Polish Libraries Host Record Night of Libraries Event

Play, Puzzles and Plenty of Culture
Many of the events add a playful touch to learning. In Warsaw, the Komiksowo children's library has planned an interactive performance about cyberspace, along with a meeting that looks at fake news and manipulation. Elsewhere, visitors can try their luck in library escape rooms, step into virtual worlds or join games that test how well they can spot misinformation.

Fans of more traditional culture are not left out. The program includes meetings with crime writers and exhibitions about Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, the Polish artist and writer better known as Witkacy. What is on offer depends on the location, and some libraries will also run creative workshops and activities for families.

A Nationwide Idea With a Clear Purpose
The initiative began in 2014 to promote reading. Today it brings together public, school, military, hospital and church libraries. This year's slogan, Biblioteka (się) sprawdza, roughly means "The library proves its worth." It points to the role libraries play as trusted sources of information and as places where communities gather.

The event was started by the Center for Citizenship Education, a non-governmental organization. It says that checking facts and thinking critically matter more than ever in the digital age.

Bring a Book, Take a Book
Alongside the main event, organizers are running a "Share Books" campaign. Readers are invited to bring along books they have already finished, whether recent releases or timeless classics, and swap them with other readers. The bigger goal is simple. Organizers hope people will come to see libraries as welcoming spaces for culture, learning and meeting others, and not only as places to borrow books.