The Berlin State Library/Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin: A Library in Transition

The division of Germany after the war led to the former Preussischer Staatsbibliothek (PSB) being split between the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek (DSB) in East Berlin and the Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz (SBPK) in West Berlin. Following the country's unification, the collections are being reunified in one institution, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, which will be the biggest library in Germany. Both buildings will continue to be used, since neither is large enough to hold the entire collection, both are architecturally significant, and a new building is out of the question. Reintegrating the post-war collections is much less of a problem than the treatment of post-war acquisitions of the two libraries. Large numbers of books (many of them lacking in other major Germany libraries) are duplicated, and it is difficult to achieve a sensible allocation of materials between the buildings. It has been decided to use the older building (DSB) for holdings up to 1955, for consultation only, while the other building (SBPK), which dates from 1978, will house material from 1956 and serve as a lending library. The catalogue sittuation is equally complex. The DSB had a complete record of the pre-war collection of printed books, but the major part of the collection was either in West Berlin or lost; on the other hand, in the west, where 1.7m. volumes of PSB's holdings were concentrated, the SBPK had to start without any catalogue at all. The aim is now to carry out a complete retrospective conversion of all the varied existing catalogues within the next seven years. To add to these complications, the entire older building is being restored to acceptable standards and the former central reading room is being reconstructed; during the lengthy process a storage building is having to be rented. The greatest challenge of all, however, is the integration of staff.