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The german library pattern: A survey of recent publications in English on the Federal Republic
Int. Libr. Rev. (1973) 5, 387-399
The German Library Pattern: A Survey of Recent Publications in English on the Federal Republic J O H N S. A N D R E W S ~ An earlier British Council Librarian, Germany, the late J o a n Frank, contributed "a comparative sketch of the library scene in the Federal Republic" to the Library Association Record for 1967.1 Together with its "selected references to publications in English since 1960", this is still probably the best brief introduction available in English for librarians unacquainted with Germany. The present survey is largely an attempt to analyse in library terms the water that has flowed under the Rhine bridges since 1967, although references have been made to publications before that date. Nearly all the books and articles cited are in English. Not all are by British authors. HISTORY
The chief value of White's symposium Bases of Modern Librarianship is now historical. This is especially so because, although it appeared in 1964, nearly all the papers contained in it were given at an international conference held in 1960/61. The two papers by Juchhoff, cited by Joan Frank, 2 were authoritative contributions from the former University Librarian of Cologne. One work, too specialized for Miss Frank to notice, was Mrs L. M. Newman's scholarly and well-documented pamphlet on Leibniz (1646-1716) and the German Library Scene (1966). 3 Leibniz was librarian to the Baron J. C. yon Boineburg, prime minister to the Elector of "~Sub-Librarian (Reader Services), University of Lancaster, England. Until July 1973 British Council Librarian, Germany. 1 Frank,J. (1967). The German Library Pattern: A British View. Libr. Ass. Rec. 69, 120-23. 2 FrankJ. (1967). Op cit. 3 Newman, L. M. (1966). Leibniz (1646-1716) and the German Library Scene. Library Association. Cf. the rather slight papers by Bowden, D. K. (1969). Leibniz as a Librarian and 18th-century Libraries in Germany. London: University College, School of Librarianship, Archive and Information Studies. Reviewed by Newman, L. M. (1970). Libr. Hist. 2~ 19-20. Milde, W. (1971). The Library at Wolfenbfittel. Mod. Lang. Rev. 66, I01-12. Sehulte-Albert, H. G. (1971). G. W. Leibniz & Library Classification. J. Libr. Hist. 6, 133-52.
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Mainz, of whose library he compiled a subject index. He later became librarian to J o h n Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Ltineburg, and later also of the Herzog-August-Bibliothek in Wolfenbtittel, near Hanover, where he produced an author catalogue. While in Italy he was offered the librarianship of the Vatican. In 1967 Verner contributed a general survey of recent German library history to an American journal. 1 In a lecture on The Influence of R. W. Chambers on the Development of University Libraries~ Wilks h a d in 1953 described how his predecessor at University College London had added to his general library a number of rooms, each devoted to a single subject or group of subjects. He thereby tried to make his Library perform the function of German seminar libraries whilst at the same time keeping it under the control of the Library Committee and the Library staff. With this adaptation of the German system Chambers influenced Wilks himself and later Scott at UCL, Offor at Leeds, Bonsor at Birmingham and Garside at King's College, London. In 1966 in another Chambers Memorial Lecture 3 Sir Frank Francis dealt with other scholar-librarians including Victor Scholderer, the incunabulist who has only recently died, and Immanuel Kant, who, having solicited a library post in the Schlossbibliothek in K6nigsberg, gave it up after a few years rather than be "the obedient servant of idle curiosity". Lessing, like Leibniz before him, one-time librarian of the Wolfenbt~ttel library, was said to have been unwilling "like a stablehand to put the hay in another hay-rack". Other outstanding names mentioned by Sir Frank were J o h a n n Matthias Gesner, Christian Gottlob Heyne, and Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl. Some nineteenth-century German pioneers in the philosophy of librarianship were treated by Goldschmidt in an article on Friedrich Adolf Ebert, 4 and by S. L. Jackson in an article on not only Ebert, but also Martin Schrettinger (1772-1851) and the Danish Christian Molbech (1783-1857). 5 Goldschmidt's article appeared in 1970, Jackson's in 1971. There are today two major journals for academic librarianship in Germany, for the Democratic Republic, the Zentralblatt fiir Biblio1 Verner, M. (1967). Librarianship in Western Germany. o7. Libr. Hist. 2, 144-51. 2 Wilks, J. (1953). The Influence ofR. W. Chambers on the Development of University Libraries. London: H. K. Lewis, pp. 9-10. 3 Francis, Sir F. (1968). The Scholar as Librarian. Times Lit. Supp. 67, 223-25. 4 Goldschmidt, E. (1970). Pioneer Professionah Friedrich Adolf Ebert (1791-1834), Librarian to the King of Saxony. Libr. Q. 40, 223-35. 5Jackson, S. L. (1971). Pioneer Librarianship Thinking in the Early 19th Century: Schrettinger, Ebert and Molbech. Int. Libr. Rev. 3, 67-76.
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thekswesen and, for the Federal Republic, the Zeitschriftfur Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographic. The Zentralblatt was founded as long ago as 1884 in Leipzig. The Zeitschrift, first published in 1954, replaced the first, modest post-war information bulletin, the Nachrichtenfiir wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken (1948-1953) and is published in Frankfurt/Main. The history of both journals was dealt with by Hilgert in 1970.1 Not all recent historical treatments have been confined to the academic sector. In 1971 Chaplan showed how American ideas had permeated German public libraries as early as 1845. The most recent period of influence came after 1945 with the American occupation. Major factors have been the American information libraries and the American Memorial Library in Berlin. ~ In England, Young had been studying for many years the history of German public librarianship, when in 1967 he published a review of the history of the various library and librarians associations in Germany. 3 In this article he also outlined the steps towards professional unity and surveyed the joint conferences held since 1963. This was but an earnest of his magnum opus, which finally appeared in 1970. 4 This modestly entitled Short History covered in detail German public libraries from the early 19th century to the present day. It is greatly to be hoped that this will appear in book form before long. In 1970 there also appeared what seemed at first sight to be merely a well-produced coffee-table tome, Hobson's Great Libraries. 5 It was that, but much more. The interest of Hobson, a director of Sotheby's and for long responsible for its book department, in the contents of his 33 libraries was evident in the many splendid black-and-white and coloured photographs. The text, however, was far superior to most works of this kind. The German libraries, whose histories and treasures were described, were the State Library in Bamberg, the Bavarian State Library in Munich and the Herzog-August-Bibliothek in Wolfenbfittel. BUILDINGS
Joan Frank cited Thompson's work on library buildings and pointed out that a new edition of Mevissen's Biichereibau was in preparation. 6 Mevissen drew on non-German as well as German experiences in his 1 Hilgert, E. (1970). Two German Library Journals: the "Zentralblatt" and the "Zeitschrift". Libr. Q. 40, 409-22. 2 Chaplan, M. (1971). American Ideas in the German Public Libraries: Three Periods. Libr. Q. 41, 35-53. (Cf Frank, J. (1967). Op dt.) 8 Young, J. D. (1967). A Short History of Library Associations in Germany. Libr. Ass. Rec. 69, 422-26. 4 Young, J. D. (1970). A Short History of German Public Libraries from the Early 19th Century to the Present Day. Libr. Ass. F.L.A. thesis. I-Iobson, A. (1970). Great Libraries. Weidenfeld. 6 Frank, J. (1967). Op tit.
