The history of the present-day Bavarian State Library (Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek, BSB) began in 1558 – as the court library of the Wittelsbach Duke Albrecht V. “The newly founded library was far more than a mere expression of royal grandeur and self-promotion; together with the Antikensammlung (Collection of Antiques) and the Kunstkammer (Cabinet of Arts and Curios), Duke Albrecht wanted it to provide a cultural cosmos of that era,” explains Rolf Giebel, the General Director of the BSB.

In the “Cultural Cosmos of the Renaissance”

The foundation stone for this project was laid by the purchase of the valuable Oriental library of Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter. In 1571, as the next big step towards creating a cultural cosmos, Duke Albrecht acquired Johann Jakob Fugger’s library, comprising over 10,000 volumes, which was one of the largest collections of that time.

On the occasion of its 450th anniversary, the Bavarian State Library is now displaying the impressive stock from its founding era. In the jubilee exhibition “Cultural Cosmos of the Renaissance” it shows Ethiopian and Armenian manuscripts, Italian incunabula, early prints from France and Spain, illuminated Korans, exquisitely illustrated books on tournaments and works on the techniques of war, architectural tracts as well as books on coins and heraldry.

Slide Show: 450 Years of the Bavarian State Library

A glimpse into the treasure chamber

Impressive as these gems from the first acquisition years are, they almost disappear in the abundance of treasures which the library acquired in the following decades. Some 92,000 manuscripts are currently stored only in the depots within the Library itself. Moreover, with over 20,000 titles it boasts the world’s largest collection of incunabula.

Spread over the entire anniversary year, the Library, affectionately referred to as “Stabi” by its users, will be inviting the public to smaller exhibitions in which more precious gems from its treasure chamber can be admired: splendid illuminated choir books, atlases of the “Mannheimer Palatina”, books by painters and artists, illustrated artist-autographs and the Ottheinrich Bible, the most spectacular new acquisition.

Multimedia Services

Yet even in this anniversary year the Bavarian State Library is by no means presenting itself merely as the judicious preserver of a cultural heritage that dates back thousands of years. As one of the most important international research libraries it is also the multimedia information service provider for the sciences and an innovative force in the field of digital services.

At the beginning of April 2008 the Centre for Electronic Publishing (Zentrum für Elektronisches Publizieren, ZEP) was opened here, which combines the activities of the Bavarian State Library in the field of genuine electronic publications. “With this,” says Rolf Griebel, “we are supporting the creation of a sustainable infrastructure for the operation and permanent accessibility of open-access publications in the sphere of humanities.”

Robots at work

When it comes to the retro-digitisation of holdings, the Munich Library has long been one of the trailblazers in Germany. Last autumn the first project in the sphere of mass digitisation was launched under the auspices of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft). By the end of 2009 almost 37,000 German-language print works from the years 1518 to 1600 are to be digitised and, in a second step, to be made accessible, free of charge, via the internet – a total of over 7.5 million pages.

Anyone wishing to gain insight into how the BSB copes with such masses of sensitive books should go to one of the Scan-Robot Days that are taking place in the anniversary year. In the Library’s Fürstensaal leading manufacturers will present live their latest cutting-edge devices and demonstrate the various methods of automated scanning. This companies’ presentation will be accompanied by a series of lectures.

An imposing setting

The fact that the guided tour “Behind the Scenes of the Bavarian State Library”, which i.a. allows visitors a glimpse of the book conveyor system and of the “digitisation street”, is booked out many months in advance shows how great the general interest is in the innovative achievements of the State Library. There was also a very lively interest in the Day of the Open Door (on 11th October) when the staff, comprising some 700 employees, granted insight into the operation of a modern-day library.

The jubilee year will end on a spectacular note with a concert by the Tölz Boys’ Choir. For the evening concert will take place in the magnificent stairwell of the Library building in Ludwigstraße. Anyone entering the Library for the first time is inevitably awestruck by the 60 huge, broad marble steps of the main stairwell. Equally awe-inspiring is the success story of the Bavarian State Library, which has been accommodated here since the mid-19th century – and which, with its now over 9.25 million volumes, has developed in the course of the last 450 years into one of the most important European universal libraries.