PHOTO: © Bayerische Staatsbibliothek / H.R.Schulz; Bertram – Klassik Stiftung Weimar
Michael Knoche: Revolution im Leseland
In the organizer's words:
Michael Knoche: Revolution in the Land of Reading
How Academic Libraries in the GDR Reorganized Themselves After the Fall of the Wall
The moment the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and German reunification began to take shape, academic libraries, too, found themselves facing entirely new challenges. Away from the spotlight of public attention, they achieved a remarkable transformation that went far beyond merely adapting to the new circumstances. This drive for renewal sparked a momentum that benefited the entire German library system. While elsewhere the talk is only of failures and losers, this book demonstrates that academic libraries—not only in the East but also in the West—are among the winners of German reunification.
Dr. Michael Knoche in conversation with Dr. Dorothea Sommer, Director General of the Bavarian State Library
Dr. Michael Knochestudied German language and literature, philosophy, and theology in Tübingen and completed library training in Karlsruhe. He subsequently worked for academic publishers. From 1991 to 2016, he served as director of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library and continues to live in Weimar. His published works include *Die Idee der Bibliothek und ihre Zukunft* (Wallstein, 2018). He blogs regularly on library-related topics.
Dr. Dorothea Sommerstudied English, Slavic Studies, and Education at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. From 1990 to 1997, she served as a subject specialist for English, general literary studies, and art at the University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt. She subsequently became deputy director there, and later acting director. In 2015, Dr. Dorothea Sommer moved to Munich. She assumed the position of Deputy Director General of the Bavarian State Library, and has served as its Director General since May 2025.
An event in the “Zur Sache …” series—Authors at the State Library
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