2023 – an eventful year: democracy, AI & co.
Photo: Alexander Paul Englert
DNB soundscapes: music in Leipzig & Frankfurt am Main
On 13 May 2023, the usually quiet humanities reading room was flooded with the sound of music. Guests eagerly awaited the start of the concert by composer and sound designer Philipp Rumsch. The resounding result was a remarkable experience in itself, enhanced still further by the fact that it took place in the large humanities reading room. On this evening, a space that has always been the epitome of concentrated silence was transformed into a platform for interwoven acoustic lines and pulsating rhythms. This was rapturously received by the public, especially as many of them were now seeing the inside of the German National Library for the first time.
What is the sound of Frankfurt am Main? Answers to this question vary widely depending on whom you ask. Frank Zappa, Haftbefehl and the Frankfurt am Main Police Choir are all inextricably linked with the metropolis on the Main. On 15 May 2023, visitors were able to listen to these and 200 other tracks for the first time at the launch of the listening booths at the DNB in Frankfurt am Main.
The world of pop music with all its diversity has mirrored humanity and society for more than 70 years. Since 2023, the German Music Archive's virtual talk series "Pop at the DMA" has been hosting experts invited to discuss whole music genres, individual artists or specific songs. All these talks have been recorded for viewing on the DNB website.
Photo: Alexander Paul Englert
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Listen! The sounds of Frankfurt am Main.
The German National Library as a champion of democracy
The German National Library sees itself as a centre of democracy which offers space for exchanges of opinion on current issues relating to democracy, be it in the context of theme-based collaborations or events, during the course of its educational work, by providing access to analogue and digital resources or by holding exhibitions.
DNB takes action: from “Friedmann asks“ to “Joachim Gauck“
In 2023, the German Exile Archive launched a new series of events with the title "The Presence of Exile – Friedmann asks". In each of these events, journalist and lawyer Michel Friedman discusses the presence of exile with a guest of high standing in the field of culture and politics. The questions asked during these discussions specifically address the current relevance of this phenomenon.
The starting point in each case will be a historic artefact from the Exile Archive’s holdings. The series opened with a conversation with former Federal Minister of Justice Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger on the topic "What is justice?", while Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media Claudia Roth made a guest appearance at the second event to explore the question "Why should we remember?"
However, the DNB's mission to promote democracy is also much in evidence at external events. The German Museum of Books and Writing, for example, presented a cassette from the Gerhard & Brigitte Hartmann collection to the public in Dresden under the title "Fragile Remembrance – a Cassette on its Travels". The German Exile Archive toured educational institutions in Germany with digital interviews recorded by eyewitnesses.
The DNB's promotional areas at the book fairs in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main also created space to explore current issues relating to democracy, for example during events such as "Broken Words", which addressed exclusionary aspects of our everyday language or the power of music in democratisation processes. You will find out more about the promotional area #111yearsDNB in this highlight.
Among the guests invited by the German Museum of Books and Writing to speak about "Democracy as a Promise" was former Federal President Joachim Gauck. He covered a wide range of topics from the history of democratic movements in Germany and the responsibility each person bears for our constitutional state to the role played by memory institutions in our society. Gauck also made a guest appearance in Frankfurt am Main – at the “Forum Demokratie im Frankfurter Bürgersalon” (Democracy Forum at the Frankfurt Citizens’ Salon): “Zeitenwende” – an end to wishful thinking?”.
The DBSM also held an exhibition of placards created by Iranian female graphic designers to protest human rights violations. Many of the graphics show women cutting off their hair – in Persian tradition, this is a symbol of protest and grief. Another theme is the burning hijab. Almost all of the placards feature the slogan "Woman, Life, Freedom".
Photo: Alexander Paul Englert
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Claudia Roth on the podium at the German National Library in 2023.
DNB innovativ: Special exhibition “Frag nach! Just ask!“
Artificial intelligence and digital formats are rapidly changing our lives, not least in the areas of cultural and historico-political education. We are seeing the emergence of new forms of access that are able to unite the present and past in an innovative manner. In its most recent special exhibition“Frag nach! Just ask! Digital interactive interviews with Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier“, the Exile Archive turned the spotlight on a new form of eyewitness testimony and asked whether digital interactive interviews are a suitable format for future remembrance of exile and the Shoah.
The exhibition was launched on 7 September at an event attended by 350 guests. The evening's guests of honour, contemporary witnesses Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier, had travelled all the way from the USA especially for the event. Actor Iris Berben read excerpts from texts by the two eyewitnesses, while musical accompaniment was provided by jazz pianist Omer Klein.
The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive educational programme of local events which are critical of anti-Semitism. The interactive interviews were and still are being presented at schools and places of remembrance as part of a tour of Germany.
Photo: Alexander Paul Englert
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Exhibition opening “Frag nach! Just ask!“
The DNB shows its colours:
Exhibitions at the German Museum of Books and Writing
- A cultural nation right at the heart of Europe is threatened with extinction: the DBSM drew attention to the destruction of cultural sites in Ukraine with an exhibition titled "Before/After" and organised events for and with Ukrainian writers who are living in exile in Leipzig. The museum has procured fellowships for two young female authors which will provide at least some security in their lives and those of their small children.
