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A position paper on the topic of freedom of expression and the right to access political, ideological, and religious literature in libraries is presented.

The article discusses a November 2008 further education conference at the Carl von Ossietzky Provincial and University Library in Hamburg, Germany on the theme "So That Paper Persists... Experiences With Mass Deacidification." The rationale, methodology, scope, and evaluated results of paper deacidification projects in various German libraries were reviewed.

Disposal has always been a source of conflict in academic and scientific libraries. Amid the increasing relevance of electronic resources, the disposal of e-books is becoming pertinent as well. Weighing up the pros and cons, every academic library should consider carefully whether it sides with the "Das frisst kein Brot/It doesn't consume space" team or the "Need to weed" team. The paper makes a proposal where to start the negotiation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper compares the different views of the two former presidents of the French National Library in the controversy over Google Books. Jean-Noël Jeanneney's criticism and rejection of any library collaboration with commercial enterprises such as Google is outlined, including his promotion for Europeana as a joint European alternative project. This is contrasted with his successor Bruno Racine's more open approach towards mass-scale digitisation in collaboration with commercial partners. The paper concludes with an outlook on the National Library's digitisation policy under the current management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bibliometrics is a current topic in many libraries. It is often associated with many questions, which are also repeated from time to time. In this article, the two authors have identified the 10 most frequently asked questions and try to answer them in separate and independent sections. They address questions about data providers such as Web of Science, Scopus and Dimensions, but also PubMed, ArXiv, EconBiz, as well as bibliometric indicators such as the Journal Impact Factor (JIF), CiteScore (CS), Scimago Journal Rank (SJR), Source Normalized Impact per paper (SNIP). However, spotlights will also be put on related topics such as Open Access and Altmetrics e. g. Altmetric.com, Plum Metric and Article-Level-Metric (ALM). The organizational embedding, the question of how culture-changing topics affect science management and libraries as well as the aspect that libraries should take on an expert function on these data-driven topics complete the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cooperation between archives and libraries with regard to the cataloguing of autographs and papers has changed dramatically over the course of the last twenty years, mainly due to the use of electronic media. By now there are online data banks which contain information on the autograph and paper collections of the Federal Archives Koblenz and the Berlin State Library. Traditionally, there has been a gap in Germany between archives and libraries in this vital field. It is the task for the future to overcome this gap once and for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In den letzten Jahren ist eine Debatte immer stärker in der Öffentlichkeit ausgetragen worden: Wie mit rassistischen Inhalten umgehen? Auch in Bibliotheken, Archiven und Museen muss die Frage gestellt werden, welche Methoden Anwendung finden sollen, um diskriminierende Inhalte nicht weiter zu reproduzieren. Der Beitrag untersucht Methoden im Umgang mit rassifizierendem und diskriminierendem Vokabular sowie den technischen Herausforderungen. Bei dem Versuch praxisorientierte Lösungsansätze zu verhandeln, werden die Bedürfnisse von kuratorischer Verantwortung, Einbeziehung, Nutzung und Bereitstellung diskutiert und in einem Orientierungsleitfaden zusammengeführt. In recent years, a debate has become increasingly public: How to deal with racist content? Libraries, archives, and museums must also ask what methods should be used to not further reproduce discriminatory content. This paper examines methods of dealing with racializing and discriminatory vocabulary, as well as its technical challenges. In an attempt to negotiate practical solutions, the needs of curatorial responsibility and inclusion are discussed and brought together in an orientation guide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, interaction with clients of the library will be transferred in to the stage of a theatre. Our format is the improvisational theatre with the show taking place at the library information desk: the players (=staff) task is to perform with high flexibility when being confronted with the expectations, demands, wishes, and needs of library visitors. While it can be helpful to play with and emphasise certain individual traits staff, is also asked to implement strategies and case models in order to act and react satisfyingly for both involved parties. Here, it can be extremely rewarding to make use of the basics of improvisational theatre. Also knowing and using the own inner team can be of great asset. Let's party, let's act! [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the role and potential of libraries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Both positive examples and wishful thinking in public and academic libraries are highlighted, as well as the impact of the lobbying activities of the library associations are highlighted. The final "outlook" is intended to encourage awareness of the potential of the agenda for libraries, their communities, and society as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-Media can be loaned and used in hospitals, free of charge: This is possible due to the Lisando library network. E-books, e-audios. e-magazines and e-papers offer information, relaxation and distraction for patients and employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to the Habsburg era, when Yiddish writings were hardly printed in Bukovina - due to the centralized policy of Vienna and the openness towards integration and assimilation on the part of numerous Bukovinian Jews, as well as because of the status of Yiddish as the language of uneducated Jews - the Yiddish printing industry, as well as the Yiddish libraries didn't develop until the early 1920s, simultaneously with the emergence of national identity concepts. This paper is based on descriptive research and discusses the importance of these institutions in shaping trajectories of cultural, national and linguistic identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces that a position paper on library legislation was developed during the membership meeting of the Borromäusverein e.V. on September 13, 2007. In particular, the paper addresses issues pertaining to library standards and legislation. Additionally, the topic of church and library work in Germany is addressed in the paper.

