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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Warsaw has opened an underground library at one of its metro stations, offering commuters over 16,000 books to borrow.
The facility – the first of its kind in Poland and called “Metroteka”, a play on the Polish word for library, “biblioteka” – was launched this week at Kondratowicza station on the metro’s M2 line. On its first day of operation, readers borrowed almost 400 books.
“Our strategy is to bring culture closer to home,” said deputy mayor Aldona Machnowska-Góra at the library’s opening, quoted by news website Wirtualna Polska. “And you probably can’t get any closer and more accessible than a library in the metro.”
“The metro is the fastest means of transportation in Warsaw, but it’s also a wonderful place to read books,” she added. “I encourage you to read on the metro, and throughout Warsaw.”
The 150 m2 (1,615 square foot) space has separate sections for adult and children’s books, as well as board games, and also features a special quiet zone in which people can study or work in peace.
The borrowing and return of books can be done by library members through a self-service system using RFID tags and scanners.
When the library is closed (between 7 p.m. and 10 a.m. on weekdays and over weekends) books can be returned to a 24-hour machine – similar to a parcel locker – at street level.
As well as lending books, the facility will also serve as a space to host cultural and educational events, such as meetings with authors, workshops and exhibitions. The library already features an educational display of plants that are grown hydroponically, meaning without the need for soil or natural light.
“Natural greenery, the scent of fresh herbs, and the delicate flowers are meant to delight our readers and show that sometimes the impossible becomes possible,” says Kamila Myrdek-Rak, who developed and manages the system, and will be leading workshops on how it functions.
“A few years ago, growing plants underground would only have been possible in science fiction, but today, thanks to new technologies, we can experience their growth in any space.”
Metroteka is the result of a collaboration between the Targówek district, which lacked space for a new library, and the Warsaw Metro, which is struggling with a large number of vacant commercial spaces, notes broadcaster TVN.
However, its development was not smooth. The first contractor hired to build the library used materials that did not meet fire safety standards, resulting in its contract being terminated and the project being delayed by several months.
City councillor Jarosław Szostakowski says he hopes that Metroteka will be just the first of many such libraries at various locations in Warsaw. He suggested that a good place to start would be with a similar facility on the city’s other metro line, M1.
Kraków has set up a small “library” at its airport offering books for children and adults – in various languages – while they wait for their flights https://t.co/LLVAWXFRxg
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 7, 2022
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Biblioteka Publiczna w Dzielnicy Targówek m.st. Warszawy/FB
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
