Was it worth it? The Krakow Agreement of September 18th, 1891

The history of the Polish Library in Paris does not only mean the history of the Emigration but it also shows what was and still is the idea of shared thinking of history, taking action to preserve Polish institutions in a foreign land. It is the oldest non-French library in Paris, the oldest Polish library abroad. On November 24th 1838, at the request of Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, the Polish Literary Society and its Historical Department and the Department of Statistics together with the Scientific Aid Society decided to combine their collections in order to set a national library. After years of efforts, the festive opening of the Library took place on March 24th 1839, on the anniversary of the oath taken by Tadeusz Kościuszko on the Krakow Main Square. Since 1854, after its relocation to the Île Saint-Louis, the Library has been sharing its collections uninterruptedly. In late 1890s, firstly in the form of non-binding questionnaire, a survey was started regarding the prospect of the Library to be continued in cooperation with a national institution. Talks on possible agreement have been initiated with the Academy of Learning in Krakow. Finally the Krakow Agreement was signed in 1891, under which the custody over the Library, its building and the gathered collections was taken over by the Academy of Learning and a research station was established.

Key words: Polish Library in Paris, Polish Historical-Literary Society, Academy of Learning, Great Emigration

The history of the Polish Library in Paris does not only mean the history of the Emigration but it also shows what was and still is the idea of shared thinking of history, taking action to preserve Polish institutions in a foreign land. It is the oldest non-French library in Paris, the oldest Polish library abroad. On November 24th 1838, at the request of Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, the Polish Literary Society and its Historical Department and the Department of Statistics together with the Scientific Aid Society decided to combine their collections in order to set a national library. After years of efforts, the festive opening of the Library took place on March 24th 1839, on the anniversary of the oath taken by Tadeusz Kościuszko on the Krakow Main Square. Since 1854, after its relocation to the Île Saint-Louis, the Library has been sharing its collections uninterruptedly. In late 1890s, firstly in the form of non-binding questionnaire, a survey was started regarding the prospect of the Library to be continued in cooperation with a national institution. Talks on possible agreement have been initiated with the Academy of Learning in Krakow. Finally the Krakow Agreement was signed in 1891, under which the custody over the Library, its building and the gathered collections was taken over by the Academy of Learning and a research station was established.