The ninth Night of Libraries took place on Saturday 7 October. This year’s event was accompanied by the slogan ‘It’s absurd not to read’. Over 1,400 libraries from all over Poland took part in the action.

The Night of Libraries is a nationwide campaign to persuade people to read by promoting local libraries as the closest venues for meetings with culture, with diverse resources and a free offer for the community, fostering the exchange of ideas and integration.

“Libraries across Poland hosted a wide range of events for readers, from meetings with writers, workshops, the creative game ‘It is absurd not to write’, singing meetings, library emergencies, detective workshops, special collections exhibitions and store tours, film screenings, silent disco and dance parties, to reading marathons and literary gluttons and library sleepovers”, the Book Institute reported.

The Night of Libraries was accompanied by the ‘Share the Books’ campaign, which encouraged readers to bring read newly published books and other desired books to libraries.

The Night of Libraries was attended, among others, by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Professor Piotr Glinski, who visited the Ks. Jan Twardowski Public Library in Warsaw.

He emphasised that the ministry under his leadership has a number of programmes to promote reading. “Partnership for Books”, “Promotion of Readership”, “Magazines” and “Literature”. “Our institutions also run projects and programmes that support such activities, including the National Cultural Centre. Active libraries apply for grants and receive funding from several sources, thanks to which they can organise various events, including precisely the ‘Night of Libraries”, said Professor Gliński.

The nationwide Night of Libraries is co-created by: The Centre for Civic Education Foundation (the main organiser), the “ABCXXI – All of Poland Reads to Children” Foundation and the Information Society Development Foundation under the honorary patronage of the National Library.

Adrian Andrzejewski