The nationwide provision of library services to the entire population, digitization and digital media services, questions regarding copyright issues in the digital society, as well as the promotion of key skills such as reading and the systematic use of information and media: these are the German Library Association’s core areas of activity.
The German Library Association e.V. (dbv) represents with its nearly 2,100 Members nationwide over 9,000 Libraries with 25,000 employees and 11 million users. The central concern of the association and of its bodies is to make visible and to strengthen be the most outstanding social role of libraries for culture, education and science visible.
The dbv aims to ensure that citizens have access to information and to up-to-date library offers; he is committed to the reading promotion as well as for strengthening media and information literacy. In addition, he ist a political advocate for further development and safeguarding of the legal and financial framework for comprehensive library services. The association finances its core tasks exclusively through membership fees.
The German Library Association is an active member of the international organisations IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions), EBLIDA (European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations) and NAPLE (National Authorities for Public Libraries in Europe) and maintains bilateral contacts with library associations in other countries.
For a brief assessment of the situation of libraries in Germany today as well as an overview of the German Library Association's related positions and demands, have a look at the latest edition of our "Report on the State of Libraries in Germany". In addition to offering selected facts & figures, this concise publication highlights the most urgent issues in the German library landscape, suggests appropriate measures and solutions and provides supportive statements by politicians from the federal and European level.
Here you will find current statistical data on libraries in Germany.
The English-language brochure “Libraries for Children and Young Adults in Germany“ gives an overview of the goals and functions of children's and young adults' libraries in Germany. It is aimed at foreign visitors or library colleagues. In its 20 pages, the following is concisely illustrated: How the German library system is constructed, how collections and offerings are financed, and how children's and young adults' libraries respond to the current challenges of a constantly changing media landscape. In the appendix, eight very diverse children's and young adults' libraries are presented. The brochure (Status: June 2018) has been introduced at the IFLA Conference 2018 in Kuala Lumpur.
German Library Association Head Office Fritschestraße 27-28 10585 Berlin Fon +49 (0)30 6449899-16 Fax +49 (0)30 6449899-29 international@bibliotheksverband.de www.bibliotheksverband.de