"Wealth for all" - for Libraries Day

From Saturday, 22 October to Saturday, 29 October, numerous events will be taking place at Chemnitz City Library to mark the nationwide Day of Libraries on 24 October, and new customers will receive a 20 percent discount on the annual fee during this week. Under the motto "Wealth for all", this year Chemnitz City Library is promoting its wide range of multimedia services, the library as a "third place", a space for experience, a civic platform and the city's public living and working space for all citizens:inside. Every year, the Day of Libraries draws attention to the approximately 10,000 libraries in Germany as indispensable cultural and educational institutions and at the same time arouses curiosity about their extensive range of services.

The week of events in Chemnitz:

Monday, 24 October, 3 p.m., Yorckgebiet district library, Scharnhorststraße 11
Holiday event: "Storm or The Invention of Football"
Book presentation with the Munich bestselling children's book author, illustrator, animated film artist and cartoonist Jan Birck.
Admission: free of charge, please register by calling 0371 71885 or sending an e-mail to: ivonne.haertzsch(at)stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de

Tuesday, 25 October, 6 p.m., Vita-Center district library, W.-Sagorski-Straße 22
Gabi Thieme reads from her book "The almost perfect crime, sensational criminal cases from Saxony"
Admission: free of charge, registration requested by phone: 0371 488 4280 or by email to: sophie.schrader-heinig(at)stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de

The Chemnitz journalist and court reporter Gabi Thieme has brought together three spectacular criminal cases from Saxony in which it took decades before the perpetrators could be convicted. Full of suspense and facts, the true crime expert visualises the course of events, the search for clues and the gruelling investigation processes.

Tuesday, 25 October, 7 p.m., TIETZ, Central Library, Event Hall
Swiss author Max Lobe sets off in search of clues in Cameroon with his novel "Vertraulichkeiten".
Reading and discussion in German and French.
Moderation, translation and German voice: Ulrike Brummert & Martin Bauch
Admission: free of charge, registration requested by phone: 0371 488 4222 or by e-mail to: information(at)stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de

The Institut français and Chemnitz City Library are presenting a small literary sensation in October: Leipzig-based publisher akono is publishing the novel Vertraulichkeiten (Confidences in French) by francophone author Max Lobe. In it, the author returns to his native Cameroon and travels to the Bassa Forest to find out from the old Mâ Maliga what she knows about the independence movement in Cameroon and its leader Ruben Um Nyobè.
Max Lobe, born in Duala in 1986, is a novelist, poet and cultural activist living in Geneva and is the author of five novels. The themes that run through his work include queerness, migration and post-colonialism. Lobe is the founder of GenevAfrica, an organisation that aims to build cultural bridges between Swiss and continental African authors.
Organiser: Institut français Leipzig in cooperation with the Chemnitz City Library.

Wednesday, 26 October, 4 to 6 p.m., TIETZ, Central Library
BibLab-C: 3D printing - a short introduction
Admission: free of charge, please register at www.stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de/biblab-c/veranstaltungen

The workshop is designed to give anyone interested a brief insight into this world. During the two hours, an overview of current technologies will be given, which will be illustrated using many interesting examples and an active 3D printer. In addition to the presentation of the current possibilities, an incentive will be offered to take a closer look at the topic.

Unfortunately, the following event has to be cancelled due to illness (PM changed on 25.10.):
Wednesday, 26 October, 5 and 6 pm, TIETZ, Central Library, basement magazine
Guided tours: Insights into the treasury of the city library
Admission: free of charge, registration requested by phone: 0371 488 4222 or by e-mail to: information(at)stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de.(The number of participants is limited to 20.)

Bibliophile treasures from seven centuries are stored in the stacks of the Chemnitz City Library. We would like to invite you to explore these treasures during the Museum Night. Selected artefacts from Chemnitz's history will give you an insight into the lives and achievements of previous generations.

Thursday, 27 October, 6 p.m., District Library in the Yorck area, Scharnhorststraße 11
Amsterdam and Hamburg in the Golden Age
Sabine Weiß reads from her historical novel "Gold and Honour"
Admission: free of charge, registration by phone: 0371 71885 or by email to: yorck.ausleihe(at)stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de

After an experiment goes wrong, Benjamin is sent to Hamburg by his father. At first, the young architect struggles so far away from home. He is lied to and cheated, but soon meets people he can count on - first and foremost Lucia, who has to steal to ensure her family's survival. She fascinates him, not least because she is so clever. When Benjamin is called back to Amsterdam by his father, she stays behind. But can there be more to their relationship?
With "Gold and Honour", Sabine Weiß writes a historical novel about the construction of the Hamburg Michel in the 17th century. The journalist and author focuses on rather unknown aspects of Hamburg's (architectural) history, Hamburg's close connections to the Netherlands, the many Dutch immigrants in the "Golden Age" and the expertise they brought with them and their influence on architecture.

Thursday, 27 October, 2 to 5 p.m., TIETZ, Central Library, Children's World
Let's play - gaming in the Bibo Kids Edition

We play console games together on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation4 and introduce new games.
Admission: free of charge
Target group: recommended from 6 years, registration is not required.

Saturday, 29 October, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., TIETZ, Central Library, BibLab-C
Open text workshop of the Free German Authors' Association
Admission: free of charge

Editing your own texts. Those coming for the first time can also just listen. Joint event with the Free German Authors' Association.

Saturday, 29 October, 7 to 9.30 p.m., TIETZ, Central Library, Children's World
Scary Night
Admission: free of charge. Places are limited, registration is therefore recommended at www.stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de/biblab-c/veranstaltungen

... when the doors of the library close, little ghosts and monsters, skeletons and witches and all sorts of other scary creatures come together for a spooky night in the children's library.
Make poltergeisty ghosts, scare yourselves with dark stories or dress up to look particularly spooky for the Halloween photo. As a special highlight, the creepy tent awaits your visit.

Subject to change due to the current situation.


Background information

Freedom, prosperity and the development of society and the individual are fundamental human values. They can only be achieved through the ability of well-informed citizens to exercise their democratic rights and actively participate in society. Constructive participation and the development of democracy depend as much on satisfactory education as on free and unhindered access to knowledge, thought, culture and information.

The public library, the local access to knowledge, provides a basic prerequisite for lifelong learning, independent decision-making and cultural development of individuals and social groups. This Manifesto expresses UNESCO's conviction that the public library is a vital force for education, culture and information and an essential element of action for the promotion of peace and intellectual balance in the minds of men and women.

UNESCO therefore calls on national and local governments to support and actively engage in the development of public libraries.

(UNESCO Manifesto on Public Libraries, in: The Services of the Public Library: IFLA/UNESCO Guidelines for Further Development, p. 77)