Faq
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During the summer holiday period, the National Library’s reading rooms are open during their standard hours:
- the Lower Reading Room, Upper Reading Room, Reference Books Reading Room, Recent Publications Reading Room, Załuski Reading Room, Small Reading Rooms and Newspapers & Current Periodicals Reading Room – Monday to Saturday, 8.30 a.m.–8.30 p.m.;
- the Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room – Monday to Friday, 8.30 a.m.–8.30 p.m., and Saturdays, 8.30 a.m.–3.00 p.m.;
- specialist reading rooms – Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m.–2.00 p.m.
From 29 June to 28 August, readers’ requests will be processed only between 8.30 a.m. and 3.00 p.m.
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The Library may be used on Saturdays, subject to certain restrictions:
- The Book and Periodicals Stacks accept requests until 3.00 p.m. Requests submitted later are processed on Monday.
- Requests for ephemera, bibliological collections and materials whose shelf marks include the abbreviations Cim., Cym., Chr., Cim. Konsp., Konsp. or Wyst. are not processed. Such materials may only be made available if they have been ordered in advance.
- The Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room is open until 3.00 p.m.
- The Cartographic Reading Room, Music Reading Room and Sound and Video Recordings Room are closed. Consequently, maps, iconographic materials, sheet music and recordings are not made available.
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The main building at al. Niepodległości 213 can be reached by public transport: by metro, getting off at Pole Mokotowskie station, or by bus or tram, getting off at the Biblioteka Narodowa stop.
PLEASE NOTE: Until 13 September 2026, due to the renovation of al. Niepodległości, it is not possible to reach the National Library by tram.
Free parking for cars and bicycles is available in front of the building. The main entrance is Entrance A, on the Pole Mokotowskie side.
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The registration desk is located on the ground floor of the main building at al. Niepodległości 213 and is open during the Library’s opening hours. Contact: rejestracja@bn.org.pl; telephone: +48 22 608 23 36.
During registration, you must:
- present an original identity document, such as an identity card, passport,
- residence card, driving licence or school ID in the case of minors;
- read the Regulations for Using the National Library;
- sign a declaration confirming that you will comply with the Regulations;
- consent to the processing of your personal data.
A reader’s card is issued on-site on this basis.
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The information desk is located at the Main Desk, which is visible from the main entrance.
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A personalised card with a photograph is issued free of charge at the Library’s Reader Registration Office. The photograph is also taken on-site.
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Materials can be searched for and ordered for use in the National Library’s reading rooms through the online catalogue. Only registered readers who have a National Library reader’s card may order materials for the reading rooms.
Materials may be ordered remotely or on-site using the available computer terminals. Readers may also obtain assistance from the information desk or the librarian on duty in a reading room.
For materials that cannot be ordered electronically, please contact:
+48 22 608 23 30
+48 22 608 24 91
bnczyt@bn.org.plOrdered materials are held for collection for two working days.
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The National Library is open Monday to Saturday from 8.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m.
Full information on the opening hours of individual reading rooms is available on the website.
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The National Library’s collections may be used by anyone aged 13 or over who has registered and holds a National Library reader’s card.
When registering, minors must present a completed form containing the written consent of their legal representative. The form is available online as an appendix to the National Library Regulations.
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The National Library’s main building includes several interconnected reading rooms. A total of 275 numbered seats are available in:
- the Upper Reading Room;
- the Lower Reading Room;
- the Załuski Reading Room;
- the Reference Books Reading Room;
- the Recent Publications Reading Room;
- the Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room;
- the Small Reading Rooms.
The following reading rooms are located on the upper floor:
- the Cartographic Reading Room;
- the Music Reading Room;
- the Sound and Video Recordings Reading Room.
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The National Library’s collections are made available without the need to reserve a place in the reading rooms and only to registered readers. Materials may be ordered remotely or on-site by logging into the reader’s account in the online catalogue.
