Bibliophile treasure of the city library saved!

The volume "Chirurgische Bücher und Schrifften... des Paracelsus" (Frankfurt, 1605) has been extensively restored. This was made possible by a grant from the KEK funding programme amounting to 70 percent of the costs and private donations raised by the Chemnitz City Library Friends' Association.

The restoration was urgently needed as the valuable volume was severely damaged by water damage and subsequent mould infestation. This example illustrates the fragility and significance of historical collections and the need to preserve them as "cultural memory". In the history of medicine, Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim is one of the people whose teachings had a significant influence on the further development of the natural sciences and humanities. The natural way of life that he urged in his writings, which can prevent and heal, is more relevant today than ever and is widely recognised. The preservation of this historical volume will also give future generations the opportunity to examine in detail the state of knowledge at the time using the surviving texts.

The Chemnitz City Library is both a modern media, educational and cultural centre and the guardian of a valuable treasure. With 160,000 volumes, it also houses a historical collection spanning nine centuries in its basement storeroom. The treasures include medieval manuscripts, incunabula and prints from the 16th and 17th centuries. The majority of the oldest writings come from the dissolved Chemnitz monasteries.

Last year, the Chemnitz City Library submitted a model project entitled "Paracelsus for Eternity" to the KEK, the Coordination Centre for the Preservation of Written Cultural Heritage at the Berlin State Library - Prussian Cultural Heritage, for the first time. The Coordination Centre has set itself the goal of permanently preserving the national heritage in the form of written documents.

The association Förderer der Stadtbibliothek Chemnitz has been involved for many years in its project "Buchpaten gesucht" (book sponsors wanted) for the preservation of culturally and historically significant heritage and collects donations for this purpose.

The funding programme of the CEC - Coordination Office for the Preservation of Written Cultural Heritage at the Berlin State Library - Prussian Cultural Heritage

The Coordination Centre for the Preservation of Written Cultural Heritage began its work in August 2011 on the initiative of the former Minister of State for Culture Bernd Neumann and financed by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Cultural Foundation of the Federal States. Established at the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and based at the Berlin State Library, the CEC works towards a fundamental goal: the permanent preservation of national heritage in the form of written records.

The national heritage in archives and libraries can be preserved most economically and effectively if damage is not only repaired, but permanently avoided. This is why the CEC has developed a nationwide conservation concept for written cultural assets - and is thus a partner to all those who are dedicated to the protection of written cultural heritage. www.kek-spk.de

However, other so-called "problem books" in the city library are waiting to be rescued and thus preserved for posterity. The necessary restorations are always associated with considerable financial expenditure. The city library - as a public institution - has hardly any funds available for the restoration of old collections. It is therefore dependent on support from civic engagement.

The "Patrons of Chemnitz City Library" have launched the "Book Sponsors Wanted" campaign to protect and preserve the cultural treasures of the city library. Based on the urgency of individual titles, the sponsoring organisation arranges book sponsorships with private and commercial sponsors. Thanks to this initiative, 95 books and other documents have been restored so far.

On the website www.foerderverein-stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de, the association provides detailed information about the book sponsorship project, lists the books that have already been rescued and presents the current "problem books", the books that are to be restored in the near future.

Selection of further "problem books"

• R. Reinecii scriptores rerum Germanicarum
  Francofurti : Wechel
• Address calendar of the factory and trading town of Chemnitz
  Chemnitz, 1838
  1838/39
• Fleming, Paul:
  [German Poemata] D. Paul Flemings Teütsche Poemata Lübeck, [1646]

These books are on display in the Science & Technology section of the TIETZ Central Library until 15 April 2017.

For further information please contact:
City of Chemnitz, Cultural Services
City Library
Uwe Hastreiter, Public Relations
Telephone: 0371 488-4202
E-mail: hastreiter(at)stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de