24 Janurary 2023 press release

111 years after its foundation, the German National Library is celebrating its anniversary both online and in person with stories, anecdotes, events and promotional activities. The events programme will kick off on Sunday 12 March 2023 with an Open Day at the founding location in Leipzig. The German National Library is marking its anniversary with a prize draw in which entrants can win a day trip from Frankfurt am Main to the location in Leipzig.

Guests attending our Open Day will be able to take a look behind the scenes of a modern library with insights into its history, glimpses of its future, and guided tours of the hidden places in the German National Library in Leipzig with its extensive stacks and reading rooms. There will also be a variety of activities for children. Passengers will receive information about the history and tasks of the German National Library during the bus journey from Frankfurt so that they are well prepared by the time they arrive in Leipzig. Once they have arrived, they can look forward to an exclusive director’s tour of the listed library building, the old and new reading rooms and the stacks. They can then visit the exhibition “Signs – Books – Networks: from Cuneiform to Binary Code” at the German Museum of Books and Writing, and choose from the events being held to mark the Open Day. Participation in the prize draw is possible via the websites of the German National Library, the DNB’s cultural partner hr2-kultur and Journal Frankfurt.

During its anniversary year, the German National Library will be presenting a new promotional area at the Leipzig Book Fair. For this, they are organising an extensive programme with a wide range of offerings for experts and interested visitors. People attending the reading festival “Leipzig Reads” will have the opportunity to encounter a variety of authors on the premises of the library in Leipzig

Visitors are also invited to attend the German National Library’s Open Day in Frankfurt am Main, which will take place in autumn 2023. The programme will include guided tours covering everything from the roof to the extensive underground stacks, the technical systems, the data centre and the artworks. There will also be tours of exploration for children and young people. You will be able to spend the whole day finding out about the world of digital media, visiting the German Exile Archive’s exhibitions and admiring curiosities from the collection. A day trip from Leipzig will be organised for this Open Day; tickets for this excursion will also be given away in a prize draw.

The 111th anniversary of our foundation offers material for many a story. Why is there a doner kebab grill in the German Music Archive? Where do the phone books live? And what is a three-metre tall man doing in the IT department? The German National Library’s team has been digging in its memories and archives to bring rarely told stories to light. Sometimes anecdotal, sometimes informative, these pieces will be published in the DNB’s blog starting on 13 March.

111ies: To celebrate our anniversary, we would like to have your personal impressions and memories of the German National Library in the form of an “Elfchen” (elevenie). This is a short poem consisting of eleven words divided into five lines. Sounds challenging? You will find instructions on the promotional website. Once the submission deadline has passed, the authors of 100 “Elfchen” (elevenie) will be rewarded with a surprise.

111 years of the German National Library
Anniversary programme and other information: www.dnb.de/111jahre

Background

In 1912, the Kingdom of Saxony, the City of Leipzig and the Börsenverein der Deutschen Buchhändler zu Leipzig (German Book Traders’ Association of Leipzig) signed a contract for the foundation of the “Deutsche Bücherei”. The location in Frankfurt am Main was established in 1946 following the dividion of Germany. The reunification of Germany also saw the libraries in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main merge into one. The two locations have since developed into a single modern institution that serves the whole country and has a crucial role to play in Germany’s cultural memory.

Images for editorial use

Press image material is only available in German.