Opening hours:
Tuesday – Thursday
9.30am – 3.30pm
The library collection is available for use by all interested parties on site only, while borrowing privileges are reserved for employees and doctoral students of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
- Library contact details
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Library address:
Pl. Krasińskich 1A
00-207 Warszawaphone: (22) 50 48 256 ; (22) 50 48 260
e-mail: library@ispan.pl
Head Librarian: Ewa Taranienko, phone: (22) 50 48 260
Reading Room: Marta Jurkowlaniec, phone: (22) 50 48 256
Librarians: Jolanta Ewa Jankowska, phone: (22) 50 48 254; Elżbieta Barczewska, Kamila Pełka, Grzegorz Barczewski, phone: (22) 50 48 252
Library storage: Piotr Drewniak, phone: (22) 50 48 261 - History of the Library of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences
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The idea of a library in Warsaw dedicated to art history and supporting scholarly research emerged in the interwar period. In 1930, the Institute for the Promotion of Art (IPS) was founded, initially focusing on exhibitions. By the late 1930s, its activities expanded to include research and documentation, and the establishment of a specialized library within the Institute was considered. These plans were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.
The Library in its current form dates back to 1949, when the State Institute of Art (PIS) was established with the goal of building a modern research framework for the study of both historical and contemporary art. Early postwar years were spent rebuilding the collection from scratch. In 1951 it was merged with the Library of the Ministry of Culture and Art, significantly expanding its holdings.
The 1960s and 1970s brought financial stability, allowing the Library to relocate to the rebuilt former Customs Chamber in 1965. With a full staff and steady funding, the Library grew steadily, reaching around 86,000 books and 20,000 periodicals by the 1980s.
Grants from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation (1990) and The J. Paul Getty Trust (1994) further strengthened the collection, particularly with crucial works in English and Italian. In 2020, the Library opened the donated Alain Bernard Collection of books and periodicals on dance.
Today, the Library holds over 146,000 books and 30,000 periodicals, covering all areas of art as well as interdisciplinary humanities research.
Library catalogues have been computerized since 1993, first with Mikro CDS/ISIS, then by joining the Consortium of Research Institutions of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1996. Today, the Library uses the Horizon system. In 2025, the card-based alphabetical catalogue of monographs was digitized within the Dariah.hub project.
