German Reading Rooms

The demand for German literature and information about Germany is particularly large in some regions of the world and the libraries and information centres  in the Goethe Institutes have long been unable to meet the demand by themselves. Therefore, for over ten years the Goethe Institute has been developing a comprehensive information network – in close collaboration with partners and experts in the host countries.

The starting point came at the beginning of the 1990s with the idea of setting up German reading rooms in Central-Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe and Eastern Europe. Instead of donating books in response to the demand for reading material and information, the Goethe Institute decided to develop long-term, sustainable structures. This was made possible by the support of local partners and financed by special funding from the German government. The aim has always been to increase the extent of the provision of information and cultural knowledge, and also to initiate a process of communication and to help the partner libraries with their restructuring. Reading rooms have deliberately been incorporated within efficient local library systems: the ‘host library’ makes available suitable accommodation, library infrastructure and German-speaking staff. The Goethe Institute provides a basic collection of media that is updated every year, as well as technical equipment and staff training. Today there are 57 reading rooms  – from A for Albania to W for White Russia. What was intended to be a temporary project has become an established element of the Goethe Institute’s information and library work.

Political and financial circumstances have changed and so the partnership concept for the reading rooms has continually been further developed over the past twelve years. Nowadays, in addition to the 93 libraries and information centres in Goethe Institutes and the 57 reading rooms, there are numerous other collections that are more or less firm commitments:
Eleven dialogue points in North Africa and the Middle East give young people a meeting point where they can discuss their opinions freely. Four German resource centres in India will support the professional information work of the regional information centre in Delhi with internet access, Deutsche Welle TV and tailor-made selections of media providing basic information about Germany. Four information and learning centres  in China have multimedia language-learning programmes and are designed primarily for the language learner.
Furthermore, the Goethe Institute advises and supports numerous libraries and cultural societies in establishing and expanding German-language media collections, particularly in Western and Central Europe, but also overseas – for example, in Sweden,  Hungary  and Australia.  The Goethe Institute’s aim in doing this is always to safeguard the freedom of access to information worldwide. At the same time, the intention is also to provide experience of modern, forward-looking library techniques.