Lending in the SPK libraries possible again from 4 May
Press release from 04/23/2020
The SPK's museums, libraries and archives have been closed to the public for more than a month. The first steps towards reopening will be taken from 4 May 2020: In the State Library, the Ibero-American Institute and the State Institute for Music Research, media can once again be collected and returned on site. The museums and archives are also preparing for a restricted opening.
On 14 March, all SPK institutions closed their doors to the public to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading too quickly, shortly before the Berlin Senate published its obligation to close museums, libraries and archives. With the current easing of the containment measures by the state of Berlin, academic libraries will soon be allowed to resume lending operations and museums will be able to open to the public.
Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK: "After more than a month in which we were only able to offer our visitors and users digital services, we would now like to cautiously take a first step towards opening up. Many users are urgently awaiting the provision of scientific literature in particular. With the necessary protective measures - and this includes face masks for staff and users in our libraries - we can now enable lending in the libraries again. However, as it is not possible to borrow items from our archives, we will continue to offer our online services for the time being, even if this is only the second-best solution for academic use. However, it is not only scientific literature and sources that many people are sorely missing, but also museums, and we are working on reopening individual museums to a limited extent as soon as possible. Our central guiding principle is the attitude of the German government: health comes first. In order to minimise the risk of infection in our facilities, both for employees and visitors, we are currently working flat out to implement all the necessary distancing and hygiene measures."
Physical contact between employees and visitors or users is being minimised in all facilities and protective measures are being taken, such as Plexiglas walls at serving points and checkouts, regulation of visitor and user access by allocating time slots or special routing in the buildings. More detailed information about the measures and rules for visitors and users will be published on the websites of the individual facilities in due course.
From 4 May 2020, borrowing (collection and return of media on site, but not on-site use such as working in reading rooms, use of scanners, copiers, microfiche readers, etc.) will be possible again in the following SPK libraries :
- Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Haus Potsdamer Straße (from 4 May: collection of books ordered by mid-March; from 11 May: gradual expansion of the possibility for new orders for lending outside the library)
- Library of the Ibero-American Institute
- Library of the State Institute for Music Research
In the archives of the SPK, it is generally not possible to borrow items outside the library. The Geheimes Staatsarchiv PK and the Zentralarchiv der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin will therefore remain closed to the public for the time being, but can still be contacted for user enquiries.
The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin are working on opening a few selected museums to the public by mid-May at the latest in order to provide Berliners with a cultural offer in these difficult times. Their objects and collections can still be accessed online around the clock - in virtual tours of the museums, in the online database SMB-digital, but also via the numerous stories on Museum and the City, the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. The online offer is continuously being developed and supplemented with exciting new content.