Good day!
- General Director Barbara Schneider-Kempf
Ladies and Gentlemen!
It is in no small part thanks to private commitment and our circle of friends in the course of the centuries, that our library has been able to build up such a rich and unique collection: we repeatedly receive lifetime and posthumous bequests, manuscripts, correspondence, music autographs, rare books, special prints and much more in the form of a donation, endowment, inheritance or bequest. With money donations - whether of small or large amounts – we are able to “top up” our budget for acquisitions or to secure that extra special piece at auctions and in shops specialising in antiquities. Equally welcome to us are Non-cash contributions: To give a few examples, two scientific publishing houses donated their valuable archives to us, one company provided the technology for a conference, another assumed the transport work and yet another provided the financing to buy materials for the restoration workshop.
Committed together: circles of friends
Private persons, companies, foundations and other supporters of the library have joined forces in various circles to be active in public for the benefit of the library.
They collect money and non-cash contributions in order to finance acquisitions and projects, arrange sponsorships for significant pieces of our special collections, conduct events and more besides:
Private commitment for our collections
Donating or bequeathing a collection, an archive, a set of works or individual pieces, is – just as much as donating money or making a non-cash contribution – something that has to be properly thought over. For the patron always connects himself publicly to a greater or lesser degree with the recipient institution. In this manner he signalises that he approves of the institution’s self-image and public perception. In addition, somebody who donates his beloved cultural possessions is bound to ask himself how strong and reliable the institution will be in the long-term, how it deals with the valuable donation and what kind of environment it will appear in.
The Berlin State Library is part of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and thus an integral part of Germany’s cultural and scientific landscape: it is the largest scientific universal library in the German speaking world and possesses world heritage treasures such as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, a complete and particularly beautiful example of Gutenberg’s bible on vellum, the largest atlas in the world, 80% of all of J.S. Bach’s autograph scores, five of the six Mozart master operas, three of the nine books of the Niebelungen Saga, the original text of the German National Anthem, extensive autograph collections, over 1,500 bequests, manuscripts and prints from all centuries and from all the countries in the world – this is the immeasurable richness and eternal universe of collections, which are maintained here on behalf of all citizens.
Its two large listed heritage buildings are situated in the heart of the German capital, one at Unter den Linden 8, the other between the Cultural Forum and Potsdamer Platz at Potsdamer Straße 33. Both buildings possess exceptional architectural quality and are currently undergoing careful extension or renovation.
The cultural possessions entrusted to the library are evaluated on the basis of scientific criteria, preserved against damage using cutting-edge treatment based on current research, and made available using modern research servicing methods.
Cash and non-cash donations are always used by the State Library restricted to the purpose the donator relates it to.
A strong partner: the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The (DFG) is the key supporter of the Berlin State Library.
Besides extending our stocks of scientific relevant literature – particularly for the Special subject collections, the DFG finances outstanding internal library projects such as projects of national and international importance.
