Leo Altermatt

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Leo Altermatt (born January 31, 1896 in Büren SO ; † May 30, 1962 in Solothurn ) was a Swiss historian and librarian . He published numerous publications on the history of the canton of Solothurn and shaped the development of the Solothurn Central Library , of which he was director from 1936 until his death.

Life

Leo Altermatt was born in Büren in the Schwarzbubenland as the son of the innkeeper and postman Ferdinand Altermatt. After attending the teachers' seminar in Solothurn , which he graduated with a primary school teacher certificate in 1916 , and after a short activity as a primary school teacher, Altermatt decided to continue studying. In 1923, after studying at the Universities of Bern , Zurich and Paris, he acquired a patent as a high school teacher in the subjects of German and history. In the same year he received his doctorate with the dissertation "The Canton of Solothurn in the Mediation Period, 1803-1813". From 1924 Altermatt taught as a German and history teacher, initially for a short time at the Bern high school , from 1925 at the boys' secondary school in Solothurn. In 1936 he was elected director of the Solothurn Central Library, which had been in existence since 1930, as the successor to Josef Walker . In addition to his work as library manager, Altermatt was active in national and international committees.

Since 1925 Leo Altermatt was with Adeline geb. Meyer von Schoren (Thun) married. The marriage produced a son and two daughters.

The academic legacy of Leo Altermatt was handed over to the Solothurn Central Library in 2010. It was edited from 2012–2013. The directory can be accessed on the ZBS website.

Act

Central Library Solothurn

Leo Altermatt is considered to be the actual founder of the Solothurn Central Library (ZBS). When Altermatt took office, the central library, which had emerged from the merger of the Solothurn City and Cantonal Library in 1930/31, was housed in unsuitable rooms that were spread over different locations. Valuable holdings were infested with the bookworm , which had been brought in with the holdings of the abbey and monastery libraries that had been repealed and which was able to spread in the ZBS book magazines at the time. The catalog system and the signing were also in an unsatisfactory condition. In the 1937 annual report, Altermatt wrote:

“Signing, which no modern library can do without, should be promoted in such a way that every work would receive a stand number in the next few years so that the entire library could be properly set up when moving into the urgently needed standardized building and every book could be easily found. "

- Leo Altermatt : Annual report of the Solothurn Central Library 1937

As a result, Altermatt persistently advocated a new building for the central library. He fought the bookworm with an immediately successful disinfestation campaign . Altermatt decisively improved the catalog situation by introducing not only the author but also the person, place and subject catalogs with decimal classification . The signature system designed by Altermatt is still formative; later additions largely correspond to the original principles.

The new building for the central library was initially to be built on the so-called Schänzli area south of the Aare. At the beginning of the 1940s, two architecture competitions were announced for this purpose, the results of which led to heated discussions in the public. In 1944 a new situation arose with the donation of a patrician house on Bielstrasse to the city of Solothurn. In 1946 a project was approved to use this area with the Gibelin-Zetter-Palais for the central library, but was then temporarily postponed. In 1951 the municipal assembly of the city ​​of Solothurn approved the loans for a new building project. Leo Altermatt operation then in the canton of Solothurn a big promotion in view of the need for the proportion of the Canton Solothurn cantonal referendum , including a traveling exhibition through all the districts of the canton. This referendum could only be held in December 1953, with the loans being accepted by the people. After further delays, the new building of the central library was finally inaugurated on September 25, 1958.

The continuation of the cataloging of medieval manuscripts in the central library can be traced back to Leo Altermatt's initiative. A catalog, created by Alfons Schönherr , appeared in print two years after Altermatt's death. As a special friend of bibliophile treasures, Altermatt systematically restored valuable damaged copies, acquired modern bibliophile prints and set up a book museum in the Gibelin-Zetter-Palais. But the needs of the general public department could Altermatt in the new building by the then current state meet by a contemporary open-access library and a children's and youth library instituted.

National and international bodies

In 1943 Altermatt was elected to the board of the Association of Swiss Librarians as a representative of the study and educational libraries . From 1951 he served as its vice-president and from 1955 to 1961 as president. In 1954, Altermatt was also elected by the Federal Council to the supervisory authority of the Swiss National Library (now the Swiss National Library ), the Swiss Library Commission , of which he was appointed President shortly before his death.

Leo Altermatt took part in the annual German Library Days and in the meetings of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) as the official representative of the Swiss libraries.

