Change of leadership at Kassel University Library

This applies not least to major renovation projects such as the redesign of the Murhard Library and the Campus Library. Technological developments in Kassel include the UB's transformation into the digital age. While there were hardly any electronic service offerings at the beginning of his tenure, almost all services are now available in self-service: from borrowing and ordering from the stacks to cashless payment of fees. The digital turnaround of academic libraries in Germany and worldwide is visibly reflected in the UB's structure and range of topics. The digital share of licensed journals alone has increased 22-fold since 2001. Catalog searches today access many times more holdings than just those present on site. In addition, access to digital media is now possible outside the campus network.

Halle's most important projects also include the restructuring of the library organization. Based on the centralization of large work areas, this enables the library to respond more flexibly to changing requirements and to implement them quickly and consistently.

Halle was busy with the restructuring until literally the last day. It was only in the fall that the second of three parts of the campus library, freshly renovated, was put back into operation. Construction on the renovation of the last section of the building is scheduled to begin in 2021. The topic has been at the top of his agenda since 2004. "Axel Halle has driven the modernization of the university library in many fields, and he has also played an active role in shaping it beyond the region," said university president Prof. Dr. Finkeldey. "These include not least digitization projects, but he also tirelessly drove forward major construction projects that will shape the library and the entire university in the future. He leaves the university library in excellent condition."

Halle's successor will be Library Director Claudia Martin-Konle on Jan. 4, 2020. Halle, who makes his home in Göttingen, is relaxed about his retirement. An active athlete, he plans to keep moving and explore previously unknown areas by bike and kayak.

A commemorative publication on the occasion of Axel Halle's farewell deals with the topic "Historical heritage and contemporary information infrastructures: libraries at the beginning of the 21st century". It is available on the document server of the UB: https://kobra.uni-kassel.de/themes/Mirage2/scripts/mozilla-pdf.js/web/viewer.html?file=/bitstream/handle/123456789/12168/kup_9783737609098.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
resp.:  https://doi.org/doi:10.17170/kobra-202010131934

Contact:

Sibylle Kammler
Kassel University Library
Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-2839
E-mail: oeffentlichkeitsarbeit[at]bibliothek.uni-kassel[dot]de