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internationally acclaimed book and arrived at requirements for building programmes which are quoted as standards by architects as well as librarians. Although the promised new edition has not yet appeared, he contributed in 1971 a brief description of Bremen's branch public libraries to the New Library World. 1 Since architecture is an international language, one must draw attention to Stromeyer's Europiiische Bibliotheksbauten seit 1930 (1962). 2 Covering developments throughout Europe it serves as a practical guide to the layout and technical installations of libraries. Individual descriptions exemplify specific problems, which are illumined by numerous ground-plans and cross-sections. There is a comprehensive bibliography. The work is supplemented for the Federal Republic, 1945-1968, by the compilation edited by Liebers (1968). 3 It comprises about 45 reports from the libraries themselves of their new buildings or adaptations, with ground-plans, tables and illustrations, and singles out trends that have influenced the individual buildings. PROFESSIONAL
EDUCATION
AND
CO-OPERATION
In 1963 when Libri published a symposium on "Education for Librarianship Abroad" the editors could not obtain a contribution from the Federal Republic. 4 The gap was partially filled in 1968 by two works: the University of Illinois' international survey on the subject 5 and Whatley's University of Strathclyde thesis. 6 The latter was a comparative study of professional education in 25 countries. He treated the United Kingdom at some length and the Federal Republic more briefly. A full-length treatment in English remains a desideratum. G. A. Bramley's History of Library Education (Bingley, 1969) concentrated on the UK, the U.S.A., South Africa, Australia and India. A short article by Klesper on the specialist topic of the education of information scientists in the Federal Republic appeared in 1971.7 The traditional gulf between academic and public libraries, though 1 Mevissen, W. (1971). Bremen Branches Out. New Libr. World 73, 44-4.?. 2 Stromeycr, R. (I 962). Europiiische Bibliotheksbauten seit 1 9 3 0 . . . Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz. 8 Liebers, G. (cd.) (1968). Bibliotheksneubauten in der Bundesrepubllk Deutschland. Frankfurt'. Klosterma nn. 4 Editorial note (1963). Education for Librarianship Abroad. Libri 12, 146. A paper appeared on East Germany by H. Kunze, 143~/~6. 5 Bone, L. E. (1968). Library Education : An International Survey. University of Illinois. 6 Whatley, H. A. (1968). Education for Librarianship: An Outline of Development in 25 Countries. University of Strathclyde M.A. thesis. [Includes the U K (pp. 74-90) and the Federal Republic (pp. 101-13).] 7 Klesper, I. (1971). Education and Training of Information Specialists in the Federal Republic of Germany. Rev. Inform. 2, 105-107.
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narrowing now, affects the pattern of co-operation, especially since professional education is stilldirected towards either academic or public libraries with less staff interchange than in Britain. In 1969 Ernestus described for an American journal the patterns and plans of organized co-operation in the Federal Republic of Germany. i UNIVERSITY
AND STATE
LIBRARIES
Before mentioning recent publications one must underline the continued value of two items cited by J o a n Frank: the article by Langstadt in the Journal of Documentation for 1961 ~and the full-length book by Danton published in 1963. ~ Although by now Danton's good wine needs no bush, one should not overlook his article on a wider theme in Libri (1967).4 Another paper concerned only indirectly with Germany, although the underlying thought was influenced by the philosophy common to German academic librarians, was Ratcliffe's coat-trailing "Problems of Open Access in Large Academic Libraries", published in 1968. 5 I remember the protests when this paper was read at a Library Association's conference and the author argued that the German system of closed access had something to commend it. Another problem common to both our countries, whatever our solutions, is that of the growing number of library users. KOttelwesch contributed an article on this theme to Libri in 1967. 6 There have been several accounts of individual libraries. In 1964 Wright reported on a visit arranged by the German Federal Foreign Office, with assistance from the British Council. 7 The eight senior librarians visited academic libraries in Bonn, Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin. Other reports on individual libraries were Ostrem on Bochum (1966); s Kaegbein on the Technological University in Berlin (1968); 9 and Burnett on Mainz, Frankfurt, Cologne and Bochum (1969). lo Burnett went on a tour in 1968 sponsored by the Ernestus, H. (1969). Patterns and Plans; Organised Library Cooperation in the Federal Republic of Germany. Missouri Libr. Ass. 0.. 30, 274-81. Frank, J. (1967). Op cir. 3 Frank, J. (1967). Op cit. See also rejoinder by Busse, G. yon (1964). Libri 14, 62-75, and review of Danton by Page, B. S. (1964). 07. Docum. 20, 37-38. 4 Danton, J. P. (1967). The Subject Specialist in National and University Libraries, with Special Reference to Book Selection. Libri 17, 42-58. Ratcliffe, F. W. (1968). Problems of Open Access in Large Academic Libraries. Libri 18, 95-I 11. (In England and Germany.) 6 K6ttelwesch, C. (1967). Mass Utilization of German University Libraries. Libri 17, 21 O-19. 7 Wright, G. H. (1964). German Study Tour, 1964. Hertis. s Ostrem, W. M. (1966). The Ruhr University Library. Wilson Libr. Bull. 41, 418-20. 9 Kaegbein, P. (1968). The Technological University in Berlin. Libr. Ass. Rec. 70, 174-76 (Enlarged version of FrankJ. (1967). Op cir., ref. 10.) 10 Burnett, A. D. (Oct. 1969). Four German University Libraries. Focus, no. 7, I-8a.
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Association of Assistant Librarians and this was some of the fruit. It showed more insight than m a n y essays on "what I did during my summer holidays". It is a pity that Focus, the organ of the Library Association's International and Comparative Librarianship Group, in which the article appeared, has to be produced on a shoe-string budget. In 1970 Phillips paid tribute to the kindness that he had received when using the Bavarian State Library in Munich. 1 That same year an exhibition of manuscripts, incunabula and block-books was mounted in that Library. The annotated and well-illustrated catalogue produced in connexion with it was a model of its kind.~ In 1966 Garside published his "Reflections" on recent trends in Germany. a This had as its background many years of close contact with German librarianship. M y article, which appeared in 1969, arose from more superficial knowledge; 4 but it seemed worth attempting a general outline of the contemporary learned library scene. Some account was given of staffing structure, professional education, administration (including cataloguing and reader service), book-stock and bookselecting, co-operation and automation. The role of such bodies as the German Research Association was not discussed because Garside had already touched on this. In 1970 Burnett covered a similar field in an article for Libri. 5 His section headings read: finance, administrative and staff structure, book selection, exchanges and co-operative acquisition, catalogues, closed and open access, "Lehrbuchsammlung" (textbook collection), reader service and amenities, automation, seminar libraries and inter-library co-operation. This article, like his one in Focus, was based upon impressions gained during his AAL study tour, but was the result of more mature reflection. PUBLIC
LIBRARIES
Dewe's article for the L.A. Record of 1965 on "Library Supply Agencies''6 was a foretaste of his FLA thesis, published in book-form in 1968 as Library Supply Agencies in Europe. A section was devoted to the EKZ in Reutlingen. 7 1 Phillips, J. A. S. (1970). The Bavarian State Library: An Essay in Kindness. Libr. Rev. 22, 422-25. Dressier, F. (1970). Treasuresof the Bavarian State Library. Trans. by M. Turner. Munich: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Frank, J. (1967). Op eit. r Andrews, J. S. (1969). Learned Libraries in West Germany. J. Librarian.ship 1, 20-40. 5 Burnett, A. D. (1970). Impressions of West German University Libraries. Libri 20, 35-58. 6 Frank, J. (1967). Op cit." items by Dewe and Ernestus. 7 Dewe, M. (1968). West Germany: Einkaufszentrale ftir Offentliche Btiehereien. In his: Library Supply Agenciesin Europe. Library Association.
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A more general survey of recent developments in public librarianship in the Federal Republic came in 1968 from the authoritative pen of the then City Librarian of Hamburg in his contribution to the McColvin Festschrift. 1 My article in the L.A. Record for that year was intended simply to record impressions gained from visits to a few German public libraries for the benefit of those readers with little or no knowledge of t h e m 3 The sudden request from the Japanese Library Association for permission to translate it into Japanese came as a shock--even if a flattering one. There was no time to correct over-simplifications and one or two downright howlers. All that could be done was to add a reference to a more reliable source, the book by Busse and Ernestus on Das Bibliothekswesen der BRD. a In 1969 Ernestus spoke to a Canadian audience on a theme touched on in the work just mentioned: Developing Public Library Services: A German Outlook.4 After outlining the history of these services in Germany he discussed the foreseeable future. Within about 20 pages he mentioned many live issues, including book-selection and reader service, the rationalization of administration, the structure of the public library service, regional planning, mobile libraries, inter-lending, relations with other types of library and professional education. That same year the Editor of this Review gave us the benefit of his extensive tour of German libraries and of his membership of committees investigating the structure of British library services. ~ His comparison of the German and British systems, particularly in large cities, covered a great deal of ground. First, he described bodies founded by the Central Government (the Bund): e.g. the Deutsche Bibliothek, Frankfurt; the Prussian State Library, Berlin; the International Youth Library, Munich; and the German Research Council. Then he pointed out the distinctive role of the States (the L~nder), with special reference to libraries in Munich, Hanover, Cologne, Frankfurt and Hamburg. Lastly, he described certain large city libraries: Hanover, Munich, Berlin, Bremen and Duisburg. The survey ended with four recommendations for future development. 1Joerden, R. (1968). The Public Library System in West Germany since 1945. In (Vollans, R. F., ed.) Librariesfor the People. Library Association. Andrews, J. S. (1968). Public Libraries in West Germany. Libr. Ass. Rer 70, 230-33. In Japanese (1969), Gendai no Toshokan 7, 144-51. 3 Busse, G. yon and Ernestus, H. (1968). Das Bibliothekswesen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz. 4 Ernestus, H. (1969). Developing Public Library Services: A German Outlook. University of Toronto School of Library Science. 5 Chandler, G. (1969). The German Library System: Libraries in Large Cities. Int. Libr. Rev. 1, 241-62.
