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No to the Commercialization of the Dolnośląska Public Library Space!
The entrance hall of the Dolnośląska Public Library named after Tadeusz Mikulski in Wrocław, renovated in 2024 at Rynek 58, is a space serving readers, local residents, and everyone participating in free cultural and educational events organized by the Library.
This is an open, accessible, and integral part of our cultural institution.
However, there are plans to use the hall for commercial activities. The Marshal's Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Organizer of the Library, along with the related company Stawy Milickie S.A., plan to open a store offering cheeses, honeys, wines, and other products made by local Lower Silesian producers.
We oppose the commercialization of public space, which should primarily serve readers, culture, and the Lower Silesian community. We believe the library's entrance hall should remain an open, accessible space, and its character and usage should be unequivocally associated with the Library and its activities.
We demand from the Authorities of Lower Silesia:
1. Withdrawal of plans to open a shop, restaurant, café, or market stalls in the entrance hall of the DBP.
2. Guarantee of maintaining a fully public, free, and cultural character of this space for readers and residents.
3. Focus Organizer's efforts on a comprehensive renovation of the rest of the library building, instead of redesigning the well-functioning hall.
We encourage you to sign the petition and express opposition to plans to change the function of this space.
Below are details of the case and arguments for maintaining the public and cultural nature of the entrance hall of the Lower Silesian Public Library.
For almost 80 years, in the historic tenement house "Under the Golden Palm," we have been making our resources available to all interested parties. Here, we lend over 200,000 books, CDs, and films annually, organize events, host authors from Poland and abroad, and support the activities of 170 public libraries in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Despite this, we are one of the last regional libraries in Poland not yet renovated, and many of our rooms do not meet the expectations of readers.
To change this, in 2024, we opened a renovated entrance hall space of the Library. The modern redevelopment by Grzegorz Kłoda, including the entrance and hall with comfortable seating areas, a reader registration desk, a cloakroom, and a bathroom for people with special needs, was financed by the Library Organizer with 467,500.00 PLN. The renovation was very well received by readers and representatives of various cultural and professional communities. This is evidenced by national and international awards (including the Polish Architecture XXL 2024 Poll, the French Institute Design), positive media opinions, numerous articles and comments, as well as the daily presence of participants in the library activities conducted here. In the following year, we acquired funds to equip the entrance area with amenities for people with special needs: automatic entrance doors, guiding paths, contrast markings, induction loops, and tactile graphic plans, etc.
Meanwhile, for several months, we are being persuaded by representatives of the Marshal's Office and the management board of Stawy Milickie S.A. to the idea of renting out the library's entrance hall for commercial activities such as a shop or restaurant – also referred to as a café or bistro – with display shelves and tables where cheeses, honeys, wines, and other products from local producers would be sold and consumed. The entrance hall with a vast view of the Wrocław market is said to be ideal for this, and the current library activities can allegedly be combined with the planned store achieving a "synergistic effect, also financially beneficial for both parties." The authors of the concept declare that "next to the shelves with honeys or wines from our local vineyards, there will always be room for a book." (sic!)
We do not agree with this idea. We believe the entrance hall is currently well organized and equipped, ensuring efficient communication and accessibility for all user groups and allows us to organize our events and activities of Under the Ceiling Gallery, whose exhibition calendar is planned for several years ahead. Opening a shop will prevent us from continuing our current activities, commercializing one of the last places available for free in the Wrocław market, and pushing library readers to the margins of an institution that should serve them.
Instead of introducing commercial activities into the Library and redesigning the already renovated and well-functioning space, a comprehensive renovation of the institution should be carried out to become a modern, friendly place adhering to contemporary standards – like the renovated entrance hall we completed.
Therefore, we ask everyone who cares about the Library's presence in the heart of Wrocław to support us. In the petition, you can express your opinion on the proposed changes to the functioning of the Library’s entrance hall. Your opinions will be a valuable source of knowledge and support for us.
Director Jolanta Ubowska
together with the team of employees
of the Dolnośląska Public Library named after Tadeusz Mikulski in Wrocław