The first items of Polish Underground Publications collection arrived at the Polish Library POSK in London in the late 1970s, shortly after the birth of independent publishing in socialist Poland. During the following decade, the collection's holdings rapidly expanded. The materials were usually acquired from anonymous visitors from Poland who sold or donated smuggled samizdat to Zdzisław Jagodziński. The Polish Library also 'exchanged' books published in exile for independent publications through contacts with staff members of Polish state libraries.