Kulturstaatsminister Wolfram Weimer has defended his approach to the planned expansion of the German National Library in Leipzig against criticism.
The federal government announced on Wednesday that a final review of the cost‑defining planning documents for a fifth expansion building in Leipzig is still pending. Long‑term financing for the project has not yet been secured. The resulting moratorium does not mean the project has been cancelled; it can be incorporated into the ongoing budget formulation process so that it can be considered by parliament.
“We remain committed to the German National Library as a treasury of our written cultural heritage, as well as to its Leipzig location” Weimer said. “At the same time, for the implementation of its comprehensive collecting mission we will increasingly use digitisation. It is therefore necessary to adapt this statutory collecting mandate to the conditions of the digital age, especially in view of the tightening financial room in the coming years. We will continue to safeguard extensive physical media works as well”.
The planned fifth extension building, expected to cost more than €100 million, will accommodate new physical acquisitions and older collections that currently cannot be stored under adequate climate conditions. The construction is scheduled for 2027 to 2032. The announcement that the new building will not proceed at present has already drawn sharp criticism from the cultural sector and from the state of Saxony.