Publications

Altermatt is the author of numerous publications on the history of books, literature and theater in Solothurn. Among other things, he published on the Solothurn poets Josef Reinhart and Franz Josef Schild and examined the relationship between Jeremias Gotthelf and Solothurn. The Heimatbuch “Der Kanton Solothurn”, published in 1949, brings together Altermatt's contributions to the history of literature, books, libraries and theater. Other important works by Altermatt appeared in the yearbook for Solothurn history .

Works (selection)

  • The canton of Solothurn in the mediation period . 1803-1813. Vogt-Schild, Solothurn 1929 (Zugl .: Diss. Phil. I Bern, 1923).
  • Swiss history for secondary, vocational and advanced training schools . 6th edition. Gassmann, Solothurn 1934.
  • The Lüthy bookstore in Solothurn . A. Lüthy, Solothurn 1938.
  • Agricultural conditions in Solothurn at the turn of the 18th to the 19th century . In: Festschrift Eugen Tatarinoff . 1938, p. 135-168 .
  • The Gassmann A.-G. book printing company, Solothurn . Origin and development of the printing press in connection with a history of book printing and censorship in the canton of Solothurn. Gassmann, Solothurn 1939.
  • Bibliography of the works of Josef Reinhart . Sauerlander, Aarau 1945.
  • Leo Altermatt, Ambros Kocher, Emil Künzli, Josef Loretz: The Canton of Solothurn . A home book. Gassmann, Solothurn 1949.
  • From the wealth of beautiful and rare books, from their hiking trails, from generous donors and the aura of the Solothurn Central Library . In: Librarium. Journal of the Swiss Bibliophile Society . Vol. 5, No. 1 , 1962, pp. 9-28 .

literature

  • Urs Altermatt : Altermatt, Leo. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  • Hans Sigrist, Robert Zeltner: Leo Altermatt † . In: Yearbook for Solothurn History . tape 35 , 1962, pp. V-XIII .
  • Dr. phil. Leo Altermatt † . In: Annual report of the Solothurn Central Library . tape 33 , 1962, pp. 3–8 ( PDF, 2.25 MB ).
  • Dr. Leo Altermatt † . Director of the Solothurn Central Library. In: Solothurner Zeitung . 4th June 1962.
  • Dr. phil. Leo Altermatt-Meyer, Director of the Solothurn Central Library . In: Biographical Lexicon of Deceased Swiss . tape 6 , 1969.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dr. phil. Leo Altermatt † . In: Annual report of the Solothurn Central Library . tape 33 , 1962, pp. 3–4 ( PDF, 2.25 MB ).
  2. ↑ a b Dr. phil. Leo Altermatt-Meyer, Director of the Solothurn Central Library . In: Biographical Lexicon of Deceased Swiss . tape 6 , 1969.
  3. ↑ a b c d Dr. phil. Leo Altermatt † . In: Annual report of the Solothurn Central Library . tape 33 , 1962, pp. 6 ( PDF, 2.25 MB ).
  4. ↑ Dr. phil. Leo Altermatt † . In: Annual report of the Solothurn Central Library . tape 33 , 1962, pp. 4 ( PDF, 2.25 MB ).
  5. ↑ Administrative work . In: Annual report of the Solothurn Central Library . tape 8 , 1937, pp. 8 ( PDF, 1.27 MB ).
  6. ↑ Administrative work . In: Annual report of the Solothurn Central Library . tape 8 , 1937, pp. 9–10 ( PDF, 1.27 MB ).
  7. ↑ Dr. phil. Leo Altermatt † . In: Annual report of the Solothurn Central Library . tape 33 , 1962, pp. 4–5 ( PDF, 2.25 MB ).
  8. ↑ a b Dr. phil. Leo Altermatt † . In: Annual report of the Solothurn Central Library . tape 33 , 1962, pp. 7 ( PDF, 2.25 MB ).
  9. ↑ Dr. Leo Altermatt † . Director of the Solothurn Central Library. In: Solothurner Zeitung . 4th June 1962.
  10. ^ A b Hans Sigrist, Robert Zeltner: Leo Altermatt † . In: Yearbook for Solothurn History . tape 35 , 1962, pp. VIII .
  11. ↑ Hans Sigrist, Robert Zeltner: Leo Altermatt † . In: Yearbook for Solothurn History . tape 35 , 1962, pp. IX .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Altermatt, Leo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss historian and librarian
DATE OF BIRTH January 31, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Büren SO
DATE OF DEATH May 30, 1962
Place of death Solothurn