Gerhard Römer

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Gerhard Römer (born July 12, 1928 in Konstanz ; † March 19, 2015 ) was a German librarian and Roman Catholic theologian . From 1979 to 1993 he was director of the Badische Landesbibliothek in Karlsruhe .

Life

Gerhard Römer grew up in Bad Säckingen and, after serving in the war and as a prisoner of war, graduated from the Jesuit college in St. Blasien in 1948 . He studied philosophy and theology in Freiburg and Innsbruck; In 1956 he received his doctorate with a work on the history of liturgy. This was followed by a two-year vicariate in Kehl. From 1958 he was a lecturer for practical theology at the seminary of the Archdiocese of Freiburg in St. Peter in the Black Forest , in 1961 he took over its deputy director.

In 1967 Römer left church service and embarked on a career as a librarian: He completed a traineeship at the Württemberg State Library and was there from 1969 to 1979 a. a. employed as specialist lecturer, head of the Bible collection and head of the reading room. In 1973 he took over the management of the newly established library school for the middle and upper library service at the Württemberg State Library.

In 1979, Römer moved to the Badische Landesbibliothek as director. During his tenure, Römer sharpened the profile of the Badische Landesbibliothek as a cultural and educational institution and focused on the perception of the museum function of the Badische Landesbibliothek, u. a. in the context of exhibitions on the historical book holdings. The most expensive undertaking during his tenure was the construction of a new library building for the Badische Landesbibliothek, which began in 1983 with the laying of the foundation stone. The building, designed by the architect Oswald Mathias Ungers , was finally completed in 1991.

The most important acquisitions in Roman's tenure included u. a. the second part of Thomas Murner's handwritten manuscript Hystory von anbeschaffener welt (1534/35), the Könnecke-Koschlig collection with 300 titles of baroque literature and the Scherenberg Psalter , a parchment manuscript from around 1260.

Gerhard Römer was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class .

Publications (selection)

  • The court librarian's report: Friedrich Molter's description of the grand ducal collections in Karlsruhe from 1838 . In: Books, People and Cultures: Festschrift for Hans-Peter Geh zum 65th Birthday, ed. by Birgit Schneider u. a., Munich: Saur, 1999, pp. 214-228.
  • "Freely accessible to all nationals". The court and state library in Karlsruhe in the 19th century . In: City and Library: Supplying Literature as a Communal Task in the Empire and in the Weimar Republic, ed. by Jörg Fligge and Alois Klotzbücher, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1997, p. 421–450 (Wolfenbütteler Schriften zur Geschichte des Buchwesen; 8).
  • Caroline Luise, Margravine of Baden. A learned princess of the Enlightenment . In: Gerhard Römer: books, donors, libraries. Book culture between Neckar and Lake Constance, Stuttgart a. a .: Kohlhammer, 1997, pp. 153-164.
  • The princes as founders, the state as saviors, at the service of the citizens. The way from the court library to the state library in Karlsruhe and Stuttgart . In: Gerhard Römer: books, donors, libraries: book culture between Neckar and Lake Constance, Stuttgart a. a .: Kohlhammer, 1997, pp. 130-152.
  • Book - reader - library: Festschrift of the Badische Landesbibliothek on the new building , ed. by Gerhard Römer, Karlsruhe: Badische Landesbibliothek, 1992, pp. 33–40.

Literature (selection)

  • Julia Hiller von Gaertringen: A Badener with a way of life: Dr. Gerhard Römer passed away . In: Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie 62 (2015) 3/4, pp. 215–217 ( preprint ).
  • Michael Hübl: Librarian from the bottom of my heart - Gerhard Römer has died . In: Badische Latest Nachrichten 70 (2015) of March 24, 2015 ( PDF ).
  • Many people saved from oblivion - THE BIG BZ-WAHL (45): Gerhard Römer . In: Badische Zeitung 62 (2007) of January 11, 2007, p. 22 ( PDF ).
  • Rüdiger Schmidt: Happy 14 years - Dr. Gerhard Römer retires . In: EUCOR library information 4 (1994) ( online ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Julia Freifrau Hiller von Gaertringen: A Badener with a way of life: Dr. Gerhard Römer passed away. In: Journal of Librarianship and Bibliography . tape 62 , no. 3/4 . Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 2015, p. 215-217 ( preprint ).
  2. ↑ Dr. theol. Gerhard Römer: Obituary notice. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. March 25, 2015, accessed March 5, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Römer, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German librarian and theologian
DATE OF BIRTH July 12, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Constancy
DATE OF DEATH 19th March 2015