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About us

Our 95 libraries are public and non-commercial places that offer an inspiring atmosphere for exchange and encounter. Carefully curated collections of around 800,000 analogue and digital media convey an up-to-date image of Germany and promote active engagement with language, culture and society.

In many different projects, we work together with partners from civil society, especially from the library, media and information scene. The topics range from artificial intelligence to reading promotion, from environmental protection to cultural heritage.

The libraries are also open spaces for experimentation and connect Germany and the world through inspiration and innovation.

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E-Library "Onleihe"

From Audiobook to newspaper

Goethe-Institut


Read books and newspapers, listen to music and audio books or watch German films - a free service for users in non-German speaking countries!


Our literature blog "Cherrypicker" suggests


Our activities

Take a look at some of our library projects and acitivies around the globe in the past few years.

Libraries as Commons

The Goethe-Institut Croatia has been running the project "Libraries as Commons" since 2020, which promotes conversations and discussions about the concept of commons in the context of libraries.

Pflanze in der Hand © Goethe-Institut

Green Libraries

Nature conservation, ecology and sustainability are becoming increasingly important in our globalised world. Libraries as an institution and their staff can make an important contribution to anchoring these goals in civil society.

Every Gamer Counts © Goethe-Institut

#EveryGamerCounts

A gaming project of the Goethe-Institut Johannesburg that promotes diversity and equality in and with the gaming industry.
 

Pop Up Creative Room Foto: Goethe-Institut/Lucid Creative

Workshops
Pop Up Creative Room

From September to December the libraries of Max Mueller Bhavan/ Goethe-Institut India will be offering workshops on digital techniques as part of Pop Up Creative Room e.g. Film making, podcasts, digital drawing and the creative use of augmented reality.

Social Translating

Social Translating

In the Social Translating Project, literary translators from Asia translate German novels into their respective languages and meet on the e-book platform Lectory.

„TIPP TALK“ — DEUTSCHLAND ANS OHR GELEGT © Goethe-Institut

#LearnGerman #Germany #Literature
Tipp Talk – Deutschland ans Ohr gelegt

Poetry readings, humour coaching, sustainability, and interactive audio plays - Rumbie's guests invite you into their worlds. In less than ten minutes, you'll hear their views about Germany and the German language.

Language: German


News from the library world


Our cooperation partners

Partnerbibliotheken Foto: pixabay

Partner libraries

Due to the great demand for literature and information from and about Germany, the Goethe-Institut has, in addition to its own libraries, built up an extensive network of cooperation with partner institutions. Currently, the libraries of the Goethe-Institut cooperate with 130 network partners worldwide.

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