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The "Letter from West Germany" sent by Birkholz to the New Library World in 1970 was a designedly much slighter account of a few libraries. 1 It was accompanied by six photographs. The following year Wijnstroom delivered a paper to the British Public Libraries Conference in Blackpool on "International Library Developments in North West Europe", 2 including Germany, under the following headings: library legislation; the free public library; public lending right; library systems and co-operative schemes; centralizadon/ decentralization; and library supply agencies. SPECIAL
LIBRARIES, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND INFORMATION SERVICES
One of the leading special librarians in Germany is Reichardt, who has at least 50 publications to his credit in either German or English. A few were cited in my article on his Central Library, that of the Nuclear Research Establishment at Jiilich. 3 The best brief general survey of German special libraries in English remains the relevant section in Bakewell's Industrial Libraries throughout the World (1969). 4 Wasting no words he discussed and documented the formation, growth and activities of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Spezialbibliotheken, the Institut fiir Dokumentationswesen, the Deutsche Gesellschaft far Dokumentation, the Deutscher Biichereiverband, the Library at Jtilich, the Technische Hochschule (now Universitiit) in Hanover (which houses the Technische Informations-Bibliothek), the Deutsches Patentamt in Munich, the Hamburg Commerzbibliothek and the Hamburgisches Welt-Wirtschafts-Archiv. Bakewell limited himself to "industrial" libraries, while interpreting the term liberally. Other types were treated in 1971 by Krevzer (law libraries) 5 and in 1972 by myself (education libraries).6 In 1968 and 1971 respectively there appeared reports by Churchward of a library in Munich devoted to children's and young people's 1 Birkholz, U. (1970). Letter from West Germany. Libr. World 71, 199-204. 2 Wijnstroom, M. (197 I). International Library Developments in North West Europe. In: Proceedings, Papers and Summaries of Discussions at the Public Libraries Conference, Blaekpool,14-16 Sept. 1971. Library Association, pp. 8-16. 3 Andrews, J. S. (1972). The Central Library of the Nuclear Research Establishment at Jtilich. Int. Libr. Rev. 4, 71-81. 4 Bakewell, K. G. B. (1969). Industrial Libraries throughout the World. Oxford: Pergamon. 5 Krevzer, K. F. (1971). Law Libraries and Law Collections in the Federal Republic of Germany. Law Librn 2, 39M~2. See also Moys, E. M. (1972). German Law Librarians' Group. Law Librn 3, 33. 6 Andrews, J. S. (1972). The Federal Republic. In (Platt, P., ed.) Libraries in Colleges of Education. 2nd ed. Library Association, pp. 358-62. [Expanded and updated from Education Libraries in West Germany (1968) Edn Libr. Bull. no. 32, 19-24.]
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literature (unique in its international coverage) 1 and by Scholz of a special collection of Canadiana in Marburg. z Two of the places described by Bakewell have been the subject of individual articles in English. In 1967 Tehnzen dealt with the TIB, the "Technical Information Library in Hanover", Germany's nearest equivalent to our former National Lending Library. 3 In April 1971 Ettel explained the role in the German scientific and information services of the Institut ffir Dokumentationswesen (Institute for Documentation) .4 In October that year Aslib held its Annual Conference in Darmstadt. At it Cremer, the Director of the Institut far Dokumentationswesen, read a paper on " T h e German Information Scene ''5 as a complement to a paper by Wilfred Ashworth on the one in Britain. In J u n e that year Cremer and some of his colleagues had visited Britain under the auspices of the British Council to discuss the general situation in the information field. His paper treated problems under five heads: the general organization (information policy) ; the management of information centres; problems of international co-operation; education and training; and special problems of the present and future development. Before leaving special librarianship one should note a major international congress held in Buenos Aires in September 1970. The proceedings, punished under the tide Usersof Documentation, included papers by W. Krumholz, W. Kschenka and G. Reichardt. 6 CATALOGUING, CLASSIFICATION AND AUTOMATION
Those of us who do not know the difference between a Schlagwortkatalog and a Stichwortregister (and those who do) should not overlook the article on subject cataloguing in Germany by Garside, published as long ago as 1950. 7 It is invaluable on terminology and the various schemes. More recently, in 1967, Lohmann described a co-operative project in 1 Churchward, S. M. (1968). Twenty Years of the International Youth Library [Munich]. Libr. Ass. Rec. 70, 280-82. Seholz, H . J . (1971). The Canada Collection in Marburg/Lahn, Germany. Can. Libr. 07. 28, 216-17. 3 Tehnzen, J. (1967). The Technical Information Library in Harmover. Systems Communs 3, 30-31. 4 Ettel, W. (Apr. 1971). The Institute for Documentation and Its Role in German Scientific and Technical Information. Inspel 6 (2), 59-63. (Institut ffir Dokumentationswesen). 5 Cremer, M. (1971). The German Information Scene. Aslib Pror 23, 629-34. 6 FID (1970). Users of Documentation : International Congress on Documentation, Buenos Aires, 21-24 September 1970. The Hague: FID. Garside, K. (1950). Subject Cataloguing in German Libraries. 07. Docum. 6, 188-205.
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which selected major periodicals were exploited from the subject angle. 1 A m o r e specialized article by Stevenson appeared in 1970: it gave the background to the subject catalogue of the Mainz City Library. 2 In 1971 J a h r m a n n dealt in the pages of this Review with recent developments in the classification of children's books in the Federal Republic. a All these activities are traditional ones. As their colleagues elsewhere German librarians are concerned with automation, if only to master the magician's apprentice before he masters them. The University Library of Bochum had a head start. It was given a large initial grant and was expected from the beginning to experiment with automation. It had ready access to a computer and gave books individual accession numbers of a type suitable for use in one. Again, Bochum used "mechanical word order" instead of that imposed by the old Prussian Instructions. Nevertheless, in spite of notable successes, all did not go smoothly at Bochum, as Pflug confessed in Aslib Proceedings (1968) 4 and Libri (1969). 5 The libraries in the other new universities, notably Regensburg (1970), 6 were able to profit by Bochum's experiences. Unfortunately, m a n y of the reports are available only in German; but Lingenberg has put us in his debt with survey articles in the present Review (1970), 7 in Program (1971) 8 and in Libri (1972) 9 and the account of a seminar held at Regensburg on electronic data processing in the Unesco Bulletin (1970) .10 The compilers of the Deutsche Bibliographie, produced by the Deutsche Bibliothek in Frankfurt, have done pioneer work in automation. In 1966 the Director of this Library explained how computers were used in compiling national bibliographies and the Deutsche Bibliographic in 1 Lohmann, O. (1967). The Subject-Cataloguing of the Contents of Periodicals as a Task of Comprehensive Libraries. Libri 17, 95-103. Stevenson, G. (1970). The Mainzer Sachkatalog and Its Background. Libr. Q. 40, 318-39. a Jahrmann, W. (1971). Trends and Changes in the Classification of Children's Books in West Germany. Int. Libr. Rev. 3, 339-42. 4 Pflug, G. (1968). Experiences and Problems of Electronic Data Processing Encountered by the University of Bochum Library. Aslib Proe. 20, 492-95. a Pflug, G. (1969). New Steps in Library Automation in the Federal Republic of Germany. Libri 19, 304-12. 6 Niewalda, P. (1970). Electronic Data Processing in Regensburg University Library. Program 4, 83-88. Lingenberg, W. (1970). Computer Applications in Libraries of the Federal Republic of Germany. Int. Libr. Rev. 2, 201-10. s Lingenberg, W. (1971). Comparison of Computerized Loans Systems in the Federal Republic of Germany. Program 5, 191-203. 9 Lingenberg, W. (1972). Central Organizations for Automation in Libraries of the German Federal Republic. Libri 22, 155-62. 10 Lingenberg, W. (1970). Seminar on Electronic Data Processing in Libraries, Regensburg. Unesco Bull. Libr. 24, 305-8.
