Polish Provenance Database

The Polish Provenance Database (PPD) is part of the CERL platform, which was designed at the University of Warsaw Library to collect and reuse detailed copy-specific information on books printed after 1500. PPD serves two primary purposes: 1) to facilitate data integration between Polish institutions and the CERL environment and 2) to enhance the discoverability of the collected data for various audiences. It is fully available in both English and Polish and thus serves to collect data on early printed books stored outside Poland.

PPD is interconnected with other CERL datasets, including the Heritage of the Printed Book database (HPB), from which it derives bibliographical information on book editions, and the CERL Thesaurus (CT), which provides authority files for personal and corporate owners, as well as geocoordinates. Additionally, PPD links with the Provenance Digital Archive (PDA), a repository for images of material evidence, where the images are stored and associated with corresponding data in PPD. It also communicates with Material Evidence in Incunabula (MEI) through co-bound items.

The PPD can be searched here.

PPD was established at the University of Warsaw Library as part of the Polish Provenance Working Group and the Consortium of European Research Libraries. It was modelled on the MEI database created by Cristina Dondi and adapted for post-1500 books by Izabela Wiencek-Sielska, Wojciech Kordyzon, and Martyna Osuch from the University of Warsaw. The leading developer is Helena Nebel from the Data Conversion Group at the University of Göttingen. PPD is overseen by a consortium of 17 Polish libraries, which signed an agreement in 2025 to collaborate on developing a shared application to collect provenance data in a standardised online format.

Members of the PPD consortium:

Bydgoszcz, Wojewódzka i Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna im. dr Witolda Bełzy w Bydgoszczy
Gdańsk, Uniwersytet Gdański
Katowice, Biblioteka Śląska
Katowice, Uniwersytet Śląski
Kórnik, Biblioteka Kórnicka Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Kraków, Klasztor OO. Karmelitów na Piasku w Krakowie
Kraków, Politechnika Krakowska im. Tadeusza Kościuszki Łódź, Uniwersytet Łódzki
Opole, Wojewódzka Biblioteka Publiczna w Opolu
Poznań, Biblioteka Raczyńskich w Poznaniu
Poznań, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
Szczecin, Książnica Pomorska im. Stanisława Staszica w Szczecinie
Toruń, Wojewódzka Biblioteka Publiczna – Książnica Kopernikańska w Toruniu
Toruń, Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu
Warszawa, Uniwersytet Warszawski (consortium leader)
Wrocław, Uniwersytet Wrocławski
Wrocław, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich we Wrocławiu

Projects and scholarly works that will involve PPD as a data-collection tool are welcome, especially from entities or individuals connected to PPD consortium members. If you are not affiliated with any member of the PPD consortium and wish to submit data to PPD, please reach out to the PPD Secretariat.

We also encourage new potential members to join the PPD consortium. The next deadline for Polish and foreign institutions is the beginning of 2027. To find more about the consortium, establish cooperation or receive trial access to the database, please contact the PPD Secretariat.

Dr Martyna Osuch (Polish, English, Italian): martyna.osuch@uw.edu.pl

Dr Wojciech Kordyzon (Polish, English, Italian, German): wojciech.kordyzon@uw.edu.pl