The article discusses a project undertaken by the German National Library to determine the sustainability of a massive deacidification of its holdings. The project is part of a program for the conservation and restoration of endangered cultural artifacts (KUR), which is funded by the federal and provincial governments.

The article reports on how the Austrian National Library in Vienna, Austria is working on converting historical documents into digital documents, so that they can be published on the internet. The project is focusing on the daily newspapers that were published in the constituent lands of the Austrian Empire during the reign of the House of Habsburg, an Austrian royal ruling family, and is being financed by the ERSTE Stiftung, a foundation of the Erste Bank financial institution.

Changes taking place in the modern world related to the digital revolution also affect the library. Libraries should exist in the virtual space in order to promote their services in social networks. Responding to the needs of modern users, the Voivodeship Public Library in Opole continually expands and enhances the range of internet services and web 2.0 activities. The paper presents library web portals and online services in Poland using the example of the Voidvodeship Public Library in Opole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 2012 at the latest, the Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Medizin (ZB MED, German central library for medicine) has been under massive pressure to change from a rather classic specialist library to a legally independent institution engaged much more in research. The goals are to fit its service offers to the new information needs and to distinguish itself by university co-operations and research and development in order to remain a competitive supplier of specialist information. In this paper, the project 'Strategic and re-organizational process ZB MED' ensuing from the above is described, experiences are discussed and commonly useful 'lessons learned' regarding change processes in libraries are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents news briefs pertaining to libraries. An online petition at http://www.klassik-stiftung.de/einrichtungen/herzogin-annaamalia-bibliothek/weimarer-appell/ against the conservation and protection of library materials against destruction via fires and flooding is discussed, the publication of an English translation of a Dutch paper on the future of libraries available online at http://www.siob.nl/media/documents/Library_of_ the_Future_12082014_DEF.pdf is announced, and the launch of the "Landesdigitalisierungsprogramm Wissenschaft und Kultur" library material digitization program in Saxony, Germany is also announced.

The article discusses the application of copyright and licensing law to electronic books in Germany and its implications for German libraries. Differences in the German legal code surrounding the lending of books published on paper or CD-ROM with electronic books are compared by members of the Deutscher Bibliotheksverband library association of Germany and the influence of book publishers on libraries' lending practices is criticized.

The paper discusses hypotheses why women librarians are particularly resistant to and critical of new forms of culture and learning that young visitors of libraries find attractive. Based on several enquiries, the author concludes that libraries in France remain a feminine world which tends to be closed to intermixing sexual, ethnic and social barriers. She describes women's reaction to young people - qualified as 'non-readers', 'visitors', or 'tourists' - who prefer libraries with coffee shops, DVD rentals and internet services. Male teenagers legitimately find traditional libraries gloomy, and female librarians are particularly critical about their behaviour and preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces this issue of the journal, which documents papers presented at the ODOK (Österreiches Online-Informationstreffen and Österreichischer Dokumentartag/Austrian Online Information Resources Conference and Austrian Documentation Conference) meetings in Wels, Austria, in 2012 and in Leoben, Austria, in 2010.

400 lectures and company presentations as well as 150 exhibitors formed the technical framework for the 101st German Librarians’ Day in Hamburg in May 2012. Whether e-books, Discovery Services, Patron Driven Acquisition, or the latest offers of service partner, the rich palette of topics offered something for each of the more than 4,500 information professionals. This paper provides a summary of the professional part and let some of the participants report on what personal benefits they draw from “Librarians’ Day”. Due to the technical orientation, a summary of the rich entertainment program was intentionally left out here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on ".hist2011 - Geschichte im digitalen Wandel," a conference that focused on the use of digital media in historical studies that took place in Berlin, Germany from September 14-15, 2011. Papers presented at the conference discussed topics such as digital libraries with historical sources on World War I, how German libraries are using bibliographic data for shared cataloging, and why certain standards need to be created for historical research data.

The article discusses a paper entitled "Creative Content in a European Digital Single Market" that proposes a number of solutions toward a unified European policy on copyrights and digital reproduction rights for libraries. The German Library Association e.V., however, expressed regret on the report's strong focus on the economic interests of several market participants rather than on the consuming public readership.

The German Bundestag set up a Study Commission on „Culture in Germany", which presented its final results by December 2007. The areas on which the Commission focused include the tasks and the financing of public libraries. The paper discusses the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission from a political point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research and application of modern science increasingly rely upon gigabit and terabit networks, allowing sharing of supercomputer resources and collaborate authoring of multimedia documents alike. University courses are given online, students use blogs, wikis and social networking sites to create information and thus become authors themselves. This paper reports about the 29th annual IATUL conference, held in Auckland, New Zealand, discussing diverse aspects of web 2. O, national and international e-science infrastructure projects and the role of libraries therein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the changing role of the user in information systems in the Web 2.0 this paper critically questions the concept of information literacy. Five theses on information literacy 2.0 as well as suggestions for further reading offer the possibility to change the perspective of the view on information literacy predominating in German libraries in the direction of a more holistic view of information and learning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As in many libraries with rare books in the Duke August Library uncertainty prevailed about the condition of their valuable holdings. Accidental negative feedback resulting from requests to the stacks alerted the responsible staff and fostered the feeling that one should examine more thoroughly. Is the security of the holdings still given? Are there volumes misplaced? Is the catalogue reliable? These and other reasons induced the Duke August Library to carry out a general stack review of its rare book holdings. This paper will discuss very briefly the theoretical background and then report in more detail about the preparation, the process and the results of the rare book stack review at the Duke August Library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports selected results of an empirical study where library executives from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as from Great Britain and the USA, were consulted with respect to the future of the library system. The latter two countries were selected since they are frequently considered in international comparisons because of their model fonction. Apart from the evaluation of the current country-specific situation, the judgment of alternative future scenarios regarding their probability of occurrence constituted the main focus of this questioning. The concurrences and differences resulting from the individual estimates can be helpful when carrying out strategic planning in the German library system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A system for describing the material condition of library (or archive) collections is presented, which is based on selecting the samples in even distribution all over the whole collection, avoiding the little illustrative methods of mathematic statistics. Another characteristic is that on the spot, i.e. describing the samples in the stacks or after getting them out at the writing table, only real and material findings are registered, avoiding qualifying categories. Evaluation is done using the possibilities for selection and combination offered by a spreadsheet program via special macro-commands for navigation, selection and calculation. The relevant program is available (at this time only in German). A single characteristic is the author's polemic against repeated folding as means to define paper degradation. This method has resulted in heavily exaggerated ideas on the material condition in the libraries. A single fold is suggested instead, followed by inspecting the fold line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of the Bibliographie Nationale Française (BNF), the French National Library, from its foundation in 1811 under Napoleon, its expansion to other subjects beside bibliography after the World War II, and to its modern online databases. The library is the oldest national bibliography in the world. Other topics mentioned are new cooperation with other libraries, the use of microfiche to reduce paper costs, and the goal to preserve books as cultural heritage.

This report informs about the activities of the consortium of regional libraries (AG Regionalbibliotheken) within section 4 of the German Library Association (dbv) in the years 2013 and 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A call for papers is presented for the 6th Congress of the Berufsverbands Information Bibliothek commission to be held in Leipzig, Germany from March 14-17, 2016.

The article focuses on a conference held by the working group "BID AG Bibliothek 2012" on October 5, 2007 in Bremen, Germany in which the social and political role of libraries was discussed. Additionally, standards and laws for libraries in Germany were considered. The working group resolved to draft a strategy paper that will focus on "Bibliothek 2007."