7
Höhepunkte
A crucial step was
the
introduction of
identical opening
hours.
In 2012 the structure of the annual report was changed to include the
general Information Technology and Central Administration services
plus the four library strategy fields: Collection, Cataloguing, User Ser-
vices and Preservation. The present annual report has also adopted this
structure; it highlights the outstanding work in the different strategy
fields while referencing the targets for the year under review. Only in a
very few cases does the assignment of a concrete target to a particular
strategic field indicate a one-dimensional allocation to a single stra-
tegic field. In most cases a number of strategy fields but always mul-
tiple departments are involved. This applies in particular for the IT
and Z departments which serve as internal service providers. The IT
department also plays a key role in project management. The special-
ist library departments also fulfil quasi service provider functions by
passing documents to the next department via the relevant transaction
interfaces. In the case of online publications the workflow is already
fully integrated and can run automatically; it is supported by both au-
tomatic and intellectual quality assurance measures. The individual
stages of the processing procedures for physical media publications are
becoming increasingly integrated. Integration therefore proved to be a
key topic in the year under review and will in all probability necessi-
tate a number of organisational changes in the future.
The most important development affecting users during the last year
concerned the opening hours of the large reading rooms in Leipzig and
Frankfurt. As of 1 June 2013 they have been open from 9:00 to 22:00
on weekdays, and from 10:00 to 18:00 on Saturdays, i.e. a total of 73
hours per week. External staff were deployed for the first time to cover
the evening shifts. If there is demand for longer opening hours in the
future, staffing shortages will no longer be a limiting factor, rather the
availability of funds.
High “round” figures are ideal for grabbing attention. In 2013 both
the number of digitised tables of contents of books and also that of
collected online publications exceeded the one million mark. In the case
of online publications, the volume of processed acquisitions rose from
462
GB in January 2013 to 640 GB by October; now totalling 700
regularly harvested websites, this figure has tripled. Metadata from
online publications are now automatically linked to authority data or
enriched with subject classes. The Integrated Authority File has grown
to over 10 million entries. The bibliographic database system of the
German National Library, which on 6 December 2013 had been
in operation for 20 years, contains roughly 38 million data records,
not only on books and periodicals but also on sound recordings and
sheet music, literary estates, online publications, articles and museum
objects. But there are also plenty of remarkable figures regarding the
background areas which ensure that the library can function properly.
The Administration department posted 76 job offers which generated
2,055
applications and resulted in 379 interviews – spotlighting how
busy the year was from a human resources viewpoint.
A review of 2013 would not be complete without mention of our cul-
tural activities. We once again fielded exhibition stands at the Library
Congress in Leipzig and at the book fairs in Frankfurt and Leipzig,
and we were also represented in the combined German stand at the
IFLA in Singapore. In addition we took part in trade fairs, conferenc-
es and specialist events, and organised a large number of exhibition
openings, readings and book presentations at our sites. We received
visits from such notable guests as the peace prize winner Amos Oz,
the actor Anna Thalbach, and former US Secretary of State Made-
leine Albright in 2013. We welcomed further writers to the German
National Library during “Leipzig liest”, at the opening ceremony of
“
Frankfurt liest ein Buch” and at a variety of other events. We also
hosted the German-Russian Library Dialogue which was held for the
first time in Leipzig. The four exhibitions of the German Museum
of Books and Writing and the German Exile Archive helped make
aspects of our special collections accessible to a wider audience.
I would like to single out the “Dynamisches Bewahren” workshop
which opened a whole series of specialist events dedicated to the chal-
lenges associated with the legal collection mandate of online publi-
cations. “Dynamisches Bewahren” focused on the collecting and ar-
chiving of dynamic documents such as blogs, online newspapers or
websites. Experts discussed principles and issues of a technical, legal,
ethical and practical nature. Workshops on online music publications
and on the distinction between the collection mandate of the German
National Library for online publications and those of other institu-
tions are planned in 2014.
Our annual report will contain full information on all of these. It has
become apparent that, in many respects, the 2013 review also represents
a preview of the eventful and exciting years to come. Years which I am
looking forward to with anticipation.