- The exhibition marking the 2023 Gutenberg Prize questioned the value of books in times of forest fires. The Prize was awarded to the Leipzig-based company Spector Books, one of Germany's most internationally popular new publishers, which has also caused a stir with its commitment to sustainability in culture.
- The DBSM's exhibition “The ugly duckling of publishing?" explored the future of the book as a force driving democratisation. The exhibition focused on print on demand as a form of publication which is available to (almost) anyone and thus facilitates the dissemination of oppositional writing in autocratic societies.
- Global networking: in 2023, this was the focus of events such as the DBSM's temporary exhibition "JETZT & ALLES. Austrian literature. The last 50 years.” The exhibition draws on the materiality of texts and writing environments to tell a whole new story of contemporary literature, featuring Handtke's hiking boots alongside Jandl's light pencil sketches and Friederike Mayröcker's universe of handwritten notes.
Photo: Johanna Baschke
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"Before. After" exposes the destruction of cultural sites in Ukraine through Russia's war of aggression.
Exhibitions at the German Exile Archive 1933-1945
- The exhibition "Burnt locations | Banned words", held on the German National Library's forecourt from 9 May to 5 July and on the Römerberg in Frankfurt am Main from 10 to 22 October, remembered the Nazi book burnings of 1933 and drew attention to the current plight of authors who are victims of repression and censorship in their own countries. Chinese author Liao Yiwu, winner of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, featured as a special guest.
- From 1 December 2023 until 6 January 2024, the pop-up exhibition "Out of Exile – The photography of Fred Stein" held in the German National Library's rotunda in Frankfurt am Main displayed a selection of photos from Fred Stein's diverse portfolio in order to shed light on his life and work. The exhibition was created in close cooperation with the Fred Stein Archive in Stanfordville, NY. American cameraman Peter Stein also showed a film documentary about his father Fred Stein as part of the event.
- From 8 December to 12 January, the Exile Archive marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the United Nations on 10 December 1948, by presenting the 30 articles of the UN resolution as an intervention in its permanent exhibition together with illustrations by graphic designer Jochen Stankowski.
- Stiftung Exilmuseum Berlin (the Berlin Exile Museum Foundation) launched its workshop on 25 March. As its first partner institution, the Exile Archive showcased its work in the networking area FREI RAUM (Free Space), where it held an exhibition on its holdings and the diverse educational and knowledge-sharing services it offers.
DNB on the spot: education & service
Papermaking, an escape room, a scavenger hunt and digital Actionbound or a look behind the scenes with the Mouse: numerous (new) educational formats are giving the DNB a wider (digital and analogue) reach and ensuring that it offers "something for everyone".
The "Book a Librarian" service, which allows DNB users to book an appointment for individual research advice, has proven invaluable.
The educational series "DNB on the road" was conceived as a kind of outreach programme for previously inaccessible user groups. This series included the events "On the Musical Trail of the Brothers Grimm" (21.04.2023) and "The Way to the Heart is Through the Stomach" (27.09.2023), held in cooperation with Mehrgenerationenhaus Fallbach in Hanau.
The library game, initially developed as a prototype of a reading room rally, was first presented at the Frankfurt branch's Open Day on 12 November 2023. More about this in the highlight "111 years of the German National Library".
Photo: Christine Hartmann
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DNB as an employer
In March 2023, a new kind of event for the recruitment of qualified staff went online: "Discover our Worlds of Work" is a series of virtual meetings in which various departments at the German National Library introduce their teams, tasks and benefits. These online events are held parallel to current recruitment drives and aim to give small groups of interested participants and applicants even better insights into the DNB besides giving them the opportunity to ask final questions about the application process.
By December 2023, 69 candidates and applicants had taken advantage of this programme.
DNB for professionals: Professional events
Digital Assistant DA-3 is a tool used by the DNB to support the subject cataloguing process: cataloguing data relating to a specific media work are merged from various sources – such as national and international library networks, concordances and even machine-based indexing resources – and can then be imported by the individuals cataloguing the work.
The DNB is active in the corresponding user community and in 2023 hosted the 7th workshop on computer-supported subject cataloguing in cooperation with the University Library Stuttgart, Berlin State Library – Prussian Cultural Heritage and the Eurospider Information Technology AG, the Library Service Centre Baden-Württemberg and the Austrian Library Network. This virtual conference attracted the interest of around 180 participants.
The symposium "AI in Libraries - New pathways with large language models?", held at the DNB in Frankfurt in December 2023, was very well received, attracting approximately 170 participants in person and online.
Photo: Stephan Jockel
After enjoying great success the previous year, another "EFA@DNB: Cataloguing, research, analysis" virtual info day was held on 7 November 2023. This presented various services offered by the DNB and examples of its work with data.
The workshop “Resource Cataloguing with Authority Data in Archives and Libraries” (RNAB) took place on 28 September. The needs of culture archives and the necessary adjustments to the cataloguing framework were discussed with the partner institutions, the Office for Library Standards (AfS) and the Exile Archive. More than sixty interested experts attended.
Last changes:
04.06.2024
