Barbara Smoleńska, head of the Bolesławiec branch of Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich:
A significant part of the library’s resources in this section will consist of books and publications on Kresy-related subjects collected over the years and donated by Władysław Olszewski. The society’s members have also pledged to supplement the section’s resources. We would like literature on Kresy-related subjects to be available to a wide circle of readers. We hope that the Bolesławiec library will be one of the few where readers have broad access to literature connected with the history of Kresy.
The section’s resources will include works published both in Poland and in Ukraine. B. Smoleńska:
Through access to “Kurier Galicyjski,” an independent publication for Poles in Ukraine published in Lviv, readers will be able to view the history of Kresy from the perspective of Poles currently living in Ukraine. Album publications will encourage travel to Ukraine, to places connected with the history of Poland.
And she adds:
Kresy organizations make a major contribution to preserving the history of Kresy. Mr. Władysław Olszewski made sure that the Biblioteka – Centrum Wiedzy received a complete set of publications issued by Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciół Ziemi Drohobyckiej, namely “Ziemia Drohobycka” and “Biuletyn”.
Since 1990, the Main Board of Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich in Wrocław has published the periodical “Semper Fidelis.” We hope that we will manage to collect all issues of the quarterly and become one of the few libraries in Poland where information about the activities of the society’s branches and the history of people who came from the Kresy of the Second Polish Republic can be found.
The initiative of members of Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich was warmly received by the director of the Biblioteka – Centrum Wiedzy, Anna Idkowiak. “We have already delivered the first batch of books and periodicals—approximately 100 books and 100 periodicals in total,” emphasizes Barbara Smoleńska. “Until the section’s official opening, around January or February, the library collection will continue to be supplemented. We are also appealing to the residents of Bolesławiec to support our initiative. Let us help ensure that our Bolesławiec library also stands out by containing one of the larger collections of Kresy-Siberia literature.”
