[3] The deputy directors of Administration and Construction, 19th and 20th Century Materials, and Special Collections oversee a staff of 283 employees in fourteen different library departments.

“It was not until 1869 when the donation of Leon Rogalski from Warsaw became the foundation of a separate section of musical notes.” (para 1)[5] Notable rare manuscripts and books owned by the library include: The library possess one of the most prominent collections of music autographs by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which includes among others piano concertos K. 246, K. 271, K. 413, K. 414, K. 415, K. 449, K. 451, K. 453, Rondo for Piano and Orchestra, K 382, Concerto for 3 Pianos, K. 242, Concerto for 2 Pianos, K. 365, Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299, horn concertos K. 417 and 412, piano sonatas K. 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284 and 330, piano trios K. 254, 542, and 564, string quartets K. 80, 169, 171 and 173, String Quintet, K. 516, Flute Quartet K. 285, Divertimento K. 287, symphonies 16, 38 and 39, Exsultate, jubilate, Vesperae solennes de confessore, the Coronation Mass, Bastien und Bastienne, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (acts I and III), Le nozze di Figaro (acts III and IV), Così fan tutte (act I) and two numbers from act I of La clemenza di Tito.

The beginning of the Jagiellonian Library is traditionally considered the same as that of the entire university (then known as Cracow Academy) - in the year 1364;[4] however instead of having one central library it had several smaller branches at buildings of various departments (the largest collection was in Collegium Maius, where works related to theology and liberal arts were kept).

“In 1399 a generous endowment to the Academy made by King Wladislaw Jagiello and his consort Jadwiga made possible the reorganization of the Academy into a centralized institution of learning with a library.” (p 95)[6] Queen Jadwiga championed the library and bequeathed much of her wealth to help the university flourish in 1400.

A contract was struck with a building crew, but financial issues still presented an obstacle, until chests of money were excavated during construction.

[6] After 1775, during the reforms of Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, which established the first Ministry of Education in the world, various small libraries of the university were formally centralized into one public collection in Collegium Maius.