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Farewell to a library director: Dr. Reuter is retiring!
The Giessen University Library is celebrating the retirement of Dr. Peter Reuter and welcomes his successor Dr. Jana Madlen Schütte.
Farewell to a library director: Dr. Reuter is retiring!
On August 31, 2025, Dr. Peter Reuter, the long-time senior library director of the University Library (UB) of the Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU), is retiring. Since his appointment as library director in 1999, Dr. Reuter had a decisive influence on the library and comprehensively shaped the transition to modern library architecture. During his 35 years in librarianship, he initiated numerous reforms, including the introduction of integrated library systems (ILS), which laid the foundation for today's digital library landscape.
Dr. Reuter, born on November 24, 1959 in Duisburg, studied philosophy, German and sociology at the University of Bonn and received his doctorate there in 1988. After his time at the Marburg University Library, he came to the UB Gießen in 1990, where he quickly made a name for himself as an academic librarian. A central event of his term in office was the comprehensive library reform in 2002, which reduced the number of library locations by more than 45%. The library currently has 90% of its holdings at seven locations, a number that will be reduced to four from 2026.
Successor Dr. Jana Madlen Schütte
Dr. Jana Madlen Schütte will become Dr. from September 1, 2025. Reuter to succeed as senior library director. Born in Fulda in 1984, she received her doctorate in history and German studies in 2015. Her professional career has taken her through various positions in libraries in Germany, and her work on the board of the library association testifies to her commitment to the further development of librarianship.
Under Dr. Reuter, the UB experienced a significant increase in holdings and services. With over 3.6 million volumes and an acquisitions budget of almost 5.9 million euros in 2024, the UB is a central place for learning and research. In recent years, important collections, including ancient papyri and the Constitutio Antoniniana, which was added to UNESCO's World Documentary Heritage in 2017, have been integrated into the library.
A look into the future of Giessen University Library
The new Natural and Life Sciences branch library was also opened in 2025, underlining the UB's commitment to modern research and science. A new central library building on the “Campus of the Future”, which is scheduled to open in 2026, promises to further improve the library infrastructure.
The library's statistics underline its influence: with 1.5 million e-books, 68,993 electronic journals and an annual borrowing number of 485,324, the Giessen University Library is an essential part of academic life at the university. The enormous number of 2 million search queries in JUSTFind and around 2.5 million downloads prove the intensive use of the resources.
In summary, it can be stated that Dr. Reuter transformed the JLU library system from a traditional institution into a modern, digital center for science and research. His career and the developments that took place during his term of office are important not only for the UB, but also for the entire library system in Germany Library portal.de highlights.