Collection

In 1894 the Landesbibliothek (Provincial Library) was founded in Poznań, serving as the institutional predecessor of the Kaiser Wilhelm Library (Kaiser Wilhelm Bibliothek). The collections of the Landesbibliothek consisted of the library holdings of the Historical Society of the Province of Poznań and the Poznań Natural History Society. In 1898 Friedrich Althoff proposed establishing a scientific library in Poznań that would serve as a centre for promoting German literature and culture in Greater Poland. In 1902, the Kaiser Wilhelm Library was opened, enriched with a German book collection donated by benefactors and taken over from the Landesbibliothek. Its director became Rudolf Focke—senior librarian and deputy director of the University Library in Greifswald. The library, organized in this way, remained in operation in Poznań until June 1919.