The Cologne Public Library as accelerator of digitisation
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/DLP-05-2023-140 |
| Published date | 28 April 2023 |
| Date | 28 April 2023 |
| Pages | 241-243 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Records management & preservation,Information repositories |
| Author | Hannelore Vogt,Anna Maria Tammaro |
The Cologne Public Library
as accelerator of
digitisation
Interview with Dr Hannelore Vogt by Anna Maria Tammaro
The Cologne Public Library is one of the largest and most important public libraries in
Germany. It consists of the Central Library, 11 other branch libraries and a mobile
library. The Public Library of Cologne provides local residents (about one million
inhabitants in total) with information resources and technological tools, as well as a long
list of innovative services. The Cologne Public Library is also internationally renowned
for being a “third space”for a multicultural community and makes available a wide range
of innovative activities and services to facilitate connections and social networking. As a
multicultural meeting place, the Public Library of Cologne opens up many opportunities
for language acquisition for immigrants and cooperates with agencies, which run
integration courses.
During my visit to the Public Library last October, I was struck by the makerspace and
the other digital services the Library offers to accelerate digitisation. The Library (Daniel
et al., 2010) provides high-speed access to the internet and licensed databases that can be
searched by communities and was one of four pilot libraries for the introduction of the
“Onleihe”, a download portal for the temporary use of digital items (e-books, electronic
audiobooks and music CDs, e-videos and e-papers). The Library offers various library
education programmes on digital
literacies and cooperates with
schools.
Dr Hannelore Vogt
Overseeing this major public
library system is Dr Hannelore
Vogt, who became its director in
2008. In 2015 Cologne City
Library was elected “Library of
the Year”as best library in
Germany, and in 2016 Hannelorer
Vogt was awarded with the
Cologne Cultural Award as
“Cultural Manager of the Year”.
Dr Vogt is also a member of the
IFLA Metropolitan Libraries
Standing Committee, a longtime
chair of the Advisory Board
“Information and Library”of the Goethe Institute and worked as a Strategic Advisor and
Reviewer for the Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation (Global Libraries, Global Development).
We wanted to learn how the ColognePublic Library is promoting digitisation and building
digital skills by interviewingDr Vogt by email.
Cologne Public
Library
241
DigitalLibrary Perspectives
Vol.39 No. 2, 2023
pp. 241-243
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2059-5816
DOI 10.1108/DLP-05-2023-140
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