Culture Minister calls for extension to the National Library

Saxony's Minister of Culture Barbara Klepsch is calling on the Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimar to realize the long-planned extension to the German National Library. The extension is necessary in order to reliably safeguard Germany's cultural heritage in the future, the CDU politician announced.

The library had surprisingly announced last week that Weimer had decided against the extension. This was intended to create long-term space to collect and store books and other media. The storage capacity in Leipzig is almost exhausted. Around seven million euros had already been invested in the planning.

Weimer wants to collect digitally

A spokesperson for the Minister of State for Culture confirmed that the new building will not be built for the time being. Planning has been suspended due to the uncertain federal budget situation. A final decision is still pending. "In principle, Minister of State Weimer is aiming to make the mandatory delivery to the German National Library as digital as possible in the future."

According to the law, publishers currently have to deliver two physical copies to the library. Weimer is committed to ensuring that in future there will only be one copy - and, if possible, only digitally. This would help to reduce bureaucracy, he said.

The German National Library recently provided an update on the planning status of the planned extension. Although the costs could have been significantly reduced once again, they still amount to 100 million euros, the spokesperson explained.

Klepsch: Don't play book and digital off against each other

Saxony's Minister of Culture Klepsch, on the other hand, emphasized the importance of the National Library for the cultural landscape. "Digitization and printed books must not be played off against each other - we need both," she explained.

The Chairman of the Saxony Library Association, Lars Rohwer, also supports the extension of the National Library. He points out that the project also includes an integrated data storage facility. The extension is therefore a forward-looking investment in the founding location of the National Library.