#BibliothekenEntschlossenDemokratisch
#LibrariesDevotedToDemocracy
How do we want to live together? Democracy is our foundation. How can we succeed in keeping it stable and attractive for many? Democracy education, our culture of debate, disinformation and social cohesion are increasingly coming into focus. Libraries are important players here. They do not stand for one opinion; they stand for diversity of opinion. They don’t tell the truth; they provide information. They do not exclude; they invite.
Our society is undergoing a process of transformation. The library as an institution also helps to shape these processes. We are meeting the rapid upheavals in our “core business”, providing media, data and information with innovative strength and openness. We are facing up to social change. Whether in teaching and research, in the promotion of reading and media education, on the university campus or in the community: libraries, with their many voices, stand for democratic coexistence and social freedom that takes others into account.
The congress thrives on the many participants from Germany and abroad. At the Library Congress, we will discuss the issues that concern libraries, the questions they ask themselves, and the answers they find. I am looking forward to that.
