Open Day in Frankfurt am Main on 12 November 2023
Welcome to the Open Day!
Our programme 10:00 to 17:00
Free tickets for every guided tour will be available on site from 10:00 onwards, while afternoon tickets will be available from 13:00.
A glimpse behind the scenes
During the tour of our building and the underground stacks, you will be given interesting information about the history and tasks of the German National Library.
Duration: 1 hour
Start: 10:30 │ 11:00 │ 11:30 │ 12:00 │ 12:30 │ 13:00 │ 13:30 │ 14:00 │ 14:30 │ 15:00 │ 15:30 │ 16:00
Seek and you shall find
Tour of the reading rooms with an introduction to the many research options available online and on site.
Duration: 30 minutes
Start: 11:00 │ 12:00 │ 13:00 │ 14:00 │ 15:00 │ 16:00
Descent into the underworld
A guided tour of the underground stacks, the greatest store of knowledge in Germany.
Duration: 45 minutes
Start: 10:30 │ 11:30 │ 14:00 │ 15:00 │ 16:00
Discs, cylinders, scores: Music
The German Music Archive is also part of the German National Library. Sheet music and sound carriers are collected in Leipzig, where you will also find an impressive exhibition, a special reading room, historical sound reproduction devices and a listening booth. We will introduce you to all of this and show you how you can also use our music collection in Frankfurt am Main.
Location: Meeting room on the 1st floor
Duration: 30 minutes
Start: 11:30
Digitisation – More than just scanning?
Come with us to our digitisation service provider's workroom. We will give you an insight into the process of digitising archival materials.
Duration: 40 minutes
Start: 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00
Journey through our IT infrastructure
This tour of the computer centre will provide insights into the data streams that flow through the German National Library's information infrastructure.
Duration: 50 minutes
Start: 12:30 │ 13:30 │14:30 │ 16:00
Between climate and electricity: Technology
Guided tour of the National Library’s technical facilities, including ventilation channels and cooling machines, all the way from the roof to the basement floors.
Duration: 80 minutes
Start: 11:30 │ 14:00 │ 15:30
Art for Architecture
Guided tour of the artworks by Per Kirkeby, Georg Baselitz, Ilya Kabakov, Candida Höfer, Tobias Rehberger and Jochen Gerz.
Duration: 60 minutes
Start: 11:30 │ 13:00 │ 14:30
Frag nach! Just ask!
Guided tour of the exhibition "Frag nach! Just ask! Digital interactive eyewitness interviews with Kurt S. Maier and Inge Auerbacher" of the German Exile Archiv 1933–1945.
Duration: 60 minutes
Start: 10:00 │11:00
Of stamps and numbers: provenance research
The "Jewish periodicals" in the German Exile Archive are a major source of material for research into Jewish life. Both the printed articles and the traces left on each item bear witness to Jewish history. How did these periodicals survive the Nazi era? Who did they belong to? We will show you how we research the origins of cultural heritage and provide insights into a selection of provenance stories.
Location: teaching room of the German Exile Archive 1933–1945
Duration: 30 minutes
Start: 11:30 │ 13:30
Meet the Director general!
After enjoying the view of Frankfurt's skyline, you can take a seat at the round table in the Director’s office, where General Director Frank Scholze, will explain the German National Library's tasks and answer your questions.
Duration: 45 minutes
Start: 11:00 │ 12:00
Cineasts' delight
Guided tour of the text archive and library of the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, one of the most important specialist collections and libraries dedicated to the medium of film. Here you will see newspaper articles, lending and press materials as well as censorship cards, film programmes and film magazines.
Duration: 45 minutes
Start: 12:00 │ 14:00 │ 15:30
Goethe VR. Goethe’s Faust as an interactive virtual reality experience
A classic of German literature goes virtual: Goethe’s "Faust I and II" in virtual reality. (Children aged 14 and over)
Duration: 20 minutes
Start: 10:30 │ 11:00 │ 11:30 │ 12:00 │ 12:30 │ 13:00 │ 13:30 │ 14:00 │ 14:30 │ 15:00 │ 15:30 │ 16:00
The Flood plays "Chamber Music“
Scored for guitar, vocals, recorder, saxophone, piano, bass, percussion and recitation, "The Flood" provides a fitting musical tribute to James Joyce.
Location: Lecture hall on the 1st floor
Duration: 45 minutes
Start: 16:30
Offers for families
"Do you have my favourite book?"
Guided tour for children aged 6 to 10 accompanied by an adult.
Without a doubt, because we collect everything! Challenge us and help us find your favourite book at the German National Library. We will show you how the book gets to the reading room.
Duration: 75 minutes
Start: 10:00 │ 13:00 │ 15:30
Exile. Experience and testimony
Family guided tour for children aged accompanied by an adult.
A treasure hunt through the permanent exhibition "Exile. Experience and testimony“ of the German Exile Archive 1933–1945 for visitors of all ages.
Duration: 60 minutes
Start: 15:00
The Eppelsheimer mystery
Reading room rally for groups of up to 5 people and families with children aged 8 and over
Strange parallel worlds are opening up: make a game of exploring the reading room landscape and our user services while you solve the mystery of Director Eppelsheimer's sudden disappearance.
