Weimer Criticized for Halted Library Construction - Germany halts €100M library expansion amid digital shift and controversy
Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer has stopped plans for a fifth extension at the German National Library in Leipzig. The decision comes despite years of planning and a €7 million investment in preparations. The project, estimated at €100 million, was meant to address severe storage shortages at the site.
Weimer has also drawn criticism for excluding three left-wing bookshops from the German Book Trade Prize. He cited unspecified concerns linked to constitutional protection but provided no public details about the allegations.
The Leipzig expansion was designed to create long-term storage for books and other media. Officials warned that the current site had almost run out of space. However, the National Library recently confirmed that the updated cost estimate remained at roughly €100 million.
Weimer's decision to pause the project follows his broader push to modernise legal deposit rules. At present, publishers must submit two physical copies of every publication to the library. The minister wants this reduced to one copy, ideally in digital form. His goal is to shift the National Library's collection toward a predominantly digital format in the coming years. Separately, Weimer's exclusion of three left-wing bookshops from the 2025 German Book Trade Prize has sparked debate. He claimed the decision was based on 'findings relevant to constitutional protection' but did not elaborate. The move has raised questions about the use of intelligence vetting—referred to as the Haber procedure—in state-funded cultural awards. Reports suggest Weimer has applied this procedure in four cases, three of which involved the Book Trade Prize. No public records confirm whether federal ministries, including Nancy Faeser's, have reviewed similar cases under the current government. The lack of transparency has added to the controversy.
The Leipzig expansion remains on hold, leaving the National Library without a solution for its storage crisis. Weimer's push for digital deposits could eventually reduce the need for physical space, but no timeline has been set. Meanwhile, the dispute over the excluded bookshops highlights ongoing tensions about state oversight in cultural funding.
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