Tag Archives: Germany

Meet the candidates: Ulrike Krass

Ulrike Krass
Deputy Director Public Library Freiburg
GERMANY

My name is Ulrike Krass, I have been working in public libraries in Germany for many years, now as deputy director in Freiburg, a city near the black forest and close to the border to France and Switzerland. After concentrating on marketing, I am now focusing on organization and customer services. Further I´m also responsible for the branch libraries (including our mobile library), section for children, music and reference services in the central library.

My main motivation as a librarian is to enable people participating in society through free and equal access to information of any format. This is my vision for a progressive forward looking viability for libraries.

Since the beginning of my professional career I have been active in the German Association of Information and Library Professionals (BIB). My main emphasis here is   to support professional development at libraries in general.

I have been observing the IFLA activities since many years. I have participated at the WLIC in Glasgow, Oslo and Berlin. At Lyon and Wroclaw I intensified my participation with a poster presentation.

Now I feel ready to work more active in the international library movement with a focus on public libraries and their concerns – in the Public Libraries Section. The Action Plan with the objectives and activities is challenging and ambitious. As for example the Public Library Service Guidelines, the annual Public Library of the Year Award or the organisation of relevant conference programs. I would be happy to contribute constructive ideas to above objectives based on my experiences.

For more information about voting for members of the Public Libraries Standing Committee take the time to read our post.

Report on the State of Libraries in Germany – English version released

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From Guido Jansen, Head, International Cooperation with the German Library Association comes news of the release of an English translation of the latest edition of the German Library Association’s Report on the State of Libraries.

This concise yet authoritative publication assesses the status quo and lists the German Library Association’s related positions and demands.

In addition to offering selected facts & figures, the report highlights the most urgent issues libraries are currently facing in Germany, suggests appropriate measures and solutions and provides supportive statements by politicians from the federal and European level.

Topics covered include e-books, media & information literacy, school libraries, library services for refugees, improved public library funding for the provision of social services and the design of a sustainable library landscape.

 

welcomegrooves

welcome

In order to provide an accessible and appealing opportunity for refugees and immigrants to get into the local language, German libraries are starting to participate in the “welcomegrooves” project.

Welcomegrooves is a collaborative effort of more than 70 volunteers from the German creative industries and related sectors. Together, they have developed six lesson units “Learn German with Music”. In cooperation with refugees, these units have been translated into 23 languages. For the sake of user-friendliness, they can be downloaded as MP3-files onto mobile phones/devices as well as used online. For both, libraries provide facilities and support.

The idea of welcomegrooves is to give a warm welcome to the people who found shelter in Germany and to help them to familiarise themselves with their host country.

Thanks to Guido Jansen from IFLA National Committee Germany for passing on this information.

Help required by MSc Student

Hartwig Pautz is studying for an MSc in Information and Library Studies at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.   Hartwig has asked for support from colleagues in the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany in writing his dissertation which addresses income generation methods used by public libraries and the potential impact of income generation methods on public library ethos.

Among the outcomes of  his research will be a typology of income generation methods used by public libraries and a critical analysis of the impact of these methods on public library ethos as seen by librarians.  Hartwig hopes that these outcomes will help librarians addressing financial difficulties and building stronger institutions while defending principles and ethos. All results of the study will be made public on Strathclyde University’s open access repository.

For the purpose of this dissertation Hartwig is seeking help. Below is a link to a short electronic questionnaire which seeks to gather information about what librarians think about a set of income generation methods and their impact on the principles of librarianship. The questionnaire consists of 10 questions and should not take more than 10 minutes to complete. The survey is anonymous.   https://strathsci.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9BtLwndmU9nPQ6p

Hartwig would like to gather as much information from as many public library staff (library assistants, librarians, managers, public library fundraisers) in whatever function or position as possible working in the US, the UK or Germany.

Any questions should be directed to Hartwig at : prb12163@uni.strath.ac.uk