Date : between 1903 and 1914
| Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Item 29 on 29
Quarter(s)
Outdoor architecture (Building)
Area related
Berlin (Germany)
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The founding of the Churfürstliche Bibliothek zu Cölln an der Spree (Electoral Library) nearly 350 years ago established the basis for what is today the most important academic reserarch library in Germany.
The judicious and focussed acquisition and cataloguing of all manner of materials since 1661 has resulted in the systematic growth of the library's collections and holdings to their present status.
The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Berlin State Library - Prussian Cultural Heritage) acquires texts from all fields of knowledge in all languages, in every available form, from all epochs and all countries of the world - providing the materials are of interest for academic and research purposes. Current holdings and collections include printed works from many centuries, manuscripts, music autographs, maps, globes, atlases, estates, newspapers and periodicals, official publications, various microformed materials, an increasing number of digitally presented texts as well as extensive databases. The holdings undergo systematic cataloguing and are made available to users all over the world. Moreover, one of the library's key priorities is the protection and preservation of the cultural assets entrusted to it.
A Library on Two Sites
The positive development of the library was interrupted by World War II. The entire holdings - at the time some three million books and other materials - had to be brought to safety in 30 monasteries, castles and disused mines. The division of Germany during the decades that followed also had an adverse effect on the library's holdings: only some of its collections were returned to the original Berlin site on Unter den Linden (East) after 1945. Most of the relocated items were initially brought to West Germany, and stored after the late 1970s in the new building in Potsdamer Straße in Berlin (West). Elements of the collection are still located in Poland and the territories of the former Soviet Union. In divided Berlin, both sites pursued an active acquisition policy and supported the work of researchers from all over the world.
Since 1992, the reunited Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz provides a service at both its sites in the district of Mitte - Unter den Linden 8 and Potsdamer Straße 33. The extensive palette of services is also reflected in the internal structure of the library: aside from the main departments for collection building, reader services, cataloguing system and academic services, bibliographical services as well as preservation and conservation, there are the Department of Early Printed Books, Manuscript Department, Music Department, Map Department, Eastern Europe Department, Oriental Department, East Asia Department, and the Children's and Young People's Book Department. Newspapers and periodicals are currently located at the library's Westhafen site. The Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz (The Prussian Cultural Heritage Picture Archive ), which is affiliated to the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, is located at Märkisches Ufer 16-18.
Architecture
The building at Unter den Linden was constructed for the former Royal Library between 1903 and 1914 under the supervision of court architect Ernst von Ihne.
There are currently 300 workstations in both General and Special Reading Rooms. A new Reading Room is being built at the moment on the site of what used to be the Central Domed Reading Room, which was badly damaged during the war and later demolished.
The building at Potsdamer Straße was designed by architect Hans Scharoun and opened to the public in 1978. It enjoys international renown for its open, impressive architectural landscapes with a total of 910 workstations in the General and Special Reading Rooms.
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