Antje Theise: New hope for Germany's libraries!

Antje Theise: New hope for Germany's libraries!

Antje Theise was recently elected as the new federal chairwoman of the German Library Association (dbv). With her election, she succeeds Volker Heller, who led the association from 2022 to 2025. The election took place among representatives from over 2,000 dbv member libraries. In this position, Theise's goal is to strengthen the central role of libraries in society and to highlight their importance for democracy, education and culture University of Rostock reported.

Theise also plans to expand exchange and cooperation within the association and with civil society actors. Her own academic career includes studying Latin philology and classical archeology in Rostock and library and information science in Berlin. She completed her studies in 1998 with a master's thesis on Nathan Chyträus, which paved her way into the world of libraries.

Professional career and commitment

In her professional career, Antje Theise has held various positions at the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Library in Schwerin, the Gotha Research Library and the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel. From 2005 to 2020 she worked as a consultant for rare and old prints at the Hamburg State and University Library, where she was also deputy head of special collections. During this time, she was heavily involved in digitization projects and networking with research and teaching in the field of digital humanities. Digitalization plays a crucial role in the development of modern library services and is seen as a key concern by Theise.

Since June 2, 2020, Antje Theise has headed the Rostock University Library as the first woman in this position. Her main concern is to make traditional collections visible worldwide and accessible regardless of location using the latest technologies. Your ideas are particularly important as the digitization of libraries continues to intensify. Tech navigator emphasizes that public and university libraries must digitize collections and access them virtually in order to be prepared for the future.

The future of libraries

The role and function of libraries is changing rapidly. Digital media such as e-books, e-journals and audio books are becoming increasingly important and complement traditional print media. University libraries are pioneers in providing digital offerings and support researchers with access to digital resources and research data. In addition, libraries must be integrated into local government digital strategies and funding programs to ensure their future viability.

Antje Theise advocates for this new digital direction and emphasizes the need to ensure data protection and user privacy. The technologies such as artificial intelligence, which can increase efficiency in library processes, are also part of their vision for the future of libraries. Their ideas and commitment are crucial to meeting the challenges of digitalization and further consolidating the role of libraries as knowledge and cultural centers.