The article indexes and describes Ksawery Działyński’s (1756–1819) book collection. Ksawery developed his library on the basis of the collection he inherited from his predecessors, subsequently buying further items. The collection comprised a total of about 650 works. The turn of the 19th century was the time when the so-called “national book collections” were developed in the Polish lands with a view to the rescuing of Polish library resources. However, an analysis of Ksawery’s stock provides evidence that, being a politically engaged patriot, he collected his books in the spirit of the Enlightenment. Most of the books in the collection are French volumes (77%) and they mainly represent literature, history and history of art, and to a smaller extent science, medicine, and agriculture. The books were to help their owner conduct his political activity and manage his estate, and to provide entertainment. The collection was primarily developed for Ksawery’s own purposes.

The Kórnik Library is one of the oldest and most valuable establishments in Poland. By creating a library during the Partitions of Poland and collecting valuable old books and manuscripts, Tytus Działyński intended to save and foster Polish culture and traditions for posterity. Heir to Tytus – Jan Działyński – secured and expanded the Library. Having no heir himself, Jan Działyński left the Działyński inheritance to his nephew, Władysław Zamoyski, who continued his grandfather's and uncle's work. Just before his death, Władysław Zamoyski donated the entire inherited property to the Polish nation. In 1924, he established a Foundation meant to supervise the Library, a museum and the Institute of Dendrology. The Zakłady Kórnickie Foundation operated until 1953 when it was taken over by the Polish Academy of Sciences and has remained within its structure until today. The library continues assembling, developing and sharing its collections. The latest technologies have enabled us to provide the library and museum collections to the largest possible number of readers. The collections have been successively digitized and made available on the Digital Platform of the Kórnik Library created as part of the EU project POPC.02.03.01-IP.01-00-002/15 “Digital access to the resources of the Polish Academy of Sciences in the Library”.