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1998
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98-3/4-203
Vademekum DDR-Forschung: ein Leitfaden zu Archiven, Forschungseinrichtungen, Bibliotheken, Einrichtungen der politischen Bildung, Vereinen, Museen und Gedenkstätten [Guide to GDR Studies: Archives, Research Centers, Libraries, Centers for Political Education, Associations, Museums, and Monuments]. Ed. Ulrich Mählert. Opladen: Leske + Budrich,1997. xiv, 352 p. 21 cm. ISBN 3-8100-1972-0: DM 48.00
The Vademekum DDR-Forschung originated at Section IV of the Mannheim Center for European Social Research (Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung, MZES), which for many years was headed by one of the most prominent researchers on the topic of the German Democratic Republic, Hermann Weber. Like Leitfaden zu DDR-Sammlungen (second edition published in 1989 by the All-German Institute [Gesamtdeutsches Institut]), its goal is to bring together all institutions and initiatives that carry out GDR research or provide material relevant to such research. The intended audience is just as broad: scholars, politicians, journalists, and people in political education. The aim is the fullest possible documentation of all relevant institutions, although the foreign research institutions and archives could not be described in full detail.
The directory is arranged in chapters by archives, libraries, research institutions, institutions for political education, organizations, museums, memorials, journals, and other institutions. Archives constitute the largest part, making up over one third of the total volume. Within each chapter the arrangement is by place. Each entry lists persons in charge, financial backing, publications, collections and finding aids, and opening hours if the collections are public. The most important institutions are described in fuller detail at the end of the volume. More than 500 institutions are listed, most German but also some foreign. Larger institutions, such as the foundations funded by political parties, are listed more than once, for example under archives, libraries, and research institutes, which makes it easier to find the desired information. Indexes to names and institutions give access to the volume's contents. A subject index would have been desirable, but even without one, Vademekum DDR-Forschung is a useful aid to research for both scholars and librarians. [ok/gh]
98-3/4-204
[Directory of Map Collections in Germany]. Published for the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Ed. Lothar Zögner and Egon Klemp. 2d rev. and enlarged ed. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998. xvii, 585 p. maps 24 cm. ISBN 3-447-03966-3: DM 198.00Verzeichnis der Kartensammlungen in Deutschland
This directory has two ancestors: Verzeichnis der Kartensammlungen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland einschließlich Berlin (West) (Directory of Map Collections in the Federal Republic of Germany Including West Berlin) was published in 1983, and Verzeichnis der Kartensammlungen der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (Directory of Map Collections of the GDR) in 1987. Now there is a new directory of map collections in Germany as a whole, the first since Heinrich Kramm published Verzeichnis deutscher Kartensammlungen in 1959. The map librarians and collectors who have been wishing for a new edition will not be disappointed, because this is an exemplary reference work. The directory includes library collections as well as those of archives, museums, university institutes, and other public institutions, and even prominent map publishers like Justus Perthes Verlag in Gotha or Georg Westermann Verlag in Braunschweig. The variety of the collections means that pure map collections as well as collections of wall maps, atlases, graphics, panoramic views, globes, reliefs, postcards, and aerial photographs are taken into consideration.
The most significant change from the earlier editions of 1983 and 1987, apart from stylistic variations, is that the cutoff date for old maps has been changed from 1800 to 1850. The number of collections in this volume is 612, a significant drop from the combined total in the 1983 edition (which had 471) and the 1987 (GDR) edition (298). This may be explained by the administrative changes in the new states; also some collections apparently did not answer the questionnaire in time. Information on the staff, method of storage, and number of seats are not included. Because maps are normally not loaned out, it must be assumed that properly equipped work space and copying facilities are available. The directory does list special themes or regional emphasis of the collections and particularly valuable or rare titles. The entries include practical information, such as hours of opening, and bibliographical references. The next edition will have to devote more attention to electronic applications. The directory suggests that the map collections are prominent within their institutions. In reality, map collections often lead a modest existence on the periphery, as seen from the Internet pages of the libraries and archives, where one usually looks for them in vain. Perhaps this directory will help increase their visibility. [wc/gh]
98-3/4-205
