[01] Henryk Suchojad, The University Library, The Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Kielce, Poland.

Poland, alongside other countries from the former Soviet Union, is making an effort to overcome the civilization delay resulting from political and cultural isolation during the communist period in polish recent history. Profound changes take place in the university-level education, especially provincial universities from smaller towns are facing a challenge to adopt modern standards of schooling and embrace emerging trends in education. A real chance to accelerate modernization has appeared for these countries which have joined the European Union, includes Poland. The EU funds and grants provide unprecedented opportunities for sustainable development not only of the economy but also of the science and the education. The Jan Kochanowski University has been taking advantage of the money offered by the UE structural funds for its development and infrastructure extension since 2007. The one of the most important accomplishments was certainly building the University Library which opened in 2013. Having embraced new possibilities including extending traditional collections and electronic data bases as well as implementing state-of-the-art technical solutions, the Library has truly become a “second lecture room” - a place where both lectures and students may find a rich and stimulating environment for studies, research, reflection and personal growth.

European Union, European Funds, Library, the Jan Kochanowski University Library, Kielce, University Education, Poland

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