In 1933, the Ossolineum Publishing House took over the publication of the "National Library" (Biblioteka Narodowa) series, which had been published by the Krakow Publishing House since 1919. The aim of the series was to publish exemplary, scholarly editions of the most valuable Polish and foreign literary works in Polish. Each volume was to form a self-contained whole, with the literary text preceded by a detailed introduction. All texts were to be accompanied by appropriate commentaries that would enable everyone to understand the work. The "National Library" series is still being published today, making it the oldest publishing series in Poland.
