Nicolaus Copernicus University Library
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The Nicolaus Copernicus University Library was established on August 24, 1945, alongside the Nicolaus Copernicus University.
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[edit] History
It was located in the former building of the Public Library. It did not, however, begin circulating its holdings until 1947. That year, the Library moved to a new site at Chopin Street, and in 1973, it relocated again. It was placed in its own, especially designed, facility, located on the university campus in the Bielany district of Toruń, where it stands to this day.
At the time of the opening, the Library held 44 thousand volumes. The basis for the collection constituted materials from various institution, manor, school and private collections, mostly from the Pomeranian region, as well as, gifts from Polish and foreign libraries. Since 1947, the Library has served as a depository library for all prints published within Poland. The value of the collection is demonstrated in its specialisations:
- History of the Pomeranian region and Baltic countries
- History of Vilnius and the Vilnius district (The University continues the tradition of the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius)
- Publications on the University patron, Nicolaus Copernicus, and his work
- Publications on the Polish culture in exile
[edit] Now
Currently, the Library holds 933.277 thousand items of monographic publications, 493.508 thousand volumes of serial publications (including newspapers, journals, serials), 415.711 thousand special collection volumes. The Main Library, together with faculty libraries, constitutes the library information network of the University. The combined collections of the faculty libraries contain over 608 thousand volumes of books, journals and special collection items.
Between 1993-1997, the Library implemented the Ameritech Horizon system, purchased with funds provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Horizon system enables cataloguing, lending and searching processes. It also makes it possible to participate in NUKAT, a nation-wide project of developing a central union catalogue of Polish research libraries. Since 1995, the card catalogue has not been updated with new acquisitions.
Currently, the Library takes full advantage of computer and Internet technology, which offers easy access to its own collections, as well as, to other library collections. The Library webpages provide access to:
- On-line catalogue
- KARO - Distributed Catalogue of Polish Libraries
- NUKAT - Union Catalogue of Polish Research Libraries
- Bibliographies (e.g. NCU employees database)
- E-journals catalogue
- Electronic databases
- Recommended Internet resources in various fields of knowledge.
For the years 2003-2006, the Library is planning some organisational and functional changes aimed at modernising many of its services. The electronic technology has been introduced into all venues of the library and it should be utilised in developing digital collections, implementing a system of digital document transfer, as well as, creating new platforms for easy access to electronic journal collections. The implementation of these changes will require training of library personnel. It is the objective of the Library to offer its users a speedy and unrestricted access to information.
[edit] Ranking of the State Committee for Scientific Research (KBN)
Based on the results of the evaluation of scientific achievements, the State Committee for Scientific Research granted the NCU Library category 3, which places it in the company of other university libraries in Kraków, Poznań and Warsaw.
[edit] Awards and recognitions
In 2002, the NCU Library was honoured with the medal of "Bibliotheca Magna Perennisque" for its "contribution to Polish librarianship."
In December 2002, the NCU Library webpage won third place in a competition for the best Polish library websites, in a research libraries category, organised under the auspices of the Polish Librarians Association.
