Religious communities played a very important role in Slonim's environment. They were the local cultural centres due to their educational and pastoral activities. In this article, the inventories of various monasteries have been analysed. They register a greater or lesser number of books. They bear witness not only to the "presence" of books, but also to their use and, at the same time, to the participation of the townspeople in shaping their culture. An analysis of the contents of the libraries reveals the rather typical character of the book collections, subordinated above all to appropriate spirituality and practical purposes. This is true of both male monasteries, whose collections are much richer in terms of quantity, and female monasteries.