The monastery library was named in honor of Fr. Stanislav Škrabec (1844–1918), the greatest Slovenian linguist and grammarian of the 19th century, who lived here for 42 years. The beginnings of the library go back to the 16th century, if we consider the rich collection which came from the monastery of Sveta Gora. When the Franciscans had to leave Sveta Gora, they took the library collection with them, first to Gorica, later to Kostanjevica. During these moves some items were lost. Later on, when the Franciscans opened a secondary school in Kostanjevica, the library was enriched with many more volumes. In 1915, the school was transferred to Kamnik because of war conditions.
The library has more than 10,000 books including 30 very valuable incunabula. Of particular interest are the books printed between the 16th and the 19th centuries.The most important book for Slovenian culture is the grammar book of Adam Bohorič “Arcticae horulae” (Winter Hours) dating from 1584 with the author’s autographed inscription.
This book was discovered in the library in 1951. The library was declared a cultural and historical monument in 1952 because of the many treasures it contains. In recent years, both the monastery and its library were renovated.
Online Catalog of the Library: Spletni katalog Škrabčeve knjižnice