- Lounge for sound and film archives in the State Library of Saxony
With a modern lounge, the Saxon State and University Library (SLUB) is now making its audio-visual collections more easily accessible to everyone - both analog and digital. "Where long rows of tape reels and small monitors once dominated, there is now a structured spatial offering," said department head André Eckardt at the opening on Tuesday.
The presentation is enlivened with a curated selection from the rich CD and DVD collection, there are ample spaces for listening and watching, and "even vinyl enthusiasts will find something to their liking," said the department head.
The SLUB preserves over 200,000 audio-visual media in its collections, including "significant cultural heritage with great relevance for research," said General Director Karin Stump. This "treasure trove" has been made accessible in modern form with the new Media Library, with the SLUB consistently developing "into a vibrant experience space with high quality of stay" - for research, students, and the general public.
In the GDR, it was the state's central collection point for the music sector.
Among the novelties is a digitization bar where vinyl records, VHS tapes, and other media carriers can be digitized for free for private use - from wedding recordings of one's own grandparents to historical city tours. There is a silent piano with headphones and selected sheet music. Additionally, there is free access to the Digital Concert Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic, the Naxos Music Library, and the digitized historical sound and film recordings of the SLUB.
The first sound collection was established at the institution in the 1930s, in the GDR it was the state's central collection point for the music sector and from 1983 a Phonotheque with its own location in a garrison church. Since 2003, these as well as the later film and video collection have been located at the SLUB site.
The oldest recording in the Media Library dates from 1896, the most recent additions are unique tape recordings from the estates of Saxon composers as well as artistic and private film reels from the 1920s onwards. Its collection documents musical history in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, and the world - from the phonogram disc to the shellac record, the self-cut record, the vinyl disc, the tape, the CD, and DVD to the audio/video file.
The Saxon State and University Library (SLUB) once served as the GDR's central collection point for the music sector.During the GDR era, the SLUB's Phonotheque, established in a garrison church from 1983, played a significant role as the state's central collection point for the music sector.
