Fr. Marceli Ciemniewski Public Library in Warka

The town and community library in Warka officially opened its doors on January 19, 1946. The book collection (300 volumes) came from the library of the local Pilica Sports Club. In 1950, the library shelves held 1,361 books, read by 130 locals. In 1960, the library grew to have 5,108 volumes and 593 readers. Initially, they did not have immediate access to the collection, which was kept under lock and key. The librarian would hand out books, which could only be studied on the spot. Those rules changed in 1967, when new bookcases were purchased and a new catalog system was established.

In 1973, a child and youth section was opened. In 1978, the library was renamed the Town Community Public Library. It had branches in Grzegorzewice, Nowa Wieś, and Klonowa Wola and 21 book points, which were located in public buildings and therefore easily accessible. The central library, at the time, had 29,063 volumes and had 3,239 readers.

After numerous structural changes and transfers, on February 2, 1992, the library became part of the Culture, Sports, and Recreation Center (Ośrodek Kultury, Sportu i Wypoczynku) in Warka. Those times proved to be very difficult. On February 1, 2004, the Town Council decided to close the library branch in Grzegorzewice, and on December 31, 2004, another branch in Klonowa Wola ceased to operate. The resolution on cultural activities in the town of Warka and their organizational forms can be therefore called historic.

In 2005, the library became an independent, municipal, cultural institution named the Town Community Public Library in Warka. According to data from 2021, its readers can access 22,691 volumes and 98 items from special collections, and the child and youth section has an additional 15,397 books. The library is also central to the cultural life of the town: it houses exhibitions, contests, and readings. Recently, Fr. Marceli Ciemniewski has been included in the library’s name. The library has been run by Joanna Jatymowicz since 1991; in the years 1991–2004 as library manager and starting from 2005 as its director.