Duration: approx. 30 minutes
Start: 10:30 │11:30 │12:30 │14:30 │15:30 at the game booth in the main reading room
From pages to books
Creative offer, children ages 6 and over
We invite people of all ages to join in and learn step by step how to create simple or unusual book formats.
Location: Foyer on the 1st floor
Ongoing events
Preserving 40 million works: restoration – rescue – retrodigitisation
Which tasks are involved in the preservation of the German National Library's collections? What kind of work is done in the preservation workshop? Staff will show and explain how they take care of the collection and answer all your questions about collection preservation
Location: Foyer on the 1st floor
Curiosities
Pop-up-books, Literature in a suitcase, a novel written on index cards: an exhibition at the issues desk in the main reading room presents special exhibits from the German National Library's collection.
Location: Main reading room
DNB – Meaningful work
The tasks of the German National Library are much more varied than many people think. We don't just preserve our cultural heritage, we also link it with our digital future. Explore our worlds of work for qualified staff and trainees.
Location: Rotunda
Interactive interviews with eyewitnesses
Interaction with the digital eyewitness interview with Kurt S. Maier and Inge Auerbacher.
Location: Temporary exhibition at the German Exile Archive 1933–1945
The sounds of Frankfurt!
Four listening stations allow you to discover our diverse music collection as if in an audio-themed exhibition – and find out what Frankfurt sounds like.
Location: Rotunda and reading room
Exhibitions
"Exile. Experience and testimony“
Permanent exhibition of the German Exile Archive 1933–1945
"Frag nach! Just ask! Digital interactive eyewitness interviews with Kurt S. Maier and Inge Auerbacher"
Temporary exhibition of the German Exile Archive 1933–1945
Virtual tours for home
Unfortunately, the event has been cancelled.
A virtual 360° tour, including live explanations, of the listed library building in Leipzig.
Duration: 30 minutes
Start: 11:00
Learn more about the media innovations of writing, book printing and digital networks: a time journey through the exhibition "Signs – Books - Networks“ at the German Museum of Books and Writing.
Duration: 30 minutes
Participate: https://meet.goto.com/693628373
Start: 15:00
Notes
Restaurant
"Rob's Kulinarium“ offers everything you need to keep your strength up between tours in the cafeteria and restaurant: filled bread rolls, various menus including vegetarian options, a large salad buffet, fruit salad and a generous selection of cakes and beverages.
Costs
Free tickets for every guided tour will be available on site from 10:00 onwards, while afternoon tickets will be available from 13:00.
Information │Contact
Phone: + 49 69 1525-1001
E-Mail: veranstaltungen@dnb.de
Photographs will be taken at this event and may be published. Please see the data protection notice for information on your right to object and other rights!
Adress and getting here
German National Library
Adickesallee 1
60322 Frankfurt am Main
Getting here
We advise you to use public transport.
1 / By public transport
By rail
From the main railway station (underground level), take the U5 in the direction of Preungesheim and get off at the stop “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”. Journey time approx. 10 minutes.
By plane
From the airport (regional station), take S-Bahn S8 in the direction of Hanau or the S9 in the direction of Offenbach and get off at “Konstablerwache”. Change to the U5 in the direction of Preungesheim and get off at the stop “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”. Journey time approx. 30 minutes.
By bus
The “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek” bus stop is served by the number M32 bus.
2 / By bike
The German National Library in Frankfurt am Main can easily be reached by bike. You can get to the DNB by taking the cycle paths on Adickesallee, Nibelungenallee, and Eckenheimer Landtraße.
Covered bicycle racks are located right at the main entrance.
3 / By car
The address for navigation devices is Eckenheimer Landstraße 165. The building is accessed from the underground car park. The maximum entrance height is 2.0 m.
Approaching from the west
Take the A66 to the end of the autobahn in Miquelallee and follow the signs for Fulda/Hanau; at the third intersection, turn right into Eckenheimer Landstraße in the direction of the city centre; follow the signs and turn right into the underground car park.
Approaching from the north
Take the A661 to the Eckenheim exit, get into the lane for the city centre/Eckenheim, continue straight on to the third major set of traffic lights and cross these. The entrance to the underground car park is located at the German National Library building around 100 metres further on the right.
Parking
Our car park has 100 parking spaces for visitors on the first basement floor.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 6:00 to 22:00, Saturday 8:00 to 18:00.
Fees: 2.00 Euro/hour, cash or card payment.
The permanent rental of parking spaces is not possible.
For on-street parking spaces in the Holzhausenviertel district, the City of Frankfurt of Main charges 50 cents per quarter hour or part thereof from Monday to Friday between 7:00 and 19:00.
4 / Accessibility
The German National Library in Frankfurt am Main has designated disabled parking spaces in its car park and next to the building in Schlosserstraße. The Library's public rooms can be accessed by lift from the underground car park. Barrier-free access to the main entrance is also available from Schlosserstraße.
Last changes:
08.11.2023
Contact:
veranstaltungen@dnb.de