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particular. 1 Coward followed this in 1967 with an analysis of the implications for similar bibliographies, notably the British National Bibliography. 2 Since then, automation has affected not only that bibliography but other, smaller, publications issued by BNB, e.g. quite recently, the British Education Index. Before leaving the subject one must mention two chemical papers. Weiske's contribution to the Proceedings of an international Symposium on Computer-Based Chemical Information, held in 1968 and published in 1970, showed how computers came to the aid of the major chemical abstracting journal, the Chemisches Zentralblatt. 3 In 1972 Ulbrich and Wierer described the document retrieval system for macromolecular chemistry by means of optical coincidence punched cards that is used at the Deutsches Kunststoff-Institut. 4 GENERAL
The Leeds Library School has sought to broaden our knowledge of comparative librarianship by issuing Occasional Papers. As pointed out in the preface to the one by Betteridge on the Federal Republic of Germany, 5 the apparently complicated library system there had previously not been comprehensively described in any one English language source. 6 This in 1970 Betteridge attempted to d o - - a n d with a commendable degree of success. After a general introductory section he characterized the various types of libraries, including national, state, public, academic and special ones. Then followed sections on library co-ordination, co-operation and professional education. After a glance at standards for libraries he concluded by comparing the German and the British library systems. He appended useful lists of abbreviations, a brief glossary, and lists of library journals, associations and institutions. Betteridge relied heavily on one of the works cited in his bibliography and already mentioned in his present survey: Busse and Ernestus, Das 1 K6ster, K. (1966). The Use of Computers in Compiling National Bibliographies. illustrated b y . . . the "Deutsche Bibliographie". Libri 16, 269-81. 2 Coward, R. E. (1967). A New Look in National Bibliographies: Some Implications of the Use of Computers, with special reference to the "Deutsche Bibliographic". Libr. Ass. Rec. 69, 310-13. a Weiske, C. (1970). Construction of a Literature Processing Institution for Coordinated Literature Analysis and Production of the SRD of "Chemisches Zentralblatt". In (Evers, H., ed.) Proceedings of the Symposium on Computer-Based Chemical Information, Noordwijk, Netherlands, 4-7 Nov. 1968. The Hague: Koninklijke Nederlandse Chemische Verenigung, pp. 12143. Also (1970). Chemical Information Services. Angewandte Chemic, Int. Ed. 9, 550-55. 4 Ulbrich, R. & Wierer, J. (1972). A Natural Document Retrieval System for Macromolecular Chemistry. 07. Chem. Docum. 12, 148-52. 5 Betteridge, A. (1970). The Structure of the Library System in the Federal Republic of Germany. Leeds Polytechnic, Dept. of Librarianship. 6 Now (1973) see articles in (A. Kent & others, ed.) Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. N.Y. : Dekker, Vol. 9, pp. 386-545.
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Bibliothekswesen der BRD (1968), then available only in German.1 This book, commissioned by the German Research Association, was planned as an introduction for foreign librarians. The announcement that in 1968 IFLA would meet in Frankfurt/Main gave impetus to the project. What was intended as a pamphlet grew into a full-length manual and was completed in time for the conference. It rapidly became a prescribed text in library schools in Germany and elsewhere. The wide scope and background information made it a model for much-needed similar contributions in comparative librarianship. The book opened with a helpful, though necessarily unexciting, description of the various types of educational institutions and bodies at Federal, State and Local Authority levels and a brief history of the two main types of libraries, academic and public. The next two chapters dealt with types of libraries ranging from those of universal scope to those for special groups, e.g. young people and hospital patients, and with co-operative activities (e.g. interlending). Then came a somewhat miscellaneous chapter outlining certain aspects of library administration and services. Chapter 5 discussed library buildings; 6, bibliography and information science; 7, professional education. The final chapter gave useful addresses and hints for foreign students wanting to work in German libraries. Three appendices, index, map and 16 plates completed the compendium. As one reviewer remarked, a nation that gave us the Baedeker and the H a n d b u c h concept was bound to do this kind of book well. Its limitations arose mostly from its very nature. The authors attempted to cover so much ground that they could not dig deeply everywhere. Automation and ADP were mentioned; one had to look elsewhere for detailed treatments. Specialists in, say, information science would not be satisfied with any book intended for non-specialists. However, and this was an excellent feature, the authors added at the end of chapters references to where fuller or more specialized treatments were to be found. Here I would cavil mildly at the presentation of such reading lists. Although not all readers would share my preference, on grounds of perspicuity, for traditional indented paragraphs to the block ones used by the publishers, I was glad to see that the B&senblatt reviewer shared my general misgivings about the layout. 2 The imbedding of bibliographical references inside a paragraph was no doubt thought to be appropriate for select lists. In fact, only the serious reader would use such lists and he would prefer, for speed of reference, a more 1 Busse, G. yon and Ernestus, H. (1968). Op cir. 2 Jahrsetz, H. (1972). Bgrsenblatt 28 (83), 2390.
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formal layout loved by cataloguers, especially since the printers eschewed the conventional use of italics to differentiate titles from authors. As a matter of policy little information about individual libraries was given in the body of the book. An invaluable Appendix gave a directory of facts and figures on major libraries and other bodies concerned with librarianship. On what criteria certain places were awarded two stars ("worth a detour" ?), others only one ("interesting" ?) and most none ("see if possible"?) was not revealed. Presumably the authors will periodically revisit the places commended to satisfy themselves that standards are being maintained. Reviewers called for an English edition. The story behind the translation has been revealed elsewhere. 1 Suffice it to emphasize that the English edition, published in 1972,~ was in many ways a new work. Throughout the authors substantially revised the data and statistics, especially the directory just mentioned. Apart from deleting and adding many sentences and adding whole paragraphs on current developments such as the Bibliotheksplan, they contributed completely new subsections on "denominational academic libraries" and "academic libraries of the armed forces". The index was augmented by the inclusion in many cases of German terms as well as their English equivalents. The reading lists were overhauled and updated. The bibliographical data, being mostIy in German, stood out more clearly; the translators' attempt to modify the original layout was not over-successful. More serious than typographical matters was the fact that most of the citations were still in German. A brief supplementary list of recent items in English was to have been contributed by an English public librarian; for domestic reasons it unfortunately did not materialize. Perhaps the present survey may go some way towards meeting the need. The English edition of the manual has already sold widely even inside Germany because it is fuller and more up-to-date than the original German oiae. Eventually the authors intend to produce a second and updated German edition based, to a large extent, upon the present English one. a 1 Andrews, J. S. (1973). Libraries in the Federal Republic of Germany: Background to the Translation. Libr. Ass. Rec. 75, 4 6 . Busse, G. yon and Ernestus, H. (1972). Libraries in the F.R.G. Rev. and enl. English ed., trans. J. S. Andrews and G. P. M. Walker. Harrassowitz, Libr. Ass. and American Libr. Ass. s Besides reviews cited by Andrews (Op cit.) see: (of German ed.) Jahrsetz, H. (1972). B6rsenbla~t 28 (83), 2389-90; (of English ed.) Dewe, M. (1972). New Libr. World 73, 447-48, and Young, J. D. (1972). Focus 3 (4), 82-84. Breitenbach, E. (1973). Libr. Q. 43, 176-78, and Zimmermann, E. (1973). Z. Bibliot. u. Bibliog. 20, 119.
