Library Header

Library

You can find books, audiovisual media and information about Germany here. You can do research on an iPad or computer, borrow German and English media, relax in the lounge area or use the Boothbox as your private working space.

Gamebox

Gamebox

Games are part of our culture! Discover digital games from Germany and Sub-Sahara Africa, visit one of our induction events or come to the afternoon game sessions.  The Gamebox will also host curated gaming events.

Hub © Goethe-Institut/Benjamin Keuffel

Hub

The Goethe-Institut’s new Hub offers creative entrepreneurs the opportunity to secure a space in an inspirational environment for six months. Look out for the call for applications, which will appear regularly on our website.

What we offer

Lending

The library is open to the public and use of books and media in the library is free of charge.

eLibrary

The eLibrary is a digital service offered by the Goethe-Institut Johannesburg library for South Africa which allows you to borrow digital media.

Translation funding

Our translation funding programme supports the publication of books by German authors in another language.

Service for librarians

Events, specialist information and cooperation services for librarians.

Projects

We work in partnership with other libraries, library associations, training centres and institutions in Germany and abroad to promote professional dialogue and exchange. In South Africa we organise conferences, seminars and information exchange programmes, in partnership with library institutions LIASA (Library and Information Association of South Africa) and EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries).

We cooperate with partners to support literary projects and publishers. In addition to the collaborative work with projects like Nal’ibali, African Storybook, FunDza or Book Dash, we support publishers in preparation for a visit to the annual Frankfurt Book Fair. We work together with Short Story Day Africa and bring authors from sub-Saharan Africa to Johannesburg and important literary festivals in South Africa as part of our Literary Crossroads series.

We place particular emphasis on supporting projects for digital inclusion and promote digital competencies, e.g. the initiative mLiteracy or the intensive collaboration with Wikipedia (Wiki Meet-ups, Wiki loves Women).

Wir sind nachher wieder da, wir müssen kurz nach Afrika" erschienen im Thienemannverlag, Autor: Oliver Scherz, Illustrationen: Barbara Scholz Thienemannverlag Illustrationen: Barbara Scholz

Book Dash 2017

Are you a writer or illustrator? Do you want to develop your skills further, meet other creatives from Sub-Saharan Africa and challenge yourself to create a storybook in a team in just one day?
 

Wiki Loves Women © Wiki Loves Women

Wiki Loves Women

There are countless influential women who have shaped Africa’s countries and societies. But few African women enjoy exposure on internationally relevant online databases such as Wikipedia. WikiAfrica and the Goethe-Institut intend on tackling this issue with the Wiki Loves Women project.

Literary Crossroads Literary Crossroads

Literary Crossroads

Literary Crossroads is a series of talks where South African writers meet colleagues from all over the continent and from the African diaspora to discuss trends, topics and themes prevalent in their literatures today.

Word of Mouth © Word of Mouth

goethe.de/wordofmouth
 Word of Mouth

Explore the various aspects of orality: orally transferred knowledge, Oral History, storytelling, oral literatures, Spoken Word.

The Spoken Word Project © Goethe-Institut

goethe.de/spokenword
 The Spoken Word Project

Stories are created by being told. In telling narratives, stories are invented, passed on, changed and adapted. They wander through the world, are passed from person to person and easily transcend boundaries.

Coding Da Vinci Logo © Goethe-Institut

Coding Da Vinci

The Goethe-Institut is offering experts in the fields of GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums), IT and Design the opportunity to participate in a networking trip to Germany. The participants will get to know new developments in the field of open cultural data, network with each other and with cultural institutions in Munich, and participate in the cultural hackathon Coding da Vinci (6–7 April 2019).