Although it is the scientific books, e-resources and facilities that make the library, the Scientific Information Centre and Academic Library in Katowice plays an important role in the cultural life and development of the city. The building – famous for its architectural excellence – is a modern interpretation of tradition.
Enhancing the Scientific Information Centre and Academic Library in Katowice
- 24 November 2015
This is the first inter-university library. Apart from being the main facility of the university campus, it also has a positive influence on the whole city.
The Scientific Information Centre and Academic Library is a joint project of the University of Silesia and the University of Economics in Katowice. The aim of the investment was opening a library that would meet 21st century standards.
As such, the library in Katowice contributed to improving the quality of teaching via increasing the research potential, improving the availability of scientific literature in the region, as well as increasing the role of the University of Silesia and the University of Economics in international scientific relations.
Developing a ‘hybrid’ library
All types of documents are made available at the same time, regardless of the type: books, magazines, databases, electronic texts, audiovisual materials, multimedia, and collections adjusted to the needs of special groups of users. This is possible thanks to provision of modern tools.
Users have free and unrestricted access to books in dedicated spaces. The library also offers specific rooms for reprography, copying and printing, computers, audiovisual and microfilm, as well as a room in which the library collections will be digitalised. The Reference Desks located on three levels of the building provide assistance in finding sources, locating publications and using the library equipment.
The library aims at serving as an intellectual and cultural hub for the city and region, mainly through its conference room and exhibition hall. It is a co-organiser and host of various events both for adults and children.
Modern interpretation of tradition
The building was designed by the Koszalin studio ‘HS99’. The Katowice university campus is located in the very center of town, near a loud and busy highway. The objective was to design a structure that would fit into these specific surroundings. The building is composed of two cubes – the first one is bigger and lower than the other, the second is twice as high but is smaller than the lower cube.
It was aimed to be a symbolic presentation of history: of the Prussian Kattowitz, the capital of a region of the 2nd Republic of Poland, the socialist-modernistic centre of progress in the times of communist Poland and the city’s newest tendency to aim for the idea of a metropolis of knowledge, science and culture.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “The Scientific Information Centre and Academic Library” is EUR 18 494 511, of which the EU’s European Regional Development Fund is contributing EUR 12 630 611 from the Regional Operational Programme “Silesia” for the 2007 to 2013 programming period.