The German Library Pattern: A Survey of Recent Publications in English on the Federal Republic J O H N S. A N D R E W S ~ An earlier British Council Librarian, Germany, the late J o a n Frank, contributed "a comparative sketch of the library scene in the Federal Republic" to the Library Association Record for 1967.1 Together with its "selected references to publications in English since 1960", this is still probably the best brief introduction available in English for librarians unacquainted with Germany. The present survey is largely an attempt to analyse in library terms the water that has flowed under the Rhine bridges since 1967, although references have been made to publications before that date. Nearly all the books and articles cited are in English. Not all are by British authors. HISTORY
The chief value of White's symposium Bases of Modern Librarianship is now historical. This is especially so because, although it appeared in 1964, nearly all the papers contained in it were given at an international conference held in 1960/61. The two papers by Juchhoff, cited by Joan Frank, 2 were authoritative contributions from the former University Librarian of Cologne. One work, too specialized for Miss Frank to notice, was Mrs L. M. Newman's scholarly and well-documented pamphlet on Leibniz (1646-1716) and the German Library Scene (1966). 3 Leibniz was librarian to the Baron J. C. yon Boineburg, prime minister to the Elector of "~Sub-Librarian (Reader Services), University of Lancaster, England. Until July 1973 British Council Librarian, Germany. 1 Frank,J. (1967). The German Library Pattern: A British View. Libr. Ass. Rec. 69, 120-23. 2 FrankJ. (1967). Op cit. 3 Newman, L. M. (1966). Leibniz (1646-1716) and the German Library Scene. Library Association. Cf. the rather slight papers by Bowden, D. K. (1969). Leibniz as a Librarian and 18th-century Libraries in Germany. London: University College, School of Librarianship, Archive and Information Studies. Reviewed by Newman, L. M. (1970). Libr. Hist. 2~ 19-20. Milde, W. (1971). The Library at Wolfenbfittel. Mod. Lang. Rev. 66, I01-12. Sehulte-Albert, H. G. (1971). G. W. Leibniz & Library Classification. J. Libr. Hist. 6, 133-52.
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ANDREWS
Mainz, of whose library he compiled a subject index. He later became librarian to J o h n Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Ltineburg, and later also of the Herzog-August-Bibliothek in Wolfenbtittel, near Hanover, where he produced an author catalogue. While in Italy he was offered the librarianship of the Vatican. In 1967 Verner contributed a general survey of recent German library history to an American journal. 1 In a lecture on The Influence of R. W. Chambers on the Development of University Libraries~ Wilks h a d in 1953 described how his predecessor at University College London had added to his general library a number of rooms, each devoted to a single subject or group of subjects. He thereby tried to make his Library perform the function of German seminar libraries whilst at the same time keeping it under the control of the Library Committee and the Library staff. With this adaptation of the German system Chambers influenced Wilks himself and later Scott at UCL, Offor at Leeds, Bonsor at Birmingham and Garside at King's College, London. In 1966 in another Chambers Memorial Lecture 3 Sir Frank Francis dealt with other scholar-librarians including Victor Scholderer, the incunabulist who has only recently died, and Immanuel Kant, who, having solicited a library post in the Schlossbibliothek in K6nigsberg, gave it up after a few years rather than be "the obedient servant of idle curiosity". Lessing, like Leibniz before him, one-time librarian of the Wolfenbt~ttel library, was said to have been unwilling "like a stablehand to put the hay in another hay-rack". Other outstanding names mentioned by Sir Frank were J o h a n n Matthias Gesner, Christian Gottlob Heyne, and Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl. Some nineteenth-century German pioneers in the philosophy of librarianship were treated by Goldschmidt in an article on Friedrich Adolf Ebert, 4 and by S. L. Jackson in an article on not only Ebert, but also Martin Schrettinger (1772-1851) and the Danish Christian Molbech (1783-1857). 5 Goldschmidt's article appeared in 1970, Jackson's in 1971. There are today two major journals for academic librarianship in Germany, for the Democratic Republic, the Zentralblatt fiir Biblio1 Verner, M. (1967). Librarianship in Western Germany. o7. Libr. Hist. 2, 144-51. 2 Wilks, J. (1953). The Influence ofR. W. Chambers on the Development of University Libraries. London: H. K. Lewis, pp. 9-10. 3 Francis, Sir F. (1968). The Scholar as Librarian. Times Lit. Supp. 67, 223-25. 4 Goldschmidt, E. (1970). Pioneer Professionah Friedrich Adolf Ebert (1791-1834), Librarian to the King of Saxony. Libr. Q. 40, 223-35. 5Jackson, S. L. (1971). Pioneer Librarianship Thinking in the Early 19th Century: Schrettinger, Ebert and Molbech. Int. Libr. Rev. 3, 67-76.
THE
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LIBRARY
PATTERN
389
thekswesen and, for the Federal Republic, the Zeitschriftfur Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographic. The Zentralblatt was founded as long ago as 1884 in Leipzig. The Zeitschrift, first published in 1954, replaced the first, modest post-war information bulletin, the Nachrichtenfiir wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken (1948-1953) and is published in Frankfurt/Main. The history of both journals was dealt with by Hilgert in 1970.1 Not all recent historical treatments have been confined to the academic sector. In 1971 Chaplan showed how American ideas had permeated German public libraries as early as 1845. The most recent period of influence came after 1945 with the American occupation. Major factors have been the American information libraries and the American Memorial Library in Berlin. ~ In England, Young had been studying for many years the history of German public librarianship, when in 1967 he published a review of the history of the various library and librarians associations in Germany. 3 In this article he also outlined the steps towards professional unity and surveyed the joint conferences held since 1963. This was but an earnest of his magnum opus, which finally appeared in 1970. 4 This modestly entitled Short History covered in detail German public libraries from the early 19th century to the present day. It is greatly to be hoped that this will appear in book form before long. In 1970 there also appeared what seemed at first sight to be merely a well-produced coffee-table tome, Hobson's Great Libraries. 5 It was that, but much more. The interest of Hobson, a director of Sotheby's and for long responsible for its book department, in the contents of his 33 libraries was evident in the many splendid black-and-white and coloured photographs. The text, however, was far superior to most works of this kind. The German libraries, whose histories and treasures were described, were the State Library in Bamberg, the Bavarian State Library in Munich and the Herzog-August-Bibliothek in Wolfenbfittel. BUILDINGS
Joan Frank cited Thompson's work on library buildings and pointed out that a new edition of Mevissen's Biichereibau was in preparation. 6 Mevissen drew on non-German as well as German experiences in his 1 Hilgert, E. (1970). Two German Library Journals: the "Zentralblatt" and the "Zeitschrift". Libr. Q. 40, 409-22. 2 Chaplan, M. (1971). American Ideas in the German Public Libraries: Three Periods. Libr. Q. 41, 35-53. (Cf Frank, J. (1967). Op dt.) 8 Young, J. D. (1967). A Short History of Library Associations in Germany. Libr. Ass. Rec. 69, 422-26. 4 Young, J. D. (1970). A Short History of German Public Libraries from the Early 19th Century to the Present Day. Libr. Ass. F.L.A. thesis. I-Iobson, A. (1970). Great Libraries. Weidenfeld. 6 Frank, J. (1967). Op tit.
