System bibliotek publicznych a regres czytelnictwa w Polsce po akcesji do Unii Europejskiej

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the development process of library networks and readership in the period after Poland's accession to the European Union, in the context of selected determinants and correlations of readership levels, as well as to examine the issue of the relationship between the systematic decrease in the number of libraries and their collections and the decline of readership in Poland, especially in the period after accession to the EU. The article presents, mainly in terms of statistics, an analysis of the development processes of library networks, library resources, and readership. Through an analysis of development trends, the authors attempted to demonstrate that extending the social range of readership may require, in particular, the development and appropriate exploitation of the potential of libraries (mainly public ones), which, during the process of development of new forms of activity, should try to maintain basic, conventional functions, essential to their further existence. At the same time, the authors wanted to show changes in readership preferences, especially as a result of the opportunities offered by modern technologies. The first part of the paper presents general trends in the development of the public library base (including changes in the size of library resources - both conventional and modern), followed by an analysis of quantitative and structural changes in readership in public library institutions. Statistics for the analysis of the trends were taken from the annual publications by Statistics Poland (GUS). The analysis covers the period after Poland's accession to the EU, extended, for reference purposes, by the year preceding the EU accession (2003).