Free and easy access to cultural objects in digital format – this is the fundamental objective of the German Digital Library. Alongside books, images, sculptures and archival materials, this also includes pieces of music and other sound documents, films, music scores and monuments. As a centralised national portal, a further aim of the German Digital Library is eventually to link up all cultural heritage and academic institutions in Germany in order to provide the public with access to the nation’s cultural heritage. Via the portal, which is freely accessible to anyone, professionally indexed cultural objects can be researched and re-used. The digitalisation of Germany’s cultural memory is a process geared towards the long term. The functions and collections of the German Digital Library are therefore being continuously expanded.

Video (2. Video: “Culture and Knowledge Online – 02: Presentation of the First Full Version – Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek”)

With the German Digital Library, Germany meets its obligation to operate a national portal for digitalised art and cultural objects. The content of the German Digital Library, in turn, is passed on to Europeana, Europe’s cultural memory.

The German Digital Library is aimed at a variety of target groups. Along with members of the public with an interest in culture, they include the fields of science and research, educational institutions, and persons interested in genealogy and local history.The German Digital Library offers reliable information and surprising interconnections: Are you researching “Beethoven”? Secondary literature, musical scores and portraits are just a mouse-click away.

Cultural heritage institutions represent another target group. We are working with them to establish a network for the exchange of experiences and services relating to digitalisation. Via freely accessible interfaces, the objects provided by our partners can also be made available for re-use. Via a publicly accessible application programming interface (API), the metadata available under CC0 licence and all functions of the backend can be accessed.

Cultural heritage institutions that wish to participate with their collections can find out more about this on DDBpro, the portal for data partners of the German Digital Library.

A competence network, currently comprised of 18 cultural heritage and academic institutions and funded at the national and state level, is underpinning the work of the German Digital Library. The participating cultural heritage and academic institutions are in regular dialogue with one another and use their combined expertise to manage the further development of the German Digital Library. Bodies within the competence network include the General Meeting, the Board and the Board of Trustees. The administration office, which is located Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin, assists the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees with their tasks. The administration office is also in charge of and responsible for the financial, legal, communication and marketing activities of the German Digital Library.

The German National Library in Frankfurt am Main is in charge of the technology and service areas, with the service point and data management department serving as points of contact for cultural heritage and educational organisations which would like to contribute their own digital holdings to the German Digital Library.

The day-to-day management of the German Digital Library is overseen by the executive management team. It is carried out under their joint supervision at the main locations in Berlin and Frankfurt am Main.

Along with its coordinating tasks, the German National Library also acts as a data partner for the German Digital Library. It provides digital copies of classic novels, open-access online publications and digitised tables of content. With nearly three million objects it is therefore one of the biggest data partners.