A national library is the memory of a country, and Germany\u2019s is no exception. An archive of the country\u2019s tumultuous and violent story since 1913, the German National Library is the storehouse of a past that must never be forgotten.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe National Library plays a vital role in German society,\u201d says Johannes Neuer \u201900 MM, the new director of the Leipzig site, the library\u2019s original home and one of its two current locations. \u201cIt holds everything that is published in Germany. And it makes no judgments.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t always so. The library\u2019s founding mission was to collect, catalogue, and make accessible all literature published in Germany. But in 1933, the library was incorporated into the Nazi propaganda ministry. \u201cUndesirable\u201d literature was promptly removed from access.<\/p>\n
Following the end of the Second World War, the Leipzig building, damaged by allied bombing raids, became the leading state library of communist East Germany. \u201cCertain publications from the West were strictly off limits to the public,\u201d says Neuer. A West German library was opened in Frankfurt in 1946.<\/p>\n
In 1990, the two libraries merged during German reunification. Today, along more than 250 miles of shelf space, sits every book, journal, CD, and map published in Germany from the beginning of the 20th century, catalogued in perfect sequence.<\/p>\n
Neuer\u2019s path to the top of the library world, though, was far less organized.<\/p>\n
Arriving in Storrs as a German study-abroad student from the University of Mannheim, Neuer was quickly captivated by New England. He stayed on for a Master of Music in double bass performance and immersed himself in UConn\u2019s musical life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played in the wind ensemble, and in the orchestra,\u201d says Neuer. \u201cI discovered new repertoire. And I accompanied other kids from bass class on the piano.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also fell in with the art scene in Hartford. After college, he worked for the Wadsworth Atheneum and went on to hold management positions at Chamber Music Plus and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. \u201cI was able to use the musical education I had from UConn, along with marketing and administrative skills, to venture into cultural management.\u201d<\/p>\n