Some materials cannot be ordered electronically. These include early printed books, permanent preservation copies of books and periodicals marked with the shelf mark A, materials with the shelf mark Kras. and materials whose shelf marks include the abbreviations Cim., Cym., Chr., Cim. konsp., Konsp., Min. or Wyst. They are made available as digital copies through Polona.pl and the Academica digital interlibrary loan service. Originals are made available in exceptional cases with the approval of the head of the relevant department. Please ask a librarian for details.
The National Library’s reading rooms offer 275 numbered seats, as well as unnumbered seats in the Press Reading Room.
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The following databases are available to readers:
- JSTOR;
- Brill;
- De Gruyter;
- the Virtual Library of Science, including ScienceDirect, Springer, Wiley Online Library, Nature, Science, e-books, EBSCO, Scopus and Web of Science.
These resources may only be accessed on the Library’s premises, after logging into an internet-enabled terminal or connecting a personal device to the National Library’s wireless network.
The Library also provides access to the digital archives of “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “e-Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”, as well as digital editions of foreign newspapers including “Le Monde”, “The Guardian” and “The Times”, and the Legalis database.
Readers may also use terminals connected to the Academica digital interlibrary loan system.
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To order a microfilm, find the bibliographic description and shelf mark of the copy held in the National Library’s stacks.
In the online catalogue, the shelf mark is displayed below the bibliographic description.
Microfilm requests may be submitted through the online catalogue.
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Ephemera marked with the shelf mark DŻS are ordered electronically and made available in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room with the approval of the head of the Ephemera Department.
Requests for ephemera are processed Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
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Readers are required to:
- comply with the rules of conduct specified in the Regulations;
- present their reader’s card whenever requested to do so by a librarian or National Library employee;
- occupy the seat corresponding to the number on the plaque assigned to them;
comply with the prohibition on removing materials made available to them; - silence mobile phones and other devices and comply with the prohibition on making telephone calls in the reading rooms;
- handle the materials made available to them with care;
- comply with the instructions and recommendations of the librarian on duty.
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The Newspapers & Current Periodicals Reading Room: yes.
Upper Reading Room, Lower Reading Room, Załuski Reading Room, Recent Publications Reading Room and Reference Books Reading Room: only water in a securely closed bottle.
Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room: no food or drinks of any kind may be brought inside.
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The Library does not lend its materials for use at home or outside its premises. Its collections are made available on-site in the reading rooms.
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No.
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Yes. Readers may photograph materials independently without using a flash and with the camera shutter sound switched off, in accordance with the instructions of the librarian on duty.
The librarian on duty has the right to stop photography if there is a risk that it may adversely affect the condition of the materials, damage or destroy them, or disrupt the work of other people.
Readers taking photographs are responsible for complying with copyright law.
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Yes. A reader may request that a book be brought to the National Library from another Polish library if the publication is not held in the National Library or in any other library in Warsaw.
The National Library may also obtain library materials from foreign libraries if they are not available in any library in Poland.
This service is subject to a fee, and the materials obtained may only be consulted on-site in the National Library’s reading rooms.
Detailed information is available on the “Interlibrary loans” webpage.
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To order a periodical, find its description in the online catalogue under the “Periodicals” tab. After selecting the shelf mark marked “IIegz”, submit a request for the required issue or annual volume using the “Order” option.
Readers may independently order only copies whose shelf marks include the code “IIegz”.
Permanent preservation copies of nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century periodicals marked with the shelf mark A, as well as nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century periodicals published more frequently than once a month, are made available exclusively in digital form through Polona.pl.
In exceptional cases, where access to the original is essential for academic research, nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century periodicals for which a digital copy is available, periodicals published more frequently than once a month and permanent preservation copies of nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century periodicals may be made available in the original.
A justified application must be submitted by e-mail to the head of the Periodicals Department.
If you experience difficulties ordering materials, please contact:
telephone: +48 22 608 23 30
telephone: +48 22 608 24 91
e-mail: bnczyt@bn.org.pl -
The limit for electronic requests on a reader’s account is ten items.
At a reader’s special request, a librarian on duty may order several additional items on their behalf.