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ANDREWS
internationally acclaimed book and arrived at requirements for building programmes which are quoted as standards by architects as well as librarians. Although the promised new edition has not yet appeared, he contributed in 1971 a brief description of Bremen's branch public libraries to the New Library World. 1 Since architecture is an international language, one must draw attention to Stromeyer's Europiiische Bibliotheksbauten seit 1930 (1962). 2 Covering developments throughout Europe it serves as a practical guide to the layout and technical installations of libraries. Individual descriptions exemplify specific problems, which are illumined by numerous ground-plans and cross-sections. There is a comprehensive bibliography. The work is supplemented for the Federal Republic, 1945-1968, by the compilation edited by Liebers (1968). 3 It comprises about 45 reports from the libraries themselves of their new buildings or adaptations, with ground-plans, tables and illustrations, and singles out trends that have influenced the individual buildings. PROFESSIONAL
EDUCATION
AND
CO-OPERATION
In 1963 when Libri published a symposium on "Education for Librarianship Abroad" the editors could not obtain a contribution from the Federal Republic. 4 The gap was partially filled in 1968 by two works: the University of Illinois' international survey on the subject 5 and Whatley's University of Strathclyde thesis. 6 The latter was a comparative study of professional education in 25 countries. He treated the United Kingdom at some length and the Federal Republic more briefly. A full-length treatment in English remains a desideratum. G. A. Bramley's History of Library Education (Bingley, 1969) concentrated on the UK, the U.S.A., South Africa, Australia and India. A short article by Klesper on the specialist topic of the education of information scientists in the Federal Republic appeared in 1971.7 The traditional gulf between academic and public libraries, though 1 Mevissen, W. (1971). Bremen Branches Out. New Libr. World 73, 44-4.?. 2 Stromeycr, R. (I 962). Europiiische Bibliotheksbauten seit 1 9 3 0 . . . Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz. 8 Liebers, G. (cd.) (1968). Bibliotheksneubauten in der Bundesrepubllk Deutschland. Frankfurt'. Klosterma nn. 4 Editorial note (1963). Education for Librarianship Abroad. Libri 12, 146. A paper appeared on East Germany by H. Kunze, 143~/~6. 5 Bone, L. E. (1968). Library Education : An International Survey. University of Illinois. 6 Whatley, H. A. (1968). Education for Librarianship: An Outline of Development in 25 Countries. University of Strathclyde M.A. thesis. [Includes the U K (pp. 74-90) and the Federal Republic (pp. 101-13).] 7 Klesper, I. (1971). Education and Training of Information Specialists in the Federal Republic of Germany. Rev. Inform. 2, 105-107.
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narrowing now, affects the pattern of co-operation, especially since professional education is stilldirected towards either academic or public libraries with less staff interchange than in Britain. In 1969 Ernestus described for an American journal the patterns and plans of organized co-operation in the Federal Republic of Germany. i UNIVERSITY
AND STATE
LIBRARIES
Before mentioning recent publications one must underline the continued value of two items cited by J o a n Frank: the article by Langstadt in the Journal of Documentation for 1961 ~and the full-length book by Danton published in 1963. ~ Although by now Danton's good wine needs no bush, one should not overlook his article on a wider theme in Libri (1967).4 Another paper concerned only indirectly with Germany, although the underlying thought was influenced by the philosophy common to German academic librarians, was Ratcliffe's coat-trailing "Problems of Open Access in Large Academic Libraries", published in 1968. 5 I remember the protests when this paper was read at a Library Association's conference and the author argued that the German system of closed access had something to commend it. Another problem common to both our countries, whatever our solutions, is that of the growing number of library users. KOttelwesch contributed an article on this theme to Libri in 1967. 6 There have been several accounts of individual libraries. In 1964 Wright reported on a visit arranged by the German Federal Foreign Office, with assistance from the British Council. 7 The eight senior librarians visited academic libraries in Bonn, Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin. Other reports on individual libraries were Ostrem on Bochum (1966); s Kaegbein on the Technological University in Berlin (1968); 9 and Burnett on Mainz, Frankfurt, Cologne and Bochum (1969). lo Burnett went on a tour in 1968 sponsored by the Ernestus, H. (1969). Patterns and Plans; Organised Library Cooperation in the Federal Republic of Germany. Missouri Libr. Ass. 0.. 30, 274-81. Frank, J. (1967). Op cir. 3 Frank, J. (1967). Op cit. See also rejoinder by Busse, G. yon (1964). Libri 14, 62-75, and review of Danton by Page, B. S. (1964). 07. Docum. 20, 37-38. 4 Danton, J. P. (1967). The Subject Specialist in National and University Libraries, with Special Reference to Book Selection. Libri 17, 42-58. Ratcliffe, F. W. (1968). Problems of Open Access in Large Academic Libraries. Libri 18, 95-I 11. (In England and Germany.) 6 K6ttelwesch, C. (1967). Mass Utilization of German University Libraries. Libri 17, 21 O-19. 7 Wright, G. H. (1964). German Study Tour, 1964. Hertis. s Ostrem, W. M. (1966). The Ruhr University Library. Wilson Libr. Bull. 41, 418-20. 9 Kaegbein, P. (1968). The Technological University in Berlin. Libr. Ass. Rec. 70, 174-76 (Enlarged version of FrankJ. (1967). Op cir., ref. 10.) 10 Burnett, A. D. (Oct. 1969). Four German University Libraries. Focus, no. 7, I-8a.
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Association of Assistant Librarians and this was some of the fruit. It showed more insight than m a n y essays on "what I did during my summer holidays". It is a pity that Focus, the organ of the Library Association's International and Comparative Librarianship Group, in which the article appeared, has to be produced on a shoe-string budget. In 1970 Phillips paid tribute to the kindness that he had received when using the Bavarian State Library in Munich. 1 That same year an exhibition of manuscripts, incunabula and block-books was mounted in that Library. The annotated and well-illustrated catalogue produced in connexion with it was a model of its kind.~ In 1966 Garside published his "Reflections" on recent trends in Germany. a This had as its background many years of close contact with German librarianship. M y article, which appeared in 1969, arose from more superficial knowledge; 4 but it seemed worth attempting a general outline of the contemporary learned library scene. Some account was given of staffing structure, professional education, administration (including cataloguing and reader service), book-stock and bookselecting, co-operation and automation. The role of such bodies as the German Research Association was not discussed because Garside had already touched on this. In 1970 Burnett covered a similar field in an article for Libri. 5 His section headings read: finance, administrative and staff structure, book selection, exchanges and co-operative acquisition, catalogues, closed and open access, "Lehrbuchsammlung" (textbook collection), reader service and amenities, automation, seminar libraries and inter-library co-operation. This article, like his one in Focus, was based upon impressions gained during his AAL study tour, but was the result of more mature reflection. PUBLIC
LIBRARIES
Dewe's article for the L.A. Record of 1965 on "Library Supply Agencies''6 was a foretaste of his FLA thesis, published in book-form in 1968 as Library Supply Agencies in Europe. A section was devoted to the EKZ in Reutlingen. 7 1 Phillips, J. A. S. (1970). The Bavarian State Library: An Essay in Kindness. Libr. Rev. 22, 422-25. Dressier, F. (1970). Treasuresof the Bavarian State Library. Trans. by M. Turner. Munich: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Frank, J. (1967). Op eit. r Andrews, J. S. (1969). Learned Libraries in West Germany. J. Librarian.ship 1, 20-40. 5 Burnett, A. D. (1970). Impressions of West German University Libraries. Libri 20, 35-58. 6 Frank, J. (1967). Op cit." items by Dewe and Ernestus. 7 Dewe, M. (1968). West Germany: Einkaufszentrale ftir Offentliche Btiehereien. In his: Library Supply Agenciesin Europe. Library Association.
THE
GERMAN
LIBRARY
PATTERN
393
A more general survey of recent developments in public librarianship in the Federal Republic came in 1968 from the authoritative pen of the then City Librarian of Hamburg in his contribution to the McColvin Festschrift. 1 My article in the L.A. Record for that year was intended simply to record impressions gained from visits to a few German public libraries for the benefit of those readers with little or no knowledge of t h e m 3 The sudden request from the Japanese Library Association for permission to translate it into Japanese came as a shock--even if a flattering one. There was no time to correct over-simplifications and one or two downright howlers. All that could be done was to add a reference to a more reliable source, the book by Busse and Ernestus on Das Bibliothekswesen der BRD. a In 1969 Ernestus spoke to a Canadian audience on a theme touched on in the work just mentioned: Developing Public Library Services: A German Outlook.4 After outlining the history of these services in Germany he discussed the foreseeable future. Within about 20 pages he mentioned many live issues, including book-selection and reader service, the rationalization of administration, the structure of the public library service, regional planning, mobile libraries, inter-lending, relations with other types of library and professional education. That same year the Editor of this Review gave us the benefit of his extensive tour of German libraries and of his membership of committees investigating the structure of British library services. ~ His comparison of the German and British systems, particularly in large cities, covered a great deal of ground. First, he described bodies founded by the Central Government (the Bund): e.g. the Deutsche Bibliothek, Frankfurt; the Prussian State Library, Berlin; the International Youth Library, Munich; and the German Research Council. Then he pointed out the distinctive role of the States (the L~nder), with special reference to libraries in Munich, Hanover, Cologne, Frankfurt and Hamburg. Lastly, he described certain large city libraries: Hanover, Munich, Berlin, Bremen and Duisburg. The survey ended with four recommendations for future development. 1Joerden, R. (1968). The Public Library System in West Germany since 1945. In (Vollans, R. F., ed.) Librariesfor the People. Library Association. Andrews, J. S. (1968). Public Libraries in West Germany. Libr. Ass. Rer 70, 230-33. In Japanese (1969), Gendai no Toshokan 7, 144-51. 3 Busse, G. yon and Ernestus, H. (1968). Das Bibliothekswesen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz. 4 Ernestus, H. (1969). Developing Public Library Services: A German Outlook. University of Toronto School of Library Science. 5 Chandler, G. (1969). The German Library System: Libraries in Large Cities. Int. Libr. Rev. 1, 241-62.
