Współczesny czytelnik w świetle badań Instytutu Książki i Czytelnictwa Biblioteki Narodowej

This paper, prepared on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the establishment the Institute of the Book and Readership (Instytut Ksiazki i Czytelnictwa) within the structure of the National Library, presents in a rather informal, popular format the achievements of one of the three of its component workrooms, namely the Readership Research Laboratory (Pracownia Badan Czytelnictwa; original name - the Department of Propaganda and Readership Organization). The review covers the period from the 1950s to the present. The empirical research conducted on the readership of books - both nationwide and environmental - is discussed, the detailed results of which can be read, drawing on the publications collected in two series of the National Library's publications: 'The Study of Readership' and 'Information Resources of the Institute of Books and Readership'. Fixed research methodology and the placing of data on the readership of books within the background of social and cultural conditions enable us to compare results, and thus to follow the process of the dissemination of books in Polish society over the long term. The presented work also shows that the relation to books (reading, buying, collecting them in the home) is a very good indicator that allows the observation of cultural changes and changes in the civilization of society and within individual groups.