In the 19th century, the Lviv Polytechnic was the only technical university in the Polish lands. As the university developed, so too did its library. In the early 1930s, a modern building was constructed, designed in accordance with the principles of a modern academic library.

Lviv Polytechnic
In 1844, a technical higher education institution was established in Lviv, known as the Technical Academy, and from 1877 as the Polytechnic School. At the time, it was the only technical university in Polish-inhabited territories. Between 1874 and 1877, a stately Neo-Renaissance university building was erected to a design by Julian Zachariewicz, modelled on Viennese architecture. Part of the premises on the first floor of the building was set aside for the polytechnic library (a students’ reading room, a lecturers’ reading room, a storeroom and an administrative office). In 1914, the library’s collection numbered around 20,000 volumes, including over 200 subscribed journal titles.

The origins of the library building
A new phase in the university’s development began following the restoration of independence. In 1919, the Agricultural Academy in Dublany and the Higher School of Forestry in Lviv were incorporated into the university’s structure, and as a result, literature on agricultural and forestry sciences began to be added to the library’s collection. Within ten years, the collection had grown to around 80,000 volumes.

The rapidly expanding collection and the increase in reader numbers (the number of students at the university had increased tenfold compared with 1877) meant that the premises in the main building were no longer sufficient, and by the early 1930s, the conditions were described as disastrous. At that time, Professor Kazimierz Bartel (1882–1941), an eminent mathematician, proposed the construction of a separate building designed in accordance with the principles of a modern academic library. The library was to be situated on Nikorowicza Street (now 1 Profesorska Street), on the site where the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering building – a project that was ultimately never realised – was originally intended to stand.

Design of the library building
The architectural design, selected through a competition, was produced by Prof. Tadeusz Obmiński (1874–1932), an outstanding architect from Lviv, the designer of many remarkable buildings in the city, including the ‘Dniestr’ Insurance Society building, the Church of Our Lady of Ostra Brama and the officers’ housing estate in Skniłów.

The library building exemplifies the monumental Neoclassical style characteristic of the architect’s later period. The façade is defined by a regular arrangement of Ionic pilasters, set on a low plinth, with the outer axes highlighted by shallow projections. The stately, classical character of the building is emphasised by a Latin inscription set in the entablature (Hic mortui vivunt, et muti loquuntur – ‘Here the dead live, and the silent speak’), whilst the gable is crowned by an acroterion – a decorative element traditionally crowning the gables of classical Greek and Roman buildings.

Construction work took place between 1929 and 1934, so the architect did not live to see its completion. Following his death, the work was continued by Professor Witold Minkiewicz (1880–1961). For a time, the work was halted due to the economic crisis and the suspension of loans. The project was successfully completed thanks, amongst others, to Maksymilian Matakiewicz (1875‒1940), a professor at the University of Technology who was serving as Minister of Public Works at the time.

The function of the library building
In the interwar period, the issue of library design was the subject of theoretical debate. A number of guidelines were formulated at that time concerning, amongst other things, the appropriate connections between individual functional zones and specific rooms.

These principles are clearly evident in the functional layout of the Lviv library building. General-purpose facilities – a vestibule with cloakrooms and a waiting room, as well as smoking rooms – were situated on the ground floor of the main block, whilst flats were provided in the side annexes. The first floor housed the readers’ area: the catalogue section with a large student reading room on the central axis and smaller reading rooms (for staff and the public) on either side of the student reading room, whilst the side annexes contained the librarians’ workspaces.

The book storeroom was planned in a separate, rear pavilion. The storeroom section deserves special attention, as it has a completely different character compared to the main building. It differs from the main building both functionally – as this entire section was divided into relatively low storeys housing bookshelves – and in terms of form, which is entirely modern.

The history of the Lviv Polytechnic Library
The library’s relocation to the new building enabled the institution to develop further. The library began to receive mandatory copies of journals belonging to the International Federation of Technical and Professional Press. Contacts were established with foreign technical publishers, although financial difficulties prevented the full exploitation of the opportunities this offered. In September 1939, the collection of the Lviv Polytechnic Library comprised 88,000 volumes, which were used by 3,000 readers. The majority of publications (50 per cent) were in German, 15 per cent in Polish, and the remainder in other European languages. Annual attendance in the reading rooms stood at 40,000 readers.

During the years of occupation, the collections suffered serious losses; the building itself was also damaged by shelling, particularly the reading room and the vestibule. In 1944, the university resumed its activities as a Ukrainian institution, and with it the library. Today, the building serves its original purpose. It was extended in 1970.