"This will radiate far beyond Kassel".

Mr. Halle, 19 years - how do you see UB's progress?

Now I have to look back a bit. I think the UB is very well positioned and is recognized in the university as a top performer. The services that you can expect from a modern library today are all there. And I think that when we have the burdens of the two major renovations behind us, it will become even clearer what high quality is available to the university with the total of six library locations.

Let's talk about construction projects: With what feelings do you hand over the long-standing and so far unfinished renovation projects Campus Library, Murhard's and the School of Art location?

My idea and my ambition was to have everything completed by the end of my term of office. Because you have to remember that the first considerations for renovations to the campus library go back to 2004. And the initial plans were for everything to be finished here in 2012. With the Murhard Library, it was the case that in 2001, when I started my service, you could see the need as soon as you entered the building. Then in 2004, the Anna Amalia Library in Weimar burned down. I wrote to the then minister in Hesse that something like that could also happen here. Then, in 2006, the need for construction was recognized. This building was also supposed to be finished by 2012. Now, as we can see, both construction measures have not been completed. I find that regrettable for all those involved. For the colleagues who have to endure the hardships, for the users who do not have space available, and for me personally. I've been involved with two buildings for about 15 years now, and of course I would have liked it all to go faster and be finished. Above all, that construction management in Hesse would run more efficiently. The colleagues at the State Office for Construction and Real Estate in Hesse are all making an effort, but the structures mean that construction measures are severely delayed.

What efforts have been made to keep UB on the cutting edge of technology?

It was a broad spectrum. The library had been reorganized in 1998/99. This had the great advantage of being close to the customer, i.e., service-oriented. At the same time, certain services that are common today were not yet available. It was not yet possible to make reservations electronically, there was no e-mail notification. There were no electronic reminders, no pick-up shelves, etc. The strong service orientation, the effort of all colleagues to achieve the maximum service for the users, had to be newly underpinned by modern services.

Of course, we also tackled a whole lot of things that had also been started elsewhere. At the end of the last millennium, libraries started digitizing their collections. So we also started digitizing our historical heritage and acquiring electronic media.

We have incorporated the change in media into our services from the very beginning. This in turn means that organizational adjustments also had to follow. What may not be so clear to the layperson is that as we acquire more and more digital items, we need specialized colleagues, for example, for licensing law or for linking records. This is where we introduced an e-media group. A few years ago, we then centralized the organization of the UB, because the new requirements, even in completely new fields, could not be managed in any other way. The departmental libraries were abolished in favor of cross-location departments for use and media processing.

How does the UB compare to other libraries of the same size?

I believe that we have a very stable basis, that our customers appreciate our flexibility, service quality and friendliness. We have an extraordinary focus on the aspect of a so-called utility library. This means that what is needed for current research and teaching is available to a large extent. You can see that, for example, in the interlibrary loan figures, which have dropped significantly because we now have a much better information supply. We have introduced all the modern services that are needed today for the supply of information. There is a digital return shelf, service counters, a back office and much more. Accompanying this, the communication channels have also been expanded: fixed info times for telephone inquiries and e-mails, plus Facebook and Instagram. This means that anyone who has a question for us can get an answer quickly. Of course, we now also do things that are not so obvious to outsiders: research data management, for example. We cooperate with other universities in Hesse in the area of long-term archiving and so on. Another very important area Since 2003, we have been committed to Open Access In 2005, we became the second German university to adopt an OA recommendation, and since 2013 we have had our own OA fund. Free access to science on all channels is of elementary importance.

In which subject areas was UB Kassel a pioneer?

We were more of a pioneer in the things that you can't compare statistically with others. We were certainly a pioneer in the services I just mentioned, and we have consistently expanded them. The self-service functions, electronic notifications, pick-up shelves and so on. Colleagues from other libraries have come here to look at the strong performance in self-service. Another aspect I haven't mentioned so far: We have been talking about the library as a place of learning since 2008. This clearly shows that we put students at the center of everyday business, so we have significantly increased the number of user workstations and improved the quality of stay. We were also at the forefront of the introduction of a discovery system as a pilot library in Hesse. In the process, the search space of the Kassel catalog portal KARLA was expanded many times over. For the first time, the search made it possible to search directly down to the level of articles and globally accessible information resources.

What are the perspectives with regard to digitization vs. customer proximity?

There is still a lot to do in the area of digitization of our library's historical heritage. Here, we are initially proceeding in a customer-oriented manner, which means that it will be digitized on request and successively. We are bringing this together in the ORKA and Grimm portals and feeding it into Europeana and the German Digital Library.

The decisive step towards even greater customer proximity will be achieved with the completion of the major construction measures. From then on, the UB will have a high quality of stay in both buildings. In addition, the Murhard building will provide excellent conditions for the presentation of our historical heritage. Here, the university library will also work with new media in the exhibition room, so that the presented originals can be browsed digitally and comfortably. This will radiate far beyond Kassel and the region.

What are the UB's prospects with regard to the transformation of the publication and publishing sector?

We are perhaps the only university library in Germany that already offers the entire service portfolio for publishing, focusing on all aspects of open access publishing. We offer support from consulting to publishing, permanent access, and financing. We will continue to do so in the future. We are already able to link publications with research data. This aspect will certainly increase in importance in the future.

What are the perspectives with regard to the role of the UB as a research library?

The term research library is, of course, a relatively ambiguous one: research libraries are usually considered to be the few outstanding libraries with an extraordinary amount of money and a comprehensive, historically grown collection. We can't afford that, and neither can the university. But: With the State Library, we have a huge fund of historical documents, including unique and valuable holdings. Making these sources accessible and available to researchers worldwide free of charge is a major task that will continue for years to come. One example: early modern manuscripts, which we have in large numbers in the State Library, have not yet been digitized at all, and some of them have not even been cataloged; they contain enormous resources for research, not only in regional studies, but far beyond. But the UB is also a research library when it comes to the Grimm. Here we work intensively with Prof. Ehrhardt, among others, and cooperate with various institutions that have Grimm collections. I am happy about the very good working relationship with the City of Kassel and the State Archives in Marburg. Another partner with whom we will be working more closely in the near future is the Berlin State Library. The goal is to map as much as possible of relevance to Grimm research in the Grimmportal. And the work is far from complete, even though we have already achieved a great deal.

How has awareness of the Historical Treasures developed?

We currently have a digital presence, but raising awareness of cultural assets absolