Münster City Library
| Münster City Library | |
|---|---|
 The building of the Münster city library |
|
| ISIL | DE-447 |
| Website | muenster.de/stadt/buecherei |
The city library of the city of Münster in Westphalia was founded in 1906. Today, in addition to the main office, it has five branches and a book bus.
history
In 1905 a committee of citizens of Münster and representatives of the city decided to establish a public book and reading hall in Münster. On April 18, 1906, the library started under the direction of the Reading Hall and Borromeo Association in the Martinischule with a stock of 4,300 books and over 60,000 loans in the first year of operation. In 1909 the city made the Krameramtshaus available as new space for the library. Between 1923 and 1925, however, these premises had to be left in favor of the Reichsbank , and operations continued in the Servatii School during these years.
In April 1933 the National Socialists “cleaned up” the library for the first time, and on May 10th the first book burnings took place on Domplatz . On January 1, 1934, the library operated by the Borromäusverein was withdrawn from its use of the Krameramtshaus, and the entire inventory was taken over by the Lamberti parish library. In 1935 the municipal public library started in the Krameramtshaus and was first managed by the city. In autumn the stock was around 12,000 books and 3,500 readers. In 1938 the public library was renamed the Münster City Library, but expansion plans fell victim to the cuts in favor of the Second World War . During the war, the city library had to be closed again and again, but the Krameramtshaus was spared direct bomb hits. As early as 1944, however, up to 10,000 books were relocated to Wöbbel Castle, and another 10,000 volumes were stored in a cellar. The last ones were lost in a bomb hit. After the war up to 12,000 books could be saved from rain and rubble, but only partially cleaned and dried. When it reopened in 1946, the library had up to 5,000 books - the British military government removed that many from its holdings due to Nazi content. Over the next two years, the books that had been outsourced were returned.
To renovate the Krameramtshaus, the city library moved into the premises of the former Clemens Hospital from 1949 to 1951 . When it moved back in, the city library was the first public library in Germany to introduce open-access lending . In 1958 the Amerikahaus Essen Münster left a book bus , which was replaced by a new one in 1960. In 1968 the Krameramtshaus was expanded to cope with the growing stock. From 1970 onwards, other media were also recorded, first records, and from 1972 board games for the first time in Germany. In addition, the concept of the three-part library was developed in Münster at this time .
In 1986 a new building was decided. The site “Asche”, which is directly adjacent to the Krameramtshaus, was selected as the location. The property was one of the last gaps left in the city center by the bombing raids on Münster. In 1987 Julia Bolles-Wilson and Peter Wilson from the Bolles + Wilson office selected the competition entry, and in 1990 construction was approved. In 1993 the city library moved to the new building. The design near the historic city center was controversial among the citizens from the start. The building is divided into two parts, the main house is built in the shape of a ship, a second part is only in the basement and connected to it by a bridge. The "Bibliotheksgasse" runs between the two parts and forms a line of sight to the Lambertikirche . There is a sculpture by Tom Otterness in this alley . The Überfrau is an eight-meter-high human sculpture made of stainless steel wires , with small bronze figures at its feet.
Since August 2012, essential parts of the interior of the almost 20-year-old building have been acutely threatened by falling plaster. Far-reaching protective measures in the form of safety nets had to be installed so that the visitors to the library did not get the plaster on their heads. The experts are still puzzling over the causes, apparently the primer applied to the concrete at the time does not get along with the plaster and / or concrete, so that acetic acid has formed, which now ensures that the plaster is detached from the substrate over a large area.
The city library was closed from July 29 to August 10, 2019, as renovation work was being carried out. Both the sanitary facilities and the reception area were renewed.
Since 2007 the library has been supported by a group of friends. In 2008, the entire inventory will be tagged with RFID tags , which will speed up borrowing and return.
Duration
260,000 media are available in the main office, including 220,000 books; together with the branches, the city library has a media inventory of 320,000. In 2007 1.9 million loans were made, 40,000 people from Münster borrowed media from the library. The total budget was almost four million euros.
Branches
| place | opening | Media inventory | comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uppenberg | 1938 | Closed after World War II | |
| Children's home | 1939 | 13,000 | Reopened in 1983 |
| Book bus | 1958 | 14,000 | |
| Coerde | 1967 | 13,000 | Moved in 1986 |
| Aase city | 1967 | 12,000 | Moved in 1998 |
| Hansaviertel | 1975 | 12,000 | |
| Gievenbeck | 2001 | 14,000 | Moved in 2003 |
Cooperation partner
The cooperation with the St. Michael library in Gievenbeck has a branch-like character. There is a very close cooperation.
The cooperation with the Hiltrup district library , sponsored by the parish of St. Clemens, exists with regard to lending fees. This is mutually recognized in both libraries. In addition, the district library receives annual grants for the media budget.
The cooperation with the Bibliobus, a book bus of the Düsseldorf Institut français, consists in the possibility of returning books borrowed from there to the Münster city library.
Web links
- www.muenster.de/stadt/bücherei Stadtbücherei Münster (official website)
- About the architecture of the new building (PDF file; 3.52 MB)
- Images from the Münster city library in the image archive of the LWL media center for Westphalia
Individual evidence
- ↑ Press information from the city of Münster (as of August 24, 2012)
- ↑ Westfälische Nachrichten: City library closes for two weeks. Retrieved August 14, 2019 .
Coordinates: 51 ° 57 ′ 47 " N , 7 ° 37 ′ 50" E