Since 2015, we have provided access to "Academica", the digital interlibrary loan system. Furthermore, back in 2010, the library joined the project "Counteracting Digital Exclusion of Koszalin Residents," through which we acquired 55 computers and 11 printers dedicated to our readers.
Significantly, our library has initiated numerous activities for people with physical and intellectual disabilities. Music therapy and art therapy sessions are organized systematically. We also created a "Library on Wheels" mobile service, delivering books directly to those unable to reach the library on their own. Meetings for readers of the former "talking books" are highly popular, aiming to socially integrate visually impaired individuals and seniors. To enrich our offer for adults, we host various events promoting literature.
Our branch libraries organize a wide variety of activities for children, using drama, art therapy, and integration games. They actively participate in the city-wide "Safe Summer Holidays" campaign, creating workshops for children spending their summer in the city. "Winter Holidays at the Library" are organized on a similar basis.
Keeping up with the times, we have intensively focused on marketing, public relations, and advertising since 2010. We intensify these efforts during the Library Week in May, celebrating the Day of the Librarian and Libraries. The Public Library in Koszalin hosts numerous diverse events promoting books and reading. These popularization activities range from author meetings, exhibitions, contests, and festivals, to lectures, reading marathons, and art workshops.
The library also hosts Book Discussion Clubs and the REGION Gallery. Local residents enjoy our bookcrossing shelf, as well as the "America in your library" program – a partnership between the US Embassy and selected public libraries in Poland. Its goal is to provide a platform for sharing information and resources about the United States in cities without an American embassy or consulate. In the main KBP building, we provide access to books donated by the embassy and offer free access to approximately 40 commercial online databases.
We actively joined the celebration of the Koszalin Year of the Senior by preparing a dedicated offer for readers over 60. We take pride in organizing major regional events, such as the European Film Festival "Integration You and Me", "Night at the Library", "The Human Library", and the "Birds, Little Birds, and Birds of the Field" Recitation Tournament. KBP also supports local education by offering custom-tailored library lessons for schools and kindergartens.
The library maintains an extensive publishing profile. Since 1992, it has published the "Koszalin Yearbook" (Rocznik Koszaliński), featuring articles on local history and promoting the work of the local academic community. The annual summary of local cultural phenomena is published in the "Almanac of Culture" (Almanach Kultury).
Looking at the current operations of the Public Library in Koszalin, we realize how long a road we have traveled. From a facility with cramped spaces and a tiny book collection, our library has transformed into a modern, continuously evolving institution with a wide range of services for every user group, fully accessible to people of all abilities. Today, it is hard to imagine Koszalin without its library: it is a treasure trove of the intellectual heritage of Poland and the region, and a vibrant meeting place for residents (people even choose it as a spot for dates).
The contemporary image of the Koszalin Public Library is the result of generations of wonderful employees and visionary directors—such as Aleksander Majorek and Maria Hudymowa—who foresaw the need for a modern, spacious headquarters. We owe our constant growth to the ambition of our leaders, who always strive to match the standards of the best libraries in the country. However, even the best plans would not succeed without our dedicated, creative, and highly qualified staff. We owe the present shape of our institution to all these remarkable people.
It is also worth noting that a branch of the Polish Librarians Association operates at KBP, and the library is a member of the Polish Library Union. Additionally, from 2002 to 2025, KBP carried out the duties of a district library for the Koszalin District.
For its merits in disseminating knowledge and culture, the Public Library in Koszalin has been honored with numerous decorations, including the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the "Bibliotheca Magna Perenisque" medal, the "Creators and Patrons of Culture" medal, the honorary badge "Meritorious for the Koszalin Voivodeship", and the medal "For Merits to Koszalin". The Pomeranian Library also honored us with the Golden Exlibris, and in 2016 named us the "Library of the Year 2015".
In 2010, the library won the Main Prize in the "Poland Without Barriers 2009" competition in the Education category. In the same year, KBP received the Mayor’s Award for the Cultural Event of the Year 2009 (the 6th European Film Festival "Integration You and Me"), followed by the 2011 Mayor’s Award for the Cultural Event of the Year 2010 ("Night at the Library"). In September 2016, the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled People (PFRON) awarded KBP the prestigious title of "Leader of the 25th Anniversary" for its exceptional work supporting people with disabilities. Furthermore, we are a multiple winner of the Mayor of Koszalin's Awards for the following initiatives: "Tracking the Robbers with Gracjan" (Cultural Initiative of the Year 2020), "Romantically in the Heart of the City" (Cultural Event of the Year 2022), "BIBLIOTEKA’73" (Cultural Initiative of the Year 2023), "Out of this World Night at the Library" (Cultural Event of the Year 2024), and "Reymontada" (Cultural Initiative of the Year 2024).
Our current team of 76 professionals works hard every day to shape the library's modern image. We all strive to meet our readers' expectations, deliver excellent service, and create a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
We warmly invite everyone interested in our work to explore our website, browse our online collections, and follow our updates on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Compiled by Anna Marcinek-Drozdalska, Magdalena Młynarczyk, Małgorzata Zychowicz.