. München: Saur. 30 cm. (Handbook of International Documentation and Information, 17) ISSN 0724-8717/ISSN 0340-1332World Guide to Special Libraries
Although only three and a half years have passed since the last edition of this work (1995), the number of libraries has, if you believe its foreword, decreased from 41,600 to 39,000, while the number of entries has increased from 49,875 to 51,720. The work has retained the arrangement of its main section throughout subsequent editions, namely, English subject headings with numerous cross-references to alternate forms of the same heading. (e.g., "Art, Islamic, see Islamic art"). The index includes the names of all of the libraries, with English language forms for those in countries with esoteric languages. Brief information in the entries describing the individual libraries includes street and e-mail address, year of founding, name of library director, collection development emphases, volume count, access to databases, interlibrary lending services, and memberships in organizations. Inconsistencies and errors found in the preceding editions still persist in this edition, for instance, individual topics are not always assigned to what would appear be the logical subject categories for their respective assignments. "Kunsthalle zu Kiel," for instance, is assigned to "Art history," while "Die Hamburger Kunsthalle" is found under just "Arts." Furthermore, the major regional libraries receive attention which is not always in proportion to their respective size or importance, as in the case of the Sächsische Landesbibliothek (Saxon State Library), which receives five entries in contrast to the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library, which is in essence a German national library) which receives only three. The question as to what use this very expensive work can serve in our libraries has even greater significance than it does in the case of the World Guide to Libraries, from whose database it derives. [sh/tk]
98-3/4-206
[Directory of Music Libraries in Germany: Public and Research Music Libraries As Well As Special Collections with Music Holdings]. Ed. Marion Sommerfeld. Berlin: Deutsches Bibliotheksinstitut, 1998. x, 316 p. 24 cm. ISBN 3-87068-587-5: DM 40.00Handbuch der Musikbibliotheken in Deutschland: öffentliche und wissenschaftliche Musikbibliotheken sowie Spezialsammlungen mit musikbibliothekarischen Beständen
The Handbuch der Musikbibliotheken in Deutschland arose through the initiative of the AIBM-Gruppe Bundesrepublik Deutschland in connection with the German Library Institute (Deutsches Bibliotheksinstitut, or DBI) as a continuation of Richard Schaal's Führer durch deutsche Musikbibliotheken (Wilhelmshaven: Heinrichshofen, 1971) and appeared for the first time in 1994. As supplementary to Series C of RISM (the "International Inventory of Musical Sources"), the Handbuch limits itself predominantly to collections of the 19th and 20th centuries. It covers music libraries of all sorts as well as archives, private collections, museums, and music departments of various types of institutions. Collections of musical scores and sound recordings of universities and radio stations are also included. It does not claim comprehensiveness, especially since some libraries declined to be included in the work. The Handbuch contains new addresses and statistical data which its editor, Marion Sommerfeld, had collected and published over the years in the periodical Forum Musikbibliothek. In all, 314 institutions are covered, with the following data noted: telephone, fax, telex, e-mail, hours of operation, interlibrary loan code, name of director, size of collections, and collection strengths. Although called a handbook, this is really a directory. Its indexes include: composers, collectors, current collecting areas, collections, names of institutions, names of directors of library music departments, and music libraries arranged under the names of the German federal states. The main arrangement of the work is alphabetical by geographical location. This directory is a standard in German libraries. [mr/tk]
98-3/4-207
[Comprehensive Index to Microfilmed Archival Materials in the Bavarian State Library in Munich]. Freddy Litten. München: Osteuropa-Institut, 1998. xiv, 239 p. 29 cm. (Mitteilungen. Osteuropa-Institut München, 36) ISBN 3-921396-29-8 DM 30.00 (plus postage) (Osteuropa-Institut, Scheinerstr. 11, D-81679 München, fax [49 89] 9810110, e-mail: Beyer-Thoma@mail.lrz-muenchen.de)Gesamtverzeichnis der mikroverfilmten Archivalien in der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek München
During a period of employment in the Bavarian State Library (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, BSB), the author created an excellent finding aid to this library's extensive microfilm and microfiche collections that had been purchased with the support of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and its "Sondersammelgebiete" (special subject collecting areas) program. This volume essentially replaces earlier partial indexes by the same author published in the same series. This Gesamtverzeichnis, which claims to list over 95% of the microform collections, including those acquired up to May 1998, deserves a short commentary. Everyone who acquires such material, especially to the extent that the BSB does, knows how difficult it is to provide bibliographic control for such large microform collections.
