Second Library Conference Organized at the Library of the Technical University of Łódź: Some Perspectives in Poland
Błażej Feret and Elżbieta Rożniakowska
The Library of the Technical University of Łódź (TUL) (see Figure 1) fulfills its functions as the academic library and information centre in one of the largest and the best technical universities in Poland. The library is located in a former XIXth Century factory building, renovated along with many others in the area by the TUL. It is equipped in a very modern way, and information services are of the highest standards.
Figure 1: The Library of the Technical University of Łódź.
In such an environment, where the spirit of history is being linked with the present time, on 19–21 June 2006 the Library held a conference on the future of the libraries. Its main theme was defined as: Libraries of the 21st century. Will we survive? The conference gathered more than 100 Polish librarians together with the invited guests from abroad: Di Martin — University of Hertfordshire, U.K.; Nancy R. John – University of Illinois at Chicago, U.S.; Edward J. Valauskas — Dominican University, U.S.; Maria Anna Jankowska – University of Idaho, U.S.; Andreas Knobelsdorf — Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig, Germany. Among Polish participants there were directors of the biggest academic libraries, representatives of Polish study of science and library science, newspaper reporters, and politicians.
Even before the conference, the conference theme caused such great interest that the program committee had to move several paper submissions to a specially arranged poster session, which originally was not intended. However, the majority of papers were presented at the plenary sessions. The authors of the papers ranged from young people, just starting their careers and making their scholarly debut at this conference, to librarians with long experience in library and education work. Such a diversity of authors shows that most librarians, regardless of their age, professional and scientific experience, are interested in the future of libraries. It is also evidence of recognition of the important role played by the TUL library itself, and for the quality of the conferences it organizes [1].