Karl Kunze (librarian)

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Karl Kunze (born May 17, 1863 in Göttingen , † May 16, 1927 in Hanover ) was a German historian and librarian .

Kunze was director of the (formerly) Royal and Provincial Library (today Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library ) in Hanover from 1907 to 1927 .

His father was a curator of the Göttingen University Library . Kunze studied history and geography in Leipzig and Göttingen. He received his doctorate in 1886 in Göttingen on the political position of the Lower Rhine princes in the years 1314–1334 . At first he worked as a historian of the Hanseatic League; For his edition of Hanseatic historical sources, he toured archives in Northern and Central Europe from 1891 to 1896. In 1905 he received the title of professor for the edition of his volumes 4-6 of the Hanseatic Document Book. "Because of his economically unsecured position, Kunze saw himself motivated to enter the Prussian library service in 1897."

In Greifswald he completed his training as a librarian for the higher service, took over the management of the Stettin City Library in 1903 - as the predecessor of the well-known Erwin Ackerknecht - and immediately began re-cataloging its holdings in accordance with the Prussian Instructions issued in 1899 . In 1907 he became director of the Royal and Provincial Library in Hanover as the successor to Eduard Bodemann , who died on September 23, 1906 (at the age of 78!). During his time as director in Hanover, Kunze no longer emerged as a historian but as a science organizer. “As a board member and most recently chairman of the Historical Association for Lower Saxony, he published its magazine, since 1924 as the 'Lower Saxony Yearbook'. In 1910 he was a co-founder of the Lower Saxony Historical Commission. "

His achievements in his 20-year tenure in Hanover include: a. the introduction of modern technical equipment in the library that was adequate for the beginning of the 20th century (electric light, book lift, pneumatic tube system, house telephone, typewriter, wash basin), the enlargement of the reading room to 20 user places, the reorganization of general service operations and business processes, the re-cataloging of the holdings the Royal Library, the improvement of the personnel situation (1907: 5 employees, 1927: 12 employees), the employment of women as librarians and their improved pay and civil service. Kunze's new building plans failed, as did his efforts to give the library a new name. The royal and provincial library was only given the word formerly . Shortly before his death, Kunze announced his resignation from all of his offices. He died one day before his 64th birthday in the clementine house in Hanover of a stomach ulcer.

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Hans Lülfing :  Kunze, Karl. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-428-00194-X , p. 309 ( digitized version ).
personal data
SURNAME Kunze, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German librarian and historian
DATE OF BIRTH May 17, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH Goettingen
DATE OF DEATH May 16, 1927
Place of death Hanover