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Readers may order materials for use in the reading rooms in accordance with the Regulations, particularly Article 4, “Access to the Collections”.
For materials whose shelf marks include letter codes and for certain special collections, ordering the originals requires prior approval from the head of the relevant department. Surrogate copies, such as digital copies or microfilms, are made available in the first instance.
Permanent preservation copies of nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century books and periodicals marked with the shelf mark A, as well as nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century periodicals published more frequently than once a month, manuscripts, including music manuscripts and manuscript maps, and early printed books are made available exclusively in digital form through Polona.pl.
In exceptional cases, where access to the original is essential for academic research, the following may be made available in the original:
- permanent preservation copies of nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century books marked with the shelf mark A;
- nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century books and periodicals for which a digital copy is available;
- nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century periodicals published more frequently than once a month;
- manuscripts, including music manuscripts and manuscript maps;
early printed books.
A justified application must be submitted by e-mail to the head of the relevant department:
- the Manuscripts Department – for manuscripts;
- the Early Printed Books Department – for early printed books;
- the Collections Access Department – for permanent preservation copies of nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century books marked with the shelf mark A and books for which a digital copy is available;
- the Periodicals Department – for permanent preservation copies of nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century periodicals, periodicals published more frequently than once a month and periodicals for which a digital copy is available.
The application must include a justification.
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A shelf mark is a number used to locate a publication in the stacks. It consists of a sequence of numbers or a combination of numbers and letters.
The letter codes used in National Library shelf marks have the following meanings:
A – a permanent preservation copy made available digitally and in the original only in exceptional cases, with the approval of the head of the relevant department.
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Readers may approach the shelves, select the publications they need and take them to their assigned workstation.
Items from the open-access reference collections may not be removed from the reading room. After use, they should be returned to the designated places.
The names of the subject categories according to which the reference collections are arranged are displayed on the shelves.
Readers may also use the catalogues to find particular publications. In the online catalogue, the shelf marks of books and periodicals held in open-access reading-room collections include relevant abbreviations, such as Czyt. Muz. for the Music Reading Room.
If a reader has difficulty finding a publication, assistance is available from the librarian on duty in the relevant reading room.
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Yes. Almost four million digital items are available through the Polona.pl digital library.
A similar number are available through the Academica digital interlibrary loan service, which can be accessed in more than 4,000 libraries throughout Poland.
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After entering the National Library, visitors must leave not only outer clothing but also umbrellas, backpacks, briefcases and large bags in the cloakroom. This applies both to readers and to other visitors.
The Library provides bags in the cloakroom for small items that readers wish to take into the reading rooms and other publicly accessible areas.
Users may also take their own books, periodicals and laptops with them, without their external cases or covers.
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Readers have the right to:
- obtain assistance from the librarian on duty in using equipment available in the reading rooms, including computers and microfilm readers;
- use their own equipment, such as a computer, provided that the librarian on duty has been informed and has given permission, and that the equipment is used under the specified conditions and in a designated place;
- use the reading rooms’ open-access reference collections;
- order up to ten items at a time and use no more than five library items delivered from the stacks simultaneously; materials not collected on the day the request is submitted are held in the reading room for the following two working days;
- order scans of selected materials from the National Library’s Reader Services Office in accordance with the applicable regulations and price list;
- make copies of materials independently, in accordance with the regulations and the librarian’s instructions, without using a flash and with the camera shutter sound switched off.
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Seats in the Press Reading Room are not numbered and may be occupied freely. A reader’s card is not required. Visitors may enter the The Newspapers & Current Periodicals Reading Room wearing outer clothing and may consume food and drinks there.
The other reading rooms are located beyond security gates, which are opened using a reader’s card.
To use them, readers must leave their outer clothing in the cloakroom and transfer any materials needed for their work into a transparent bag available in the cloakroom.
After entering the reading rooms, readers must deposit their reader’s card with the librarian on duty at the Main Desk in the Upper Reading Room. In return, the librarian issues a plaque bearing a seat number. Readers are asked not to choose seats independently.
