Scientific conference ‘Pro Bibliotheca Publica. Private collections in public cultural institutions – past and present’
10 11 2025
On 3–4 December 2025, the fifth edition of the conference series “HINC OMNIA. Historical, artistic and special collections in libraries and other cultural institutions” will be held, organised by the University of Warsaw Library.
This year’s edition, conceived as a space for the exchange of knowledge and experience between specialists from various fields, and considering the position of collectors, on research methods and practices resulting from technological developments and increased knowledge, aims to raise awareness of the importance and need to study collections, even the smallest and most scattered ones. This is a significant topic that continues to attract interest. The following topics will be discussed during the event:
- Private and institutional collecting in the past and present (collectors, antique dealers, libraries, and museums – dependencies and relationships; private collections in public institutions: acquisition, storage, access, promotion, conservation; recovery of lost or stolen items from collections; private and institutional patronage);
- Provenance and provenance research in the past and present (gifts, bequests, and deposits; incorporation of private collections into public collections; “secured collections” in cultural institutions; actual and digital consolidation or reconstruction of private and institutional collections that have been lost or dispersed in public collections – successes, good practices, new technical solutions; research methodology and methods, provenance projects);
- Conservation of collections in institutional and private collections (conservation and protection of private collections in public collections – challenges and dilemmas; conservation and protection of objects in private collections – motivation, practice, financing; conservation ethics – the limits of conservation intervention and the expectations of the owner or creator; conservation issues in the context of non-obvious collections – “artificial” collector’s albums).
Detailed information, programme, registration »
Conference organised as part of Action II.4.1 “Organizing worldwide high-level congresses” of the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” Programme.