The German National Library issues a number of publications. In addition to the digital annual report, we also publish monographs for special occasions along with publications accompanying the exhibitions held by the exile collections and the German Museum of Books and Writing.
Our info material and publications are available from book retailers or from us directly (partly plus shipping costs). Many of our publications are also freely available online. Please make sure you provide your postal address when placing orders at publikationen@dnb.de.

Annual report

We have been publishing the Annual Report of the German National Library digitally since the 2022 reporting. Visit jahresbericht.dnb.de to read our latest annual report. There you will also find an archive of past annual reports. You can also download a short version of the annual report or even individual chapters if you prefer. Browse the key issues and projects, object stories and event highlights.

To the digital annual report

Wissensspeicher in der Bundesrepublik. Die Deutsche Bibliothek in Frankfurt am Main 1945-1990

Founded with US support shortly after the Second World War and in the run-up to the separation of Germany, the Deutsche Bibliothek in Frankfurt am Main, was hardly likely to be politics-free zone. Helke Rausch, a historian from Freiburg, has written a political chronicle of the Deutsche Bibliothek which completes the previous works on the history of the German National Library.

This work was published by Wallstein Verlag in 2023 (430 pages, 8 illustrations).
You can read it online or buy it as a bound copy for 40.00 Euro from booksellers.

Online edition "Wissensspeicher in der Bundesrepublik"

The Deutsche Nationalbibliografie and its formats 1931 to 2030

The history of the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie (German National Bibliography) is bound up not only with librarianship but also with technology. Kurt Schneider’s publication (24 pages, 17 illustrations) explores the links between them. It takes the reader on an exciting journey through time from the historic print editions of the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie to the digital editions stored on data carriers, the online formats currently used and the formats that will be used in the future.
This publication is available online.

Online edition (german)

Online edition (english)

Umbruch, Aufbruch
1990 – 2020. 30 Jahre gemeinsam Zukunft leben

When Germany celebrates the 30th anniversary of its reunification in the autumn of 2020, one important part of this story will be the amalgamation of the two “national libraries” in the East and West.
In its publication commemorating the union of the two institutions, the German National Library looks back over 30 years of history (and stories) and ventures a look ahead at the cultural memory of the future, the future of cultural and media landscapes.
With texts by Minister of State Monika Grütters, President of the Goethe-Institut Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Schäuble, Director of the German Publishers’ and Booksellers’ Association Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, Director-General of the German National Library Frank Scholze, and many others.

You can read the publication online (104 pages, with illustrations) or order the paperback version from us free of charge.

Online edition „Umbruch, Aufbruch“

Order by publikationen@dnb.de

House of Europe. Europäische Zeugnisse in der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek

The German National Library has compiled an illustrated book to mark Germany’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, a visual “trawl” of 40 million media that provides pictorial narrative access to our collections. The European image cosmos is enhanced by short essays by Aleida Assmann, Alberto Manguel, Yasmine Ouirhane, Simon Strauss and others.

This work (320 pages, 183 illustrations, partly in German, partly in English) was published in 2020 by Hatje Cantz Verlag. You can read it online or order the paperback version from us free of charge.

Online-edition "House of Europe"

Order by publikationen@dnb.de

History of the Deutsche Bücherei from the German Empire to 1990

Zeughaus für die Schwerter des Geistes (Armoury for the Swords of the Intellect; 1,349 pages, 78 illustrations, 2 volumes in a slipcase, 69.00 Euro) and Nationalbibliothek im geteilten Land (National Library in a Divided Country; 725 pages, 39 illustrations, 54.90 Euro) are both comprehensive works on the history of the German National Library. They offer exciting insights into our institution’s eventful history, which reflects the political extremes of the 20th century and the development of library policy as academic and cultural policy to an extraordinary degree.

Sören Flachowsky from the Department of History the Humboldt University of Berlin investigates the role of the Deutsche Bücherei during the Nazi era. Christian Rau from the Institute of Contemporary History in Berlin sheds light on the complex relations with the SED regime and the Deutsche Bibliothek founded in Frankfurt am Main in 1946.

Both volumes were published by Wallstein Verlag in 2018. You can read them online or buy bound copies from booksellers.

Online-edition Zeughaus für die Schwerter des Geistes

Online-edition Nationalbibliothek im geteilten Land

Dialog mit Bibliotheken

From 1989 to 2022, our specialised journal "Dialog mit Bibliotheken" was published twice a year, in time for the book fairs in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main.
It was always important for us to stay in touch with the library world through this journal: Results of cooperations and projects in which we are involved, progress on new procedures, news from the committees in which we cooperate. We also talked about new services, our exhibition work, special events and our special collections.
You can read the issues of "Dialog" online.

Online-edition "Dialog mit Bibliotheken"

Search. Find. Explore. Info brochure

What does the German National Library do, and how does it work? Would you like a handy, compact overview of the history and tasks of Germany’s biggest library to refer to at your convenience? A concise, clear description of everything you need to know is provided in the info brochure “Search. Find. Explore”
The brochure (50 pages, 31 illustrations), which is available in both German and English, can be ordered from us free of charge. We will gladly also send you small quantities, e.g. for classroom use.

Order by publikationen@dnb.de

Further publications

Publications by the German Museum of Books and Writing

The German Museum of Books and Writing regularly issues publications to draw attention to its holdings and current topics in media history.
Publications on its temporary exhibitions are issued in cooperation with publishing companies, universities and research institutions.

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Publications by the German Exile Archive

The publications of the German Exile Archive 1933–1945 draw attention to various aspects of exile and to its own holdings. These publications, which include numerous exhibition catalogues, are directed beyond academic circles to a wider public.

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