This index is arranged, according to the site of the original archive, by German federal state, and then by the name of the archive, and includes films of printed texts and library catalogs, if these have already been listed in an earlier index. The titles of the collections are entered with a statement of the number of film rolls or fiches, and the name of the publisher. The classification number follows, although it would have been helpful to provide at the beginning of the index an overview of the complicated microform classification scheme of the Bavarian State Library. This is followed by a description of the individual film rolls, cassettes, etc., which, in connection with various finding aids (also listed with BSB call numbers), is intended to facilitate access to these items. The introduction concludes with useful tips on how the microforms of the BSB can be ordered over interlibrary loan. A subject listing indexes provenance designations, but not the specific contents within the microform collections. The index, which is also offered over the internet (http://www.Irz-muenchen.de/~oeim/litten.htm), represents a significant improvement in access to a complex set of library collections that are not adequately covered in the BSB's alphabetical catalog. There are still many other microform collections buried deep in the Bavarian State Library that would deserve this same treatment. Perhaps this index will inspire other libraries with huge microform collections (above all the Niedersächsische Staats- und Landesbibliothek Göttingen but also the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek or the Library of the Freie Universität, both in Berlin) to follow suit and provide better access to their own microform holdings, which were acquired at great expense. [sh/tk]
98-3/4-210
[Directory of Italian Libraries. Molise]. Published for the Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali, Ufficio Centrale per i Beni Librari e gli Istituti Culturali, Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle Biblioteche Italiane e per le Informazioni Bibliografiche. Regione Molise, Assessorato all'Istruzione e Cultura, Settore Biblioteche e Beni Culturali. Roma: ICCU; Milano: Editrice Bibliografica. 24 cm. ISBN 88-7107-030-5 (complete set)Catalogo delle biblioteche d'Italia. Molise
98-3/4-211
[Directory of Italian Libraries. Sicily]. Published for the Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali, Ufficio Centrale per i Beni Librari e le Istituzioni Culturali e l'Editoria, Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle Biblioteche Italiane e per le Informazioni Bibliografiche. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato dei Beni Culturali ed Ambientali della Pubblica Istruzione, Gruppo Tutela e Valorizzazione del Patrimonio Librario ed Archivistico. Roma: ICCU; Milano: Editrice Bibliografica. 24 cm. ISBN 88-7107-030-5 (complete set)Catalogo delle biblioteche d'Italia. Sicilia
98-3/4-212
[Directory of Italian Libraries. Tuscany]. Published for the Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali, Ufficio Centrale per I Beni Librari e gli Istituti Culturali, Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle Biblioteche Italiane e per le Informazioni Bibliografiche. Regione Toscana, Dipartimento delle Politiche Formative e dei Beni Culturali, Servizio Beni Culturali e Librari. Roma: ICCU; Milano: Editrice Bibliografica. 24 cm. ISBN 88-7107-030-5 (complete set)Catalogo delle biblioteche d'Italia. Toscana
These three titles represent a continuation of the large-scale Italian library directory project, which began in 1993 and will eventually cover all twenty of Italy's regions. Previous volumes have been discussed in RREA 1:96-97 and RREA 2:38-40. The new volumes for Molise, Sicily, and Tuscany follow the same basic scheme as their predecessors: an alphabetical list of place names with the names of the institutions under each. Each library entry provides the address, year of founding, operating hours, special services, holdings, catalogs, participation in cataloging projects, and publications by and about the library. The indexes in each regional volume (or multi-volume set) include the libraries' names, special collections, collection emphases (by keyword), place names, and library symbols. The volumes (or sets) vary greatly in size (and consequently, price), due to the great differences in size and in the number of libraries from one region to another: Molise's 139 libraries are covered in a mere 104 pages, while Tuscany's 1,174 libraries take up 3 volumes with a total of 983 pages. With eleven volumes published and eleven regions covered, this admirable project has now passed its halfway point. [sh/hh]
98-3/4-213
[Handbook of German Historical Book Collections in Europe: A Survey of Collections in Selected Libraries]. Ed. Bernhard Fabian. Hildesheim [et al.]: Olms-Weidmann. 30 cm.Handbuch deutscher historischer Buchbestände in Europa: eine Übersicht über Sammlungen in ausgewählten Bibliotheken
This volume represents another contribution to the series of handbooks covering historic book collections published by Olms-Weidemann; the last volume of the Austrian set was discussed in the last issue of RREO (and RREA 4). Related titles from the same editor and publisher are Handbuch der historischen Buchbestände in Deutschland (RREA 1:103, 2:48) and Handbuch der historischen Buchbestände in Österreich (RREA 1:104, 2:49). The series Handbuch deutscher historischer Buchbestände in Europa (Handbook of German Historical Book Collections in Europe) represents an "attempt . . . to systematically show the distribution of historical materials from the German-speaking region in libraries of the non-German-speaking European countries." Of special importance are the countries of central, eastern, and northern Europe, where for centuries German was the lingua franca. This led to the importation of books from Germany as well as to the publication of German-language books in those countries.
The volumes of this set are appearing out of sequence: Volume 5 on Hungary is actually the second to appear. The 33 Hungarian libraries included herein were selected by the Széchenyi National Library in Budapest in conjunction with the editors in Münster. Fourteen of these are in Budapest, and-not surprisingly-the national, academy, and university libraries have the longest entries by far. It seems the German imprints in these libraries were much more difficult to isolate than in the Czech palace libraries (volume 2), whose collections often stem from a time when German was the dominant publishing language in this region. The result is rather mixed and the listings are not limited to the German-language holdings, but include many Hungarian and orientalia titles.
It is interesting to note that the fifty-page introduction to Hungarian library history, which goes back to the early Middle Ages, includes the libraries in Transylvania, though they are not covered in this volume. (It remains to be seen where they will find a home in this series.) The rather selective subject index basically covers only the German-language materials discussed in the volume, not the orientalia and Hungarian titles. [sh/hh]
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