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The author of the article discusses selected academic and popular publications on the history of libraries and librarianship in Poland which were issued between 1945 and 2015. In that period, information about the most important historical resources of various Polish libraries and early book collections was made available. In addition, the period was marked by progress in the study of materials originating before the end of the 18th century. Scholars published a range of methodological works and works about sources, contributing to the development of scholarship. At the same time, there were too few editions of source materials. After 1989, scholars intensified their efforts to find sources in foreign collections, especially in Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and Germany. Polish collections kept abroad are yet to be fully researched and to have their inventories and catalogues published. The vast body of literature is uneven when it comes to its focus on individual historical periods, regions, subregions and local centres. It comprises publications on the history of libraries, their function and role in culture with regard to the history of publications focused on the types of libraries or individual libraries — of different traditions, sizes and the book, and stature. Scholars also explored the history of private book collections, reading rooms and libraries, as well as biographies of librarians and collectors. The quality of the publications varies. There are gaps in, for example, the history of libraries in the former Polish eastern borderlands and ‘blank pages’ in the historiography of Polish librarianship after the Second World War. There is a visible shortage of quantification of phenomena from the past of libraries, despite the fact that there are some possibilities in this respect. What is also needed is development in comparative studies, including from an international perspective, although this would require Polish historians to become more interested than before in the history of librarianship in other countries.

The article provides an overview of the documents of social life collected and made available in the Special Collections of the Main Library of Wroclaw Medical University. First, a brief review of the WMU Library and its Special Collections was made. Then, the documents of social life were characterized and the issues related to collecting, compiling, storing and sharing of such documents were addressed. The article concludes with a discussion of the significance of the presented documents to medical history researchers.

Acquisition and circulation of fiction in academic and university libraries is fully justified and requires no explanation as this kind of literature provides valuable source material for study to researchers and students alike. In contrast, specialist technical, medical agricultural, economic and military libraries have no statutory obligation to collect fiction, even though some of them do make this literature available in their collections. The present article discusses the following: provenance of library fiction book collections in academic specialist libraries, interest in fiction shown by their library patrons, methods for circulating fiction and acquisition of new titles and sources of funding.