EN
This essay will assess the following: the term “research library” pertaining to world and Polish terminology, as well as to international library organisations; the role and significance of research libraries in Poland, consolidated by library acts; the difficulties in defining research work in libraries; the excessive obligation of executing research works in Polish libraries, distracting librarians from fundamental objectives of their work; the superficial “scientific nature” of some tasks; and the necessity for changing the definition of research libraries in Poland and the scope of research tasks.