Statystyka księgoznawcza w II Rzeczypospolitej w świetle wypowiedzi teoretycznych

Abstract

The statements of the representatives of the Second Polish Republic’s bibliology, who created the theoretical basis of the bibliology statistics were analyzed in the text. The activities of institutions and organizations dealing with the statistics of prints, as well as the field’s relations with the current registration of prints, starting with the nineteenth-century models, have been discussed. Attention was drawn to a two-tiered theory -the general theory of publishing production statistics (Mieczysław Rulikowski and Jan Muszkowski), the most important elements of which were the methods of collecting numbers, establishment of unit of calculation and ways of presenting data; and the theory of regional prints statistics (i.a. Adam Łysakowski). Based on source analysis it can be stated that the theorists of the interwar period treated the bibliology statistics as a practical part of bibliology and the research method of bibliography. Thanks to bibliography and statistics it was possible to illustrate the national publications. Therefore, the bibliology statistics and bibliography allowed orientation in the size of the book industry and reflection of the state of Polish culture and science.