History of the library
Beginnings
At the very beginning of their existence, both the School and its Library were faced with various difficulties they had to tackle. The facilities and funding were very limited and the educational needs of the local community were great. At the same time, the greatest need of the Library was to secure a book collection crucial for the support of the School's programme and for this purpose, the Library received adequate funding.
Year 1993
The American corporation University Microfilms International (UMI) donated a full suite of modern library equipment to the School. The facilities included computers, printers, readers, furniture, and also the databases General Periodicals Ondisc and Business Periodicals Ondisc (covering years from 1986 to 1993), as well as a three-year complimentary subscription to these databases.
Years 1995-1997
The Library concentrated on expanding and cataloguing its collection of publications in hard-copy. Although purchasing professional library software was taken into consideration at the time, it was decided that acquiring literature supporting the programmes offered by the school should take priority, and most funds were used to this end.
Academic year 1997/1998
The Library acquired additional computer equipment and integrated its systems with the school network, using the Internet and e-mail more extensively.
Year 1999
The Library started to build its own on-line databases (News Bulletin and Database of Diploma Dissertations and MBAs).
Year 2000
The Library acquired an integrated Library Management System Prolib. The Library website was first created.
The Library hosted an all-Poland seminar for librarians representing both state and private schools of economics. Ms Rebecca Larkin, a representative of Bell&Howell (UK) participated in the seminar as a special guest. Subject: cooperation of libraries collecting books on economics as part of a consortium, organisations and trade associations. Presentation of the PROQUEST database.
March 2002
Inauguration of the new complex of reading and study rooms.
October 2002
Inauguration of the new library located near the new facilities complex.
Year 2003
The Library acquired a further 200 m2 of space as well as two storerooms fitted with a mobile shelving system which allows for storing 40 thousand volumes. The Library uses an electronic integrated library system using cataloguing and ordering modules with access to the OPAC catalogue. The ordering module and OPAC catalogue are available on-line and off-campus.
Year 2004
The library introduced an electronic book borrowing system.
Academic year 2005/2006
The Library launched an on-line self service user portal. Available services include placing and renewing orders on-line from any location. The system notifies users which orders are due to expire and which materials are ready for collection.
Academic year 2006/2007
The databases of the dean’s office and Human Resources were integrated with the Library. The electronic student ID was introduced and also served as the library card. The library collection was substantially expanded during the following academic year. Books were acquired to support new programmes, among others those of Psychology and Information Technology.
Academic year 2007/2008
The Library was integrated with the library of the WSB-NLU branch in Tarnów. One of the key acquisitions that year was the subscription to the Safari database.
Safari Business Books Online
is a collection of about 1.7 thousand volumes on practical aspects of business (including communication and problem solving, as well as leadership skills, customer service or personnel quality assessment).
Safari Tech Books Online – a database of c. 8.3 thousand contemporary IT publications.
The school community gained access to nearly 10 thousand books of well known publishers such as Microsoft Press, IBM Press, AMACOM, O’Riley Media, Wharton School Publishing, Prentice Hall and many others.
Academic year 2008/2009
The Library started work on introducing the Syllabi module. The consortium of schools of economics purchased the Emerald database containing 175 selected journals from various fields of study (including 30 titles from the ISI Master Journal List).
Academic year 2009/2010
The Syllabi module was successfully introduced. The module allows for better management of academic resources. The decision was taken to acquire the Passport GMID database. (The database offers access to over one million statistics from 205 countries worldwide, information about lifestyle and consumer behaviour in 80 countries; over 6 thousand profiles of leading companies and industrial corporations, as well as access to 35 thousand sources on business information and global market with over 17 thousand market reports available.)
Academic year 2010/2011
New databases.
The school community gained access to new databases: ISI Web of Knowledge, Elsevier, Springer and journals Science and Nature purchased by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education on a state licence.
Academic year 2011/2012
The library management system Prolib was modernised and updated to the M21 version allowing for the integration of the Library with external IT systems. This enabled access to national databases such as the authority files catalogue with full catalogue import functionality (CKHW, NUKAT) as well as importing bibliography entries from the Bibliographic Guide published by the National Library or from any other source available in the MARC21 format. The update offers a much more user-friendly interface.
Year 2013
The Library implemented a new system allowing users to access the databases off-campus. The access was no longer restricted to the usual school opening hours. The Library started work on developing a thematic repository of links to peer-reviewed materials from fields of study related to programmes offered by WSB-NLU: management, economics, psychology, IT and other related subjects.
Year 2013/14
Implementation of the project "Construction of institutional repository WSB-NLU". The Institutional Repository of the National School of Business - National-Louis University collects and distributes WSB-NLU's academic achievements in the areas of university representation, didactic materials and the dissertation work of WSB-NLU students. The repository was created in the framework of co-financing from DUN / 2013 Ministry of Science and Higher Education. It is a platform that provides open scientific resources and integrates the university with other scientific information systems.
Year 2015
Launch of the ACADEMICA Digital Scientific Research Library.
Year 2015/2016
Starting subscription and organization of remote access to scientific publications of Polish Scientific Publishers PWN and other publications within the IBUK LIBRA platform.
Year 2016/2017
Reorganization of collections. Large selection of printed collections, liquidation and consolidation of library departments.
Year 2017/2018
Building a new website. Library lessons for students of local schools. Visitors from abroad.
Year 2018
XVIII National Scientific Conference of Libraries of Private and Public Universities: "Library of the Future - Challenges - Trends - Threats".
Year 2019
Publication of the monograph: "Future library - challenges - trends - threats. Selected issues in the field of library management of universities."
Reorganization of collections. Large selection of printed collections, liquidation and consolidation of library departments.