Almost 100 million PLN for digitization for the NLOP and The Jagiellonian Library. The Patrimonium project – the legacy of scholars is launched
We are pleased to announce that the agreement to run the “Patrimonium – the legacy of scholars” project in the years 2025–28 was concluded on May 28, 2025. The project is a continuation of two multi-year projects to scan the collections of the two largest libraries in Poland: the National Library and the Jagiellonian Library. Thanks to joint digitization, Polona.pl makes 4,000,000 objects available on the Internet and on the terminals of 4,000 libraries as part of the Academica service. When the project is completed, 145,500 new objects will have been made available, which for conservation or copyright reasons could not be made available digitally earlier.
The following will be scanned from the National Library of Poland collections:
- 40,000 engravings and drawings from the most valuable historical collections, that is the Wilanów Library, the Krasiński Estate Library, the Cieplice collections, and early-print albums and 19th-century publications with original graphics and photographs.
- 35,000 books, both classics of Polish and world literature, as well as scholarly works and publications on history and culture, including works by outstanding figures of Polish culture whose work has recently entered the public domain, such as Julian Tuwim, Władysław Umiński, Zofia Nałkowska, Kornel Makuszyński, Aleksander Semkowicz, Helena Radlińska, Wincenty Lutosławski.
- 3,300 manuscripts from historical legacies and archives, including the collections of the first National Library opened in 1747 by the Załuski brothers and legacies and archives of the following scholars, writers, editors and artists:
- Archive of Józef Korzeniowski
- Archive of Karol Zawodziński
- Archive of Wacław Borowy
- Archive of Józef Birkenamajer
- Archive of Ignacy Chrzanowski
- Archive of Ludwik Janowski
- Archive of Malwina Garfeinowa-Garska
- Archive of Jan Hoene-Wroński
- Archive of Jan Karol Kochanowski
- Archive of Antoni Górski
- Archive of Michał Brensztejn
- Archive of Władysław Zahorski
- Archive of “Chimera”
- Archive of Zenon Przesmycki
- Archive of Stanisław Wyrzykowski
- Archive of Józef Mehoffer
- Nałkowski Archive
- Ferdynand Hoesick Archive
- Aleksander Czołowski Archive
The following family archives and collections will also be scanned:
- Tarnowski Archive from Dzików
- Hauke Family Archive
- Moszyński Archive
- Romer Archive
- Korzon-Pruszyński Archive
- 19,000 early prints, including those from the Zamość Estate Library
- 10,000 periodicals
- 10,000 units of sheet music related to Polish music and composers.
- 7,500 20th-century obituaries
- 2,000 old maps showing the territory of Poland within its historical borders
The Jagiellonian Library will scan 5,500 early prints, 800 maps, 1,500 engravings and photographs, 550 manuscripts, and 9,600 obituaries.
The project will involve conservation work on objects designated for digitization.
The project is aimed at both individual users – readers and institutions. "Patrimonium – the legacy of scholars" is the largest project among all those submitted in Poland to the competition in the European Funds for Digital Development under Measure 2.3 Digital accessibility and reuse of information in competitive calls (second and third call). 31 projects were submitted in two calls. 27 projects passed the formal assessment, while 10 projects passed the substantive assessment. The National Library's project received the highest score and no. 1 on the ranking list.
#FunduszeUE #FunduszeEuropejskie
Project number: FERC.02.03-IP.01-0003/24
Project implementation period: 1 June 2025 - 31 May 2028
Total project value: 98 980 840.62 PLN
EU co-financing: 78 897 628.05 PLN
State budget: 20 083 212.57 PLN
