Puertas abiertas al pasado y al futuro: Las bibliotecas en Alemania

Since the beginning of the “digital age”, the question has been raised about the future orientation of libraries. The balancing act between educational and cultural institutions on the one hand and service centers on the other hand confronts libraries with new challenges and tasks – which, because of their various media collections and technological infrastructure, they are perfectly capable of meeting.
“Portals to the Past and to the Future” by Jürgen Seefeldt and Ludger Syré provides a precise state-of-the-art view of German librarianship. Using selected examples, this richly illustrated work introduces the individual types of libraries and gives a compact and pointedly expressive insight into German library history. In the final chapter “Vision of the Library in 2015” distinguished experts dare to risk a glance into the future of library and book culture.
This book, published simultaneously in both German and English language editions, describes concretely and understandably even for non-professionals, how a decentrally organized and efficient library network could be developed in Germany since the end of the Second World War. Despite numerous obstacles, this library network has continuously and dynamically developed in order to be able to meet the challenges of the new millennium.