Ordered materials are collected and returned at the Main Desk. After completing their work, readers must return the plaque with the seat number and collect their deposited reader’s card.
Before entering the reading rooms, readers must also declare any personal materials they are bringing into the reading room area to the librarian.
Food and drinks may not be taken into the reading rooms located beyond the security gates, with the exception of water in securely closed bottles.
Additional rules apply in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room, which is also located beyond the security gates. No drinks of any kind may be brought into the room, including water in securely closed bottles.
Materials made available to readers may not be left unattended at a workstation. Before leaving the reading room, even temporarily, readers must return them to the librarian on duty. Only pencils may be used while consulting the collections.
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The processing time depends on the status and condition of the requested materials, as well as the time needed to prepare them for use and deliver them to the reading room.
Requests for materials from the Book Stacks and Periodicals Stacks are usually processed within approximately one hour.
Requests submitted less than one hour before the Library closes are processed on the following working day.
Requests are processed Monday to Friday from 8.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. Ordered materials may be collected for the following two days. Therefore, requests should not be submitted more than two days before the planned visit.
If collection within this period is not possible, readers may ask for materials to be held for a later date by contacting the reading room or information desk.
Requests for ephemera marked DŻS, bibliological materials held in the Bibliological Collections Stacks and materials whose shelf marks include Cim., Cym., Chr., Cim. Konsp., Konsp. or Wyst. are processed Monday to Friday from 8.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
Requests for special collections, including manuscripts, maps, sheet music, graphic materials and sound and audiovisual collections, are considered by the heads of the relevant departments and processed within a period specified by them.
After requesting such materials, readers should check their account in the National Library catalogue to see whether permission to use the requested items has been granted.
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Comments about the Library’s services may be submitted at the registration desk or by e-mail to kontakt@bn.org.pl.
The National Library responds within 14 days to submissions that include the sender’s full name and address.
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The loss of a reader’s card must be reported immediately at the reader registration desk or remotely:
rejestracja@bn.org.pl
telephone: +48 22 608 23 36A replacement card can only be issued at the registration desk in the National Library’s main building at al. Niepodległości 213. The replacement fee is PLN 10.
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The National Library produces paid reproductions of library materials from originals and secondary documents for individuals and institutions.
Materials may only be copied in accordance with applicable law, particularly the Act on Copyright and Related Rights.
Requests should be submitted by e-mail to biurozam@bn.org.pl.
Detailed information about submitting requests and the price list for reprographic services is available on the website.
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A reader’s card is valid for ten years from the date of registration or until the reader decides to stop using the Library.
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A registered reader who has forgotten their card may use the National Library’s reading rooms and collections on the basis of a one-day pass issued at the information desk.
A reader is entitled to two one-day passes per year. When depositing the one-day pass in a reading room, the reader must also present a valid photographic identity document.
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The Regulations for Using the National Library and other regulations are available on the website and on-site at the information desk, registration desk and reading rooms.
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The National Library provides readers who have difficulty reading standard printed materials independently with computer equipment and software that allows them to use books, periodicals and other types of materials on-site.
For readers with visual impairments, the National Library provides computers equipped with screen-reading software and scanners. Braille users may use a Braille display. Desktop video magnifiers are available in the reading rooms, while smaller portable magnifiers may be borrowed from National Library staff at the Main Desk.
People who have difficulty reading standard print independently may use selected books, periodicals, ephemera and other printed publications in accessible electronic formats.
To facilitate communication and access to information for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, including people with combined hearing and visual impairments, a computer workstation equipped with an induction loop is available.
The Migam service is also available, allowing users to connect online with a Polish Sign Language interpreter.
Reading rooms and reader workstations on all floors are accessible to wheelchair users.
Detailed information about facilities for readers with disabilities is available from Library staff at the information desk or by telephone at +48 22 608 23 30. Detailed information about access to particular materials can be obtained by e-mail at bninform@bn.org.pl.
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Yes. Wi-Fi is available on the National Library’s premises. Readers log in using the same credentials as for the National Library catalogue.
Internet access is also available on selected terminals in the reading rooms.