New library director: freedom, hope and a pair of rubber boots

Berlin Central and State Library

The Central and Regional Library of Berlin celebrated the handover of the management position in a more joyful than solemn manner, with both words and content.

The new Director General of the Berlin Central and State Library, Jonas Fansa, wearing rubber boots and carrying a baton in the pop-up building of the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek on Tuesday evening. Emmanuele Contini/Berliner Zeitung

If that's not a good sign, then: The new Senator for Culture, Sarah Wedl-Wilson, is already on first-name terms with the new head of the Central and State Library of Berlin (ZLB). In her speech at the beginning of the handover of the position of Director General from Volker Heller to Jonas Fansa, she bid farewell to one with the highest praise and warmly welcomed the other.

The next two performances also created a positive atmosphere. Volker Heller revealed his musical background and jazz background, and Jonas Fansa revealed his expertise in science fiction films and literature with electrifying examples. Both spoke of freedom and democracy. Thus, on Tuesday evening, the main problem facing Berlin's largest cultural institution, Germany's largest public library, faded somewhat into the background: the question of space.