Free and easy access to cultural objects in digital format – this is the fundamental objective of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (German Digital Library - DDB). 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 DDB is eventually to link up all cultural and academic institutions in Germany in order to provide the public with access to the nation’s cultural heritage. Via the DDB’s 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 DDB are therefore being continuously expanded.

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

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

The Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek is aimed at a variety of target groups. Alongside those members of the public interested in culture, the target groups include academics, especially those working in the fields of the humanities and cultural studies, as well as teachers at all educational institutions. The DDB offers reliable information and surprising interconnections: Are you researching “Beethoven”? Secondary literature, musical scores and portraits are just a mouse-click away.

Cultural 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 DDB backend can be accessed.

Cultural institutions that wish to participate in the DDB with their collections can find out more about this on DDBpro, the portal for data partners of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.

A competence network, currently comprised of 14 cultural and academic institutions and funded at the national and state level, is underpinning the work of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek. The participating cultural and academic institutions are in regular dialogue with one another and use their combined expertise to manage the further development of the DDB. Bodies within the competence network include the General Meeting, the Board and the Board of Trustees. The Board and Trustees are supported in their work by an administrative office. The administrative office is based at the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin.

The German National Library coordinates the competence network and manages the project. The department service desk and data management serves as a point of contact for cultural and academic institutions. It serves as a point of contact for cultural and academic institutions that wish to become involved in the DDB with their own collections.

The day-to-day management of the German Digital Library is overseen by the executive management team. This is comprised of two managing directors with equal responsibilities who are based at the DDB’s two main sites in Frankfurt and Berlin.

Along with its coordinating tasks, the German National Library also acts as a data partner for the DDB. 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 DDB’s biggest data partners.