The Center for Social Archival Studies was established in February 2020. It is a cultural institution co-led by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and the KARTA Center Foundation. As we read on the CAS website, “the establishment of the Center is a public recognition of the importance of social archiving as an important aspect of social life.” In 2002, at the initiative of the KARTA Center, the Council of Social Archives was established at the National Archives Office. I won’t elaborate on the history of the CAS – more information can be found at https://cas.org.pl/.
Today I would like to focus on the Zamość region, where several institutions are associated with the Center for Social Archival Studies.
One of these is the Łabunie Commune Public Library. It is participating in the “Digital Archives of Local Tradition” project, which created a network of regional social archives at municipal libraries. The initiator of this project was Bogdan Szykuła (03.05.1953 – 11.02.2026), long-time director of the Library.
This is what Agnieszka Szykuła, director of the Łabunie Commune Public Library, says about this important project, which continues the project initiated by Mr. Bogdan.
“For over a decade, there has been a growing interest in old photography. Online galleries of old photos are being created – initiatives of institutions, regionalists, and enthusiasts. Photography has become a source for researching historical memory. The initiative of the Łabunie Commune Public Library is part of this trend. To explore and cultivate the memory of our Little Homeland through old photographs.
The Łabunie Commune Public Library website hosts the Łabunie Digital Photo Library. It is the work of readers, supporters, and local residents who have shared photographs from their family albums.
The photos are presented grouped by category. Photographs of the commune’s monuments, as well as forgotten customs, rituals, and traditions related to the liturgical and ceremonial year, are a real treat. We invite everyone to take a virtual tour of the most interesting corners of our commune from the beginning of the last century.” Below is the link (category tabs are on the left)
Łabunie Digital Photo Library
Looking through these photos takes me back to my childhood. I remember how, as a child, every summer we’d string tobacco onto often rusty wires, which constantly cut our hands. Then we’d dry the strung tobacco leaves in the dryer, and then (mostly in the fall) sort them into classes. There are hundreds of such memories.
That’s why the Łabunie Commune Public Library’s initiative is so important, as it documents the past, and above all, ordinary people and their daily lives.
I encourage you to visit the Library’s website.
And if you’d like to share your personal archives or search for community archives, be sure to visit https://zbioryspoleczne.pl/.
The photo in the post comes from the Library’s website:
http://www.biblabunie.naszabiblioteka.com/labunska-fototeka-cyfrowa/gospodarstwo/g,w-gospodarstwie