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ANDREWS
The "Letter from West Germany" sent by Birkholz to the New Library World in 1970 was a designedly much slighter account of a few libraries. 1 It was accompanied by six photographs. The following year Wijnstroom delivered a paper to the British Public Libraries Conference in Blackpool on "International Library Developments in North West Europe", 2 including Germany, under the following headings: library legislation; the free public library; public lending right; library systems and co-operative schemes; centralizadon/ decentralization; and library supply agencies. SPECIAL
LIBRARIES, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND INFORMATION SERVICES
One of the leading special librarians in Germany is Reichardt, who has at least 50 publications to his credit in either German or English. A few were cited in my article on his Central Library, that of the Nuclear Research Establishment at Jiilich. 3 The best brief general survey of German special libraries in English remains the relevant section in Bakewell's Industrial Libraries throughout the World (1969). 4 Wasting no words he discussed and documented the formation, growth and activities of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Spezialbibliotheken, the Institut fiir Dokumentationswesen, the Deutsche Gesellschaft far Dokumentation, the Deutscher Biichereiverband, the Library at Jtilich, the Technische Hochschule (now Universitiit) in Hanover (which houses the Technische Informations-Bibliothek), the Deutsches Patentamt in Munich, the Hamburg Commerzbibliothek and the Hamburgisches Welt-Wirtschafts-Archiv. Bakewell limited himself to "industrial" libraries, while interpreting the term liberally. Other types were treated in 1971 by Krevzer (law libraries) 5 and in 1972 by myself (education libraries).6 In 1968 and 1971 respectively there appeared reports by Churchward of a library in Munich devoted to children's and young people's 1 Birkholz, U. (1970). Letter from West Germany. Libr. World 71, 199-204. 2 Wijnstroom, M. (197 I). International Library Developments in North West Europe. In: Proceedings, Papers and Summaries of Discussions at the Public Libraries Conference, Blaekpool,14-16 Sept. 1971. Library Association, pp. 8-16. 3 Andrews, J. S. (1972). The Central Library of the Nuclear Research Establishment at Jtilich. Int. Libr. Rev. 4, 71-81. 4 Bakewell, K. G. B. (1969). Industrial Libraries throughout the World. Oxford: Pergamon. 5 Krevzer, K. F. (1971). Law Libraries and Law Collections in the Federal Republic of Germany. Law Librn 2, 39M~2. See also Moys, E. M. (1972). German Law Librarians' Group. Law Librn 3, 33. 6 Andrews, J. S. (1972). The Federal Republic. In (Platt, P., ed.) Libraries in Colleges of Education. 2nd ed. Library Association, pp. 358-62. [Expanded and updated from Education Libraries in West Germany (1968) Edn Libr. Bull. no. 32, 19-24.]
THE GERMAN LIBRARY
PATTERN
395
literature (unique in its international coverage) 1 and by Scholz of a special collection of Canadiana in Marburg. z Two of the places described by Bakewell have been the subject of individual articles in English. In 1967 Tehnzen dealt with the TIB, the "Technical Information Library in Hanover", Germany's nearest equivalent to our former National Lending Library. 3 In April 1971 Ettel explained the role in the German scientific and information services of the Institut ffir Dokumentationswesen (Institute for Documentation) .4 In October that year Aslib held its Annual Conference in Darmstadt. At it Cremer, the Director of the Institut far Dokumentationswesen, read a paper on " T h e German Information Scene ''5 as a complement to a paper by Wilfred Ashworth on the one in Britain. In J u n e that year Cremer and some of his colleagues had visited Britain under the auspices of the British Council to discuss the general situation in the information field. His paper treated problems under five heads: the general organization (information policy) ; the management of information centres; problems of international co-operation; education and training; and special problems of the present and future development. Before leaving special librarianship one should note a major international congress held in Buenos Aires in September 1970. The proceedings, punished under the tide Usersof Documentation, included papers by W. Krumholz, W. Kschenka and G. Reichardt. 6 CATALOGUING, CLASSIFICATION AND AUTOMATION
Those of us who do not know the difference between a Schlagwortkatalog and a Stichwortregister (and those who do) should not overlook the article on subject cataloguing in Germany by Garside, published as long ago as 1950. 7 It is invaluable on terminology and the various schemes. More recently, in 1967, Lohmann described a co-operative project in 1 Churchward, S. M. (1968). Twenty Years of the International Youth Library [Munich]. Libr. Ass. Rec. 70, 280-82. Seholz, H . J . (1971). The Canada Collection in Marburg/Lahn, Germany. Can. Libr. 07. 28, 216-17. 3 Tehnzen, J. (1967). The Technical Information Library in Harmover. Systems Communs 3, 30-31. 4 Ettel, W. (Apr. 1971). The Institute for Documentation and Its Role in German Scientific and Technical Information. Inspel 6 (2), 59-63. (Institut ffir Dokumentationswesen). 5 Cremer, M. (1971). The German Information Scene. Aslib Pror 23, 629-34. 6 FID (1970). Users of Documentation : International Congress on Documentation, Buenos Aires, 21-24 September 1970. The Hague: FID. Garside, K. (1950). Subject Cataloguing in German Libraries. 07. Docum. 6, 188-205.
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ANDREWS
which selected major periodicals were exploited from the subject angle. 1 A m o r e specialized article by Stevenson appeared in 1970: it gave the background to the subject catalogue of the Mainz City Library. 2 In 1971 J a h r m a n n dealt in the pages of this Review with recent developments in the classification of children's books in the Federal Republic. a All these activities are traditional ones. As their colleagues elsewhere German librarians are concerned with automation, if only to master the magician's apprentice before he masters them. The University Library of Bochum had a head start. It was given a large initial grant and was expected from the beginning to experiment with automation. It had ready access to a computer and gave books individual accession numbers of a type suitable for use in one. Again, Bochum used "mechanical word order" instead of that imposed by the old Prussian Instructions. Nevertheless, in spite of notable successes, all did not go smoothly at Bochum, as Pflug confessed in Aslib Proceedings (1968) 4 and Libri (1969). 5 The libraries in the other new universities, notably Regensburg (1970), 6 were able to profit by Bochum's experiences. Unfortunately, m a n y of the reports are available only in German; but Lingenberg has put us in his debt with survey articles in the present Review (1970), 7 in Program (1971) 8 and in Libri (1972) 9 and the account of a seminar held at Regensburg on electronic data processing in the Unesco Bulletin (1970) .10 The compilers of the Deutsche Bibliographie, produced by the Deutsche Bibliothek in Frankfurt, have done pioneer work in automation. In 1966 the Director of this Library explained how computers were used in compiling national bibliographies and the Deutsche Bibliographic in 1 Lohmann, O. (1967). The Subject-Cataloguing of the Contents of Periodicals as a Task of Comprehensive Libraries. Libri 17, 95-103. Stevenson, G. (1970). The Mainzer Sachkatalog and Its Background. Libr. Q. 40, 318-39. a Jahrmann, W. (1971). Trends and Changes in the Classification of Children's Books in West Germany. Int. Libr. Rev. 3, 339-42. 4 Pflug, G. (1968). Experiences and Problems of Electronic Data Processing Encountered by the University of Bochum Library. Aslib Proe. 20, 492-95. a Pflug, G. (1969). New Steps in Library Automation in the Federal Republic of Germany. Libri 19, 304-12. 6 Niewalda, P. (1970). Electronic Data Processing in Regensburg University Library. Program 4, 83-88. Lingenberg, W. (1970). Computer Applications in Libraries of the Federal Republic of Germany. Int. Libr. Rev. 2, 201-10. s Lingenberg, W. (1971). Comparison of Computerized Loans Systems in the Federal Republic of Germany. Program 5, 191-203. 9 Lingenberg, W. (1972). Central Organizations for Automation in Libraries of the German Federal Republic. Libri 22, 155-62. 10 Lingenberg, W. (1970). Seminar on Electronic Data Processing in Libraries, Regensburg. Unesco Bull. Libr. 24, 305-8.
