Neither the energy crisis nor the corona pandemic nor the paper shortage have endangered the operation of the German National Library. Changes are now being announced at the Leipzig location.
Leipzig (dpa / sn) – The dimensions in which the director of the German National Library in Leipzig, Michael Fernau, thinks are difficult to grasp: “We collect everything, everything, everything – in the German-speaking area and also what about Germany in the written abroad,” says the 67-year-old in an interview with the German Press Agency. Four buildings, rows of shelves next to rows of shelves – in them printed, pressed, digital: In Leipzig you can find everything that has been published in the past decades, from comics to porn to scientific publications.
For a few days now, however, there have been signs of change in Germany’s largest library: a new extension was recently approved by the federal government, and the library’s board of directors will decide on Fernau’s successor in the coming week.
The library, founded by merchants, has been pursuing its extensive collection mission for over 100 years. It should be documented what is happening in and outside of Germany. Almost 44 million media are currently managed at the Leipzig location, says Fernau. Around a quarter of these are electronic publications. “Every day, our employees in Leipzig accept around 1,900 new books in printed form.”
A second copy of all publications always ends up in Fernau’s hometown of Frankfurt am Main, where the library has its second location. “If you also include the other types of media, we have access to around 9,300 works a day in Leipzig and Frankfurt,” says the trained lawyer. The proportion of electronic media is currently increasing explosively, more than half of all media are now being delivered digitally.
Nevertheless, the fifth building of the Leipzig library is urgently needed: “Of course, our holdings are also being digitized, but scientists also need the originals, for example,” said Hesse, who has been the general director’s permanent representative since 2008. Some of the more than 700 employees at both locations are working on finding new ways to digitize more accurately and without errors.
With a new building and a new director, a lot will change at the Leipzig location in the next few years. “I look forward to being able to participate in discussions on new strategies before I retire next year,” said Fernau. Among other things, renovations are planned in the largest of the eight reading rooms, also with a view to the energy crisis.
The German National Library, which was founded in Leipzig in 1913 and in Frankfurt in 1946, did relatively well as a result of the corona pandemic, its director in Leipzig sums up: “We were rarely closed and were able to move large parts of our work to our home offices.” The energy crisis is also causing little hustle and bustle in the library – the partly old buildings are being supplied with energy in accordance with the specifications for an archive, in future light sources are to be replaced and lighting reduced in order to use expensive energy a little more economically.
Nevertheless – one thing is also missing in the National Library: boxes. “Right now it’s hard to get archival cardboard,” said Fernau. However, publishers are also hit much harder by this crisis than the German National Library. All in all, everyday life in the library of superlatives continues – despite crises and changes.
