Suzanne's Mom's Blog

Photo: Biblioteka Publiczna w Dzielnicy Targówek m.st. Warszawy.
A library has opened in a new metro station in Warsaw. 

Fans of libraries know that libraries have a way of popping up in all sorts of unlikely — even inimical — places. If you search on the word at this blog, you will find stories about libraries on horseback, in impoverished countries, in war zones, and wherever people find comfort from reading.

Jakub Krupa reported for the Guardian about a new library in a Polish subway station.

“An ‘express’ library has opened in a new metro station in Warsaw, aiming to provide an appealing cultural space to encourage residents and commuters to forgo smartphones in favor of books and, thanks to fresh herbs growing in a vertical garden, a dash of subterranean greenery too.

“The stylish Metroteka [in] the Kondratowicza M2 line metro station in the Polish capital’s Targówek district offers two reading areas for adults and children, as well as a space for public readings and events.

“About 16,000 books are on offer. … Readers can return them on site or through a street-level parcel locker for books, available 24/7.

“Visitors can study or work in a communal area, borrow a laptop to browse the internet, or simply sit down with a complimentary coffee or hot chocolate to unwind after rush hour travel on the metro. …

” ‘Our dream is for Metroteka to become an educational and cultural centre, and not just a place where you borrow your books from,’ says the deputy director of Targówek library, Grażyna Strzelczak-Batkowska. …

“She says the unique subterranean location brings the library closer to busy commuters, ‘both geographically and in terms of time you need to spend on getting the book.’ …

“More than 400 books were leased on the first day, mostly recommended school readings, as well as travel guides and ‘all sorts of how-to books.’

“The library’s innovative model aims to encourage Poles to read more. The annual survey by the National Library of Poland found that only 41% of respondents had read at least one book in 2024, down from the high 50s in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as people turn to TV, streaming services, and phones for entertainment instead.

“These numbers are higher than in southern Europe, but lower than in the Nordic countries, or even the neighboring Czech Republic, the National Library’s director, Tomasz Makowski, says.

“He says there are historical reasons for it – with Poland losing 70% of libraries in the second world war, ‘we had several generations that did not see their parents or grandparents in front of a wall of books’ – but also cultural as ‘reading is not something associated with adulthood,’ but with ‘schools, teachers, librarians, and usually mothers reading to children.’

“ ‘Opening a library in a metro station is like a dream for us,’ Makowski says, as it challenges that stereotype. ‘Libraries should be beautiful and open; inviting, not intimidating. It’s not a shrine, but a place where you can spend time freely, take part in discussions, public consultations, or meet people,’ he says.

“He says the National Library has also opened a ‘loud’ reading room, breaking with the tradition that such areas need to maintain silence, where ‘no one shushes you or tells you to keep quiet. To our surprise, it’s still pretty quiet, but they also talk, give tutoring, different kinds of lessons.’ ”

Good photos at the Guardian, a free paper, here.

What do you think of the library’s chances? I love the optimism behind this effort but can’t help picturing what the subways I know well are like. Has anyone else commuted to work this way?