Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum

Overview

The book has shaped our culture and civilisation like no other medium. For centuries our knowledge about the world and its peoples has been stored, handed down and updated in books. The task of the Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum is to collect, exhibit and process evidence of book and media history. Founded in 1884 as the Deutsches Buchgewerbemuseum (German Book Trade Museum), it was integrated in the Deutsche Bücherei in 1950 following the loss of its building and some of its stocks in World War 2. It is the oldest book culture museum in the world, and also one of the most important with regard to the scope and quality of its stocks.

The main focus of the museum's work today is on the book and its myriad aspects: as an ingenious invention and as the product of economic and technical processes, as a social icon and the most important vehicle of culture, as a work of art and as a censored and burned repository of ideas. Even after the transition to the era of digital networks, the museum has two main functions. It is a museum which acts as an academic documentation centre for book and media history. But it is also an inviting and vibrant place of cultural education, aimed at bringing culture to a wider audience and attracting visitors with its exhibitions and educational programmes.

"The opening of the  4th annex building of the German National Library in Leipzig sees the Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum enter a new era. Air-conditioned store rooms, expanded work areas and generously proportioned public areas provide optimum conditions for the long-term storage and use of the stocks. A modern reading room houses the specialist library and the museum stocks of more than one million items for research, study and practical use. The new museum gallery is aimed at younger users aged between 6 and 16 in particular, and provides them with an opportunity to learn all about writing, books and paper in a more informal environment.

The first exhibition area is scheduled to open in autumn 2011: a display vault showcasing outstanding items from the museum's collection. The climax of the gradual re-opening of the museum will be on 13 March 2012 when the permanent exhibition opens to present a small slice of media history, spanning the development of writing and movable type book printing through to the world of digital networks.

  DBSM info sheet (only available in German)