Portals to the Past and to the Future

Citation

Zhang, W. (2005), "Portals to the Past and to the Future", Library Review, Vol. 54 No. 5, pp. 328-329. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530510600598

In conjunction with the 69th Annual Conference of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) held in Berlin in 2003, this book was published by the Federal Union of German Library Associations (BDB – Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Bibliotheksverbände). Originally written in German, both authors are leaders and scholars of German librarianship. Georg Ruppelt, the Speaker of the BDB, provides the introduction and epilogue to the book.

The theme of the IFLA conference in Berlin was “the Library as a Portal”. The goal of this publication is to provide to the rest of the world an overview of modern German librarianship. The origin of German libraries is traced back to the middle ages. While world civilisation was greatly enriched by the invention of printing process using movable type by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century, modern democracy was also seriously threatened when the Nazis burned purged books from German libraries in the 1930s. This publication is neither an encyclopedia that reviews the comprehensive history of German librarianship, nor a detailed directory or handbook that lists all German libraries. With only selected examples, it describes the decentralised structure of library organisations in the country, demonstrates the variety of German libraries, as well as illustrates the cooperative relationship among them.

The book is divided into six chapters: History, Education and Culture, the Variety of Libraries, Professions and Associations, Cooperation among German Libraries, and a Vision of the Library in 2015. Chapter 3 as a main part of the publication reveals the multi‐faceted nature of the country's libraries. Chapters 4 and 5 illustrate the education and organisation of German librarianship, and cooperative projects at the local, regional and national levels. The final chapter describes the challenges and opportunities faced by German library professionals in the 21st century. The book is filled with high‐quality images of rare books, interiors and exteriors of selected German libraries, as well as simple charts and statistics. In addition, there is a bibliographical list of books, journals and web sites for further reading of the subject.

The book is an update to another BDB publication a decade earlier, Libraries '93: Structures, Tasks, Positions (Bibliotheken '93: Strukturen, Aufgaben, Positionen). With its beautiful illustrations, it provides readers with an easy overview of German librarianship at the beginning of the new millennium. The book is recommended to students and library professionals interested in international librarianship, especially those who would like to gain a quick glimpse of the library landscape of a united Germany.