German Libraries: A Portrait - North Rhine-Westphalia

Neither the city zoo nor the football club 1. FC are the really big hits with the public. It’s the Municipal Library! The library is counting on youthful energy both among visitors and employees to keep things that way.

“Beep!“ says Tony, two-and-a-half years old, and puts a book aside. He is sitting in his children’s room, moving picture books from one stack to another and playing “lending library.” He goes to the Cologne Municipal Library with his mother regularly. They are only two of the 1.8 million people who use this city service per year. “We are the most-visited cultural institution in the city,” says the library’s director Hannelore Vogt. In comparison: “The zoo has 1.5 million, the 1. FC Köln has 1.2 million, and all of Cologne’s museums put together have 800,000 visitors.” The Cologne Municipal Library consists of its headquarters in the city centre, eleven branch libraries in various city districts, and a book bus. Among the 900,000 media in the complete stocks are books, magazines and journals, DVDs, CDs and CD-Roms. Music CDs, audio books, newspapers and magazines can be downloaded onto one’s computer via electronic borrowing.

Express service for reader requests

“We are a service provider for all of Cologne’s citizens,” as Hannelore Vogt formulates the Municipal Library’s identity. The library offers pc work spaces with free Internet access, and visitors who cannot find a desired non-fiction book can request it. In general, it is delivered within a week. “Of course, requests cannot be too specialised. They must fit into our portfolio. In other cases we refer users to inter-library loan.” The library maintains this service in spite of budget cuts stemming from the financial crisis: “It was immediately clear to us that readers’ wishes must be met and that people’s satisfaction must be increased.”

Apprentices manage the branch library

The Municipal Library has a young public, 70 percent are under 60. In the local city districts, the percentage of children and adolescents with the persons accompanying them is as high as 60 to 80 percent, Vogt reports. Those who are young themselves know best what young people need. For this reason, the eleven apprentices under the supervision of a young library employee have turned the branch library in Bocklemünd-Mengenich inside-out. They ascertain citizens’ needs by means of street surveys, in schools and children’s day-care centres. The result is a “family library” with comfortable and inviting reading corners. “Our apprentices should become more independent and age differences between users and library personnel should be reduced.” And the library resources in the Cologne district of Chorweiler, home to many socially disadvantaged people and immigrants, has been adapted to the residents’ needs with a literacy course. “One third of our visitors has a migration background,” says Hannelore Vogt. Therefore special resources are made available to this target group. The Municipal Library is cooperating in these efforts with other institutions such as the university, schools, the adult education centre (Volkshochschule), and providers of courses in integration.

A pleasant work space – behind glass

While mainly children’s and young people’s books and fiction are requested in branch libraries, the central library offers many non-fiction works as well. One work space on the third floor looks especially inviting: a chair with a sheepskin stands in front of a desk on which sharpened pencils and several sheets of letter paper lie. A coffee cup is waiting to be filled; glasses, a pipe and a lighter have been placed so that it looks as if someone has just briefly interrupted his work and will come back any minute. It is Heinrich Böll’s last work room. The original is displayed behind glass because this is where the Heinrich Böll Archive is located. It does not house the Cologne author’s manuscripts – they belong to the Cologne municipal archive – but secondary literature and an archive of newspaper clippings instead. An extensive exhibition area devoted to “Literature in Cologne” (“Literatur in Köln” – abbrev. LIK) is located on the third floor as well. Alternating exhibitions inform visitors about Cologne authors such as Hilde Domin or, for that matter, Heinrich Böll. In 1959, Böll co-founded another special division of the Cologne Municipal Library: “Germania Judaica” is one of Europe’s largest collections focusing on the history of German Jewry.

Buillding for Book Babies

In Autumn 2010, the central library will also provide an automat with ear plugs, since remodelling, financed by the State of North Rhine Westphalia among others, will be going on on two floors at once. This would not have been possible on the library’s budget alone. For the future, Hannelore Vogt wishes above all “a guaranteed media budget, because it is essential that we have contemporary media.”

And a contemporary children’s library is important, too. This at least is in reach: construction is already well underway in the basement. When it is finished, the “Book Babies” toddlers’ group, for children between 6 months and two years of age, will be started up again. On five dates, babies will be introduced to books through songs and playful group singing, and learn that books are not only things they can put in their mouths and suck on, but can look at, too. And their parents will get tips on supporting their children’s language and sensory awareness skills. “We also wish to signal in this way that young families, even with screaming children, are welcome here in this building, too! We are not only a place for quiet.” But it isn’t all that quiet at any time in the Municipal Library, ever. Even without construction work, the scanner goes “beep!” loud and clear when a book is being lent out.