GGG City Library Basel
The GGG Stadtbibliothek Basel is a public library in Basel . Media from books to computer games can be found in eight branches. The two libraries in Binningen and Pratteln in the canton of Baselland are also connected to the GGG city library network.
history
The GGG Stadtbibliothek Basel goes back to the establishment of the "Reading Institute for the Young" in 1807 by the Society for the Good and the Charitable Basel (GGG). The Reading Institute was founded as a counterpart to the existing Basel General Reading Society . This was reserved for the male upper class. The founding fathers of the reading establishment wanted to create, in addition to the basic literary supply, a counterpoint to the newly applicable freedom of the press and religion with commercial libraries and their range of "slippery novels". The youth should be led to a “sensible education” instead of “useless reading”.
In 1823 the GGG expanded its offer with the establishment of the Citizens 'Library and in 1842 the Workers' Library. Offer and loan were made separately according to shift, age and gender. The educational mission was in the foreground. Users were only allowed to borrow one entertaining book per month.
In 1884, the Basler Volksbibliotheken was founded by the association of the same name and started operations in six branches. By 1899, this network had grown to include thirteen district libraries. In 1901 the GGG took over these branches and merged them with their own institutions to form a city library network.
The development between 1897 and 1907 reflects the reforms that also took place in other Swiss cities and in Germany. The libraries received a uniform administration with a head office and a branch network. The age and class specific institutions were abolished. In 1907 the GGG opened the reading rooms in Schmiedenhof, in the center of the city. The reading rooms were open in the afternoons and evenings seven days a week and, as a novelty, offered not only books, but also newspapers and magazines.
In 1954 the name was changed to General Libraries of the GGG (ABG). In the 1960s, the ABG made the switch to open access. In 1990 the libraries switched their lending facilities to EDP and from 1992 made it possible to query the catalog in the OPAC and from 1996 online via the Internet. Self-booking via radio frequency identification ( RFID ) was introduced in 2009 . In 2010 the ABG changed its name to GGG Stadtbibliothek Basel.
From 2014 to 2015 the main Schmiedenhof library was extensively renovated and expanded. The public area of the library, which opened on May 8, 2015, is around twice as large as before. Children and young people each have their own department, the ground floor with the “sushi bar” (see picture) offers fast service, and the quiet reading zone is on the 4th floor. A café - 1777 Coffee Restaurant Bar - inspired by the modern Viennese coffee house culture and with a lot of retro charm complements the library perfectly.
organization
The Society for the Good and the Charitable Basel, organized as an association, is responsible for the Basel City Library. The GGG elects the “Commission of the GGG City Library”, which is responsible for the operation of the libraries. The management of the city library is in the hands of the management and the staff.
In 2015 the libraries listed below belong to the network of the GGG Stadtbibliothek Basel.
Basel-City:
- Schmiedenhof library (main library), Im Schmiedenhof 10, 4001 Basel
- Library Basel West, Allschwilerstrasse 90, 4055 Basel, which also houses the English Public Library
- Bläsi Library, Bläsiring 85, 4057 Basel
- Library Breite, Zürcherstrasse 149, 4052 Basel
- Gundeldingen Library, Güterstrasse 211, 4053 Basel
- Hirzbrunnen Library, Bäumlihofstrasse 152, 4058 Basel
- Library Neubad, Neuweilerstrasse 67, 4054 Basel
- Library St. Johann JUKIBU, Lothringerplatz 1, 4056 Basel
On behalf of the municipalities:
- Community and school library Binningen, Hauptstrasse 71, 4102 Binningen
- Pratteln community library, Bahnhofstrasse 16, 4133 Pratteln
On behalf of the Education Department of the Canton of Basel-Stadt the school libraries:
- Sand pits
- St. Alban
- Theobald Baerwart
- Wasgenring
Borrowed media can be returned in all libraries and in the return boxes at all libraries as well as in the Bider & Tanner and Orell Füssli bookstores in Basel.
financing
The Basel City Library is primarily financed from taxpayers' money, i.e. by the Canton of Basel-Stadt (figures can be found in the annual report). The GGG makes a bigger contribution as the sponsor of the city library. The remaining income comes from user fees and donations. The city library relies on donations for projects promoting reading, such as the free subscription for children and young people of the city of Basel or the purchase of media for children. The Basel City Library is the only public library in Switzerland to conduct professional fundraising .
Duration
The GGG City Library Basel has around 280,000 media, of which print media make up the main bulk. Around 40 percent of the media are sound and image carriers and PC games. Foreign language books, from Albanian to Turkish, are available in the branches. Classical CDs from the library of the Basel Music Academy can also be borrowed. The media of the Basel City Library can be queried and ordered via an online catalog .
Reading promotion and animation for children
With over 1000 events annually for children and young people - from homework help and reading animations to cultural programs and film nights - as well as free membership for this age group, the Basel City Library encourages their love of reading. Book volumes, Värsli games, research and discovery and much more inspire the little ones for language and reading.
Since 2012, young people have found contact persons in several libraries who are only there for them. The youth workers offer support with homework and applications, lend an open ear to worries and needs and promote both media and social skills of young people with many creative programs.
Since 2006, the city library has been running a reading promotion center in Kleinhüningen, a district with a high proportion of foreign-language residents, in cooperation with the culture department of the Basel-Stadt education department.
Individual evidence
- ^ Daniel Kriemler: The Beginnings of the Basler Reading Society in the Context of the Enlightenment and Society Movement in the Years 1787-1800. In: Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde . Vol. 105 (2005), pp. 157-195, doi: 10.5169 / seals-118495 , here p. 183.
- ^ GGG City Library Basel: Annual Reports - Archive. Retrieved January 15, 2020 .
literature
- Robert Barth (Ed.): “Ungesunde Lesewuth” in Basel. General Libraries of the GGG, 1807 to 2007 . 185th New Year's Gazette of the GGG . Schwabe, Basel 2007, ISBN 978-3-7965-2245-1 .
- Daniel Kriemler: The beginnings of the Basel reading society in the context of the Enlightenment and the society movement in the years 1787–1800. In: Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde. Vol. 105 (2005), pp. 157-195, doi: 10.5169 / seals-118495 .
- General Libraries of the GGG Basel: Annual Report 2008.
- Society for the good and non-profit Basel: Annual report 2008.