The best of both worlds
Almost every city has one, and it’s a familiar sight: reading cards, lockers for your belongings, endless rows of shelves with books, digital offers, being as quiet as possible, missing the deadline again. There may be some truth in this, and yet: the City Library is unique, and open to all: the kindergarten child and the scientific researcher, those who live in Lübeck permanently and those who are guests for a short or even longer period of time. Reason enough to get to know the library and all its offerings in more detail.
Library director Bernd Hatscher, a native of East Frisia who went to Berlin to study and whose profession and career took him to Lübeck in 2007 via several stations in Germany – most recently in Frankfurt and Gütersloh – introduces “his” library at Hundestraße 5-17 and offers a look behind the scenes.
The building – like the real life
A unique treasure is hidden in Lübeck’s historic Old Town, as the parts of the buildings that make up the ensemble date from the Middle Ages and the 19. and the 20th century. In 1619, the library was founded by merging several church libraries. It has retained its domicile, the former dormitory of the Franciscan monks in St. Catherine’s Monastery to this day . In addition to these magnificent rooms from the 14th century, – the Scharbausaal and the Konsistorialsaal – as well as the Mantelsaal from 1877 – the Willy Pieth Reading Room from the 1930s in the style of the “Neue Sachlichkeit” is a captivating room.
The 1970s building of the municipal library was a real showpiece at that time. It was opened in 1979 after only 3 years of construction in the presence of the then Federal President. At that time, the Reading Hall, which had its home in the building that is now the Willy Brandt House, and the Academic City Library merged. It is possible that the charm of the 1970s is not immediately apparent from today’s perspective, yet it too, with its atrium and low ceilings, gives the house its distinctive look. Don’t miss the chance and take part in one of the regular free guided tours during a visit to Lübeck. They are held every 1st Wednesday of the month.
The library as a third place – an invitation to ALL of us
In 1989, the American spatial sociologist Ray Oldenburg published his theory of “third places,” social spaces that play important roles in people’s lives besides home and work. Lübeck’s City Library also sees itself as a meeting place, a place to stay and learn, and simply a place to feel good. Everyone is welcome to spend time here, surfing the net, browsing in the available seating areas, researching and immersing themselves in foreign worlds. Who no longer exists are the ladies with stern faces and hairdos who were once stereotypically associated with the reading rooms, who urged calm and monitored the appropriate behaviour of library guests. Lübeck’s City Library is a hybrid institution that offers online and offline services to reach the widest possible audience. 71% of users in Lübeck opt for digital offerings. However, the number of people who borrow books in the conventional way has also increased recently.
The library wants to be visible: in addition to regular guided tours, a wide variety of events are offered to draw attention to its many services as an indispensable cultural and educational institution. In 2019 they participated in the Long Night of Libraries for the very first time. 2.000 visitors came, there was tango dancing at the Scharbausaal, one could program Ozobots or discover old Lübeck by watching a film and enjoying a glass of wine. The library also participated in the Night of Libraries in 2023. Of course, the effort is great every time, but the success proves the team right and in 2025 they will again create a colourful programme in Lübeck.
Isn’t the book already dead?
A polemical question that Marcel Reich-Ranitzki was not the first to ask himself – and us. Of course, the book is not dead and THE book does not exist anyway. The number of new publications is increasing. Around 29.9 million people in Germany buy books. E-book or the classic book with pages to turn?
“The book will still be there even when the first electronic pulse weapon has destroyed all electronically available information”
Bernd Hatscher
And it may not even be a weapon, because it is still completely uncertain whether the data stored on our current state-of-the-art media will still be retrievable and readable in 30 years time. Bernd Hatscher prefers technical and non-fiction books to novels, but has no favourite book. For him, reading a book means relaxation and leisure, so that themes and theses can unfold in his mind and heart in peace.
Digitization – innovative and exemplary
Since taking office, the library director together with his team has already driven the topic of digitization forward with great commitment. The catalogue has been available in digital form since 2007, digital information was introduced in 2009, and e-books have been available for loan since 2011.
Due to its almost 400-year history, the City Library has a valuable old collection and includes very many rare or singular items. The basic collection of 1,100 printed works and about 230 manuscripts dates back to the 11th century and comes from the holdings of St. Mary’s, St. James’, St. Peter’s and St. Gille’s churches. In addition, there are the books from the libraries of the Council, St. Catherine’s church and the Latin School.
Thanks to the support of the Possehl Foundation, a high-quality scanner was purchased. Since 2015, the ancient collections have been systematically scanned, digitized, indexed and classified in-house. In this way, the valuable books can be made accessible to the professional world, but also to the interested public worldwide. The original editions are preserved for future generations. However, more people have access to the digital versions of the works at the same time.
And what can you discover?
Almost 940,000 media – analogue and digital: scientific reference books and historical treasures, exciting children’s and youth books, lots of games or audio books. A great music library offers musical scores as well as BRAVO hits or Kesha’s latest album. So here too: there is something for everyone. A reading pass is available on site, as is free Wi-Fi. Just take a look!
