Rhineland-Palatinate inspires with the first national night of libraries

Rhineland-Palatinate inspires with the first national night of libraries

Rheinland-Palatinate took part in the nationwide “Night of Libraries” for the first time on April 4, 2025. This premiere took place under the patronage of Elke Büdenbender and was carried out by the German Library Association e. V. (DBV) organized. The event aimed at emphasizing the important role of libraries in society. In Rhineland-Palatinate, 130 libraries from 110 towns and villages took part, which illustrates the broad support and commitment in the region.

Katharina Binz, Minister for Family, Women, Culture and Integration, opened the event in Speyer. It emphasized the essential importance of libraries for democracy, society and education. Rhineland-Palatinate has a total of 1,500 libraries that are visited annually by around 10 million people. Minister Binz also visited the St. Joseph Catholic public library, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

commitment of the volunteers

The library manager Christine Huber emphasized the commitment of eight volunteers who run the St. Joseph library. At the opening of the event, around 60 people took part in a musical reading in which Ulrich Zehfuß and Timo Effler appeared. Christine Stuck, head of the library office in the diocese of Speyer, also reported creative events that took place in the libraries, including Bobby-Car-Kino and blind dates with books.

In the diocese of Speyer, a total of eleven Catholic institutions are involved in the night of libraries. The region has 101 Catholic public libraries, which are supported by around 860 volunteers. Last year, these volunteers organized 1750 events that enriched cultural life in the region.

The importance of libraries

The nationwide night of the libraries indicates the important role of all kinds of libraries. These range from large facilities to small, volunteer libraries. The libraries were encouraged to plan their own events and promotions in order to make their work and their contribution to society visible. The variety of formats ranges from exhibitions to readings to workshops on media literacy.

There are around 8,860 public and scientific libraries in Germany. These recorded a total of around 350 million loans in 2023, which illustrates increasing use of the libraries. Most public libraries now offer free internet access and organize numerous events to promote reading and media literacy, especially for children.

The "Night of Libraries" also aims to lay the basis for future events and to strengthen the importance of libraries for society in the long term. Further information on this topic can be found on the website lbz.rlp.de . This continues to promote the positive development and commitment of the libraries in Germany.