THE
GERMAN
LIBRARY
PATTERN
397
particular. 1 Coward followed this in 1967 with an analysis of the implications for similar bibliographies, notably the British National Bibliography. 2 Since then, automation has affected not only that bibliography but other, smaller, publications issued by BNB, e.g. quite recently, the British Education Index. Before leaving the subject one must mention two chemical papers. Weiske's contribution to the Proceedings of an international Symposium on Computer-Based Chemical Information, held in 1968 and published in 1970, showed how computers came to the aid of the major chemical abstracting journal, the Chemisches Zentralblatt. 3 In 1972 Ulbrich and Wierer described the document retrieval system for macromolecular chemistry by means of optical coincidence punched cards that is used at the Deutsches Kunststoff-Institut. 4 GENERAL
The Leeds Library School has sought to broaden our knowledge of comparative librarianship by issuing Occasional Papers. As pointed out in the preface to the one by Betteridge on the Federal Republic of Germany, 5 the apparently complicated library system there had previously not been comprehensively described in any one English language source. 6 This in 1970 Betteridge attempted to d o - - a n d with a commendable degree of success. After a general introductory section he characterized the various types of libraries, including national, state, public, academic and special ones. Then followed sections on library co-ordination, co-operation and professional education. After a glance at standards for libraries he concluded by comparing the German and the British library systems. He appended useful lists of abbreviations, a brief glossary, and lists of library journals, associations and institutions. Betteridge relied heavily on one of the works cited in his bibliography and already mentioned in his present survey: Busse and Ernestus, Das 1 K6ster, K. (1966). The Use of Computers in Compiling National Bibliographies. illustrated b y . . . the "Deutsche Bibliographie". Libri 16, 269-81. 2 Coward, R. E. (1967). A New Look in National Bibliographies: Some Implications of the Use of Computers, with special reference to the "Deutsche Bibliographic". Libr. Ass. Rec. 69, 310-13. a Weiske, C. (1970). Construction of a Literature Processing Institution for Coordinated Literature Analysis and Production of the SRD of "Chemisches Zentralblatt". In (Evers, H., ed.) Proceedings of the Symposium on Computer-Based Chemical Information, Noordwijk, Netherlands, 4-7 Nov. 1968. The Hague: Koninklijke Nederlandse Chemische Verenigung, pp. 12143. Also (1970). Chemical Information Services. Angewandte Chemic, Int. Ed. 9, 550-55. 4 Ulbrich, R. & Wierer, J. (1972). A Natural Document Retrieval System for Macromolecular Chemistry. 07. Chem. Docum. 12, 148-52. 5 Betteridge, A. (1970). The Structure of the Library System in the Federal Republic of Germany. Leeds Polytechnic, Dept. of Librarianship. 6 Now (1973) see articles in (A. Kent & others, ed.) Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. N.Y. : Dekker, Vol. 9, pp. 386-545.
398
j.s.
ANDREWS
Bibliothekswesen der BRD (1968), then available only in German.1 This book, commissioned by the German Research Association, was planned as an introduction for foreign librarians. The announcement that in 1968 IFLA would meet in Frankfurt/Main gave impetus to the project. What was intended as a pamphlet grew into a full-length manual and was completed in time for the conference. It rapidly became a prescribed text in library schools in Germany and elsewhere. The wide scope and background information made it a model for much-needed similar contributions in comparative librarianship. The book opened with a helpful, though necessarily unexciting, description of the various types of educational institutions and bodies at Federal, State and Local Authority levels and a brief history of the two main types of libraries, academic and public. The next two chapters dealt with types of libraries ranging from those of universal scope to those for special groups, e.g. young people and hospital patients, and with co-operative activities (e.g. interlending). Then came a somewhat miscellaneous chapter outlining certain aspects of library administration and services. Chapter 5 discussed library buildings; 6, bibliography and information science; 7, professional education. The final chapter gave useful addresses and hints for foreign students wanting to work in German libraries. Three appendices, index, map and 16 plates completed the compendium. As one reviewer remarked, a nation that gave us the Baedeker and the H a n d b u c h concept was bound to do this kind of book well. Its limitations arose mostly from its very nature. The authors attempted to cover so much ground that they could not dig deeply everywhere. Automation and ADP were mentioned; one had to look elsewhere for detailed treatments. Specialists in, say, information science would not be satisfied with any book intended for non-specialists. However, and this was an excellent feature, the authors added at the end of chapters references to where fuller or more specialized treatments were to be found. Here I would cavil mildly at the presentation of such reading lists. Although not all readers would share my preference, on grounds of perspicuity, for traditional indented paragraphs to the block ones used by the publishers, I was glad to see that the B&senblatt reviewer shared my general misgivings about the layout. 2 The imbedding of bibliographical references inside a paragraph was no doubt thought to be appropriate for select lists. In fact, only the serious reader would use such lists and he would prefer, for speed of reference, a more 1 Busse, G. yon and Ernestus, H. (1968). Op cir. 2 Jahrsetz, H. (1972). Bgrsenblatt 28 (83), 2390.
THE
GERMAN
LIBRAR~ r PATTERN
399
formal layout loved by cataloguers, especially since the printers eschewed the conventional use of italics to differentiate titles from authors. As a matter of policy little information about individual libraries was given in the body of the book. An invaluable Appendix gave a directory of facts and figures on major libraries and other bodies concerned with librarianship. On what criteria certain places were awarded two stars ("worth a detour" ?), others only one ("interesting" ?) and most none ("see if possible"?) was not revealed. Presumably the authors will periodically revisit the places commended to satisfy themselves that standards are being maintained. Reviewers called for an English edition. The story behind the translation has been revealed elsewhere. 1 Suffice it to emphasize that the English edition, published in 1972,~ was in many ways a new work. Throughout the authors substantially revised the data and statistics, especially the directory just mentioned. Apart from deleting and adding many sentences and adding whole paragraphs on current developments such as the Bibliotheksplan, they contributed completely new subsections on "denominational academic libraries" and "academic libraries of the armed forces". The index was augmented by the inclusion in many cases of German terms as well as their English equivalents. The reading lists were overhauled and updated. The bibliographical data, being mostIy in German, stood out more clearly; the translators' attempt to modify the original layout was not over-successful. More serious than typographical matters was the fact that most of the citations were still in German. A brief supplementary list of recent items in English was to have been contributed by an English public librarian; for domestic reasons it unfortunately did not materialize. Perhaps the present survey may go some way towards meeting the need. The English edition of the manual has already sold widely even inside Germany because it is fuller and more up-to-date than the original German oiae. Eventually the authors intend to produce a second and updated German edition based, to a large extent, upon the present English one. a 1 Andrews, J. S. (1973). Libraries in the Federal Republic of Germany: Background to the Translation. Libr. Ass. Rec. 75, 4 6 . Busse, G. yon and Ernestus, H. (1972). Libraries in the F.R.G. Rev. and enl. English ed., trans. J. S. Andrews and G. P. M. Walker. Harrassowitz, Libr. Ass. and American Libr. Ass. s Besides reviews cited by Andrews (Op cit.) see: (of German ed.) Jahrsetz, H. (1972). B6rsenbla~t 28 (83), 2389-90; (of English ed.) Dewe, M. (1972). New Libr. World 73, 447-48, and Young, J. D. (1972). Focus 3 (4), 82-84. Breitenbach, E. (1973). Libr. Q. 43, 176-78, and Zimmermann, E. (1973). Z. Bibliot. u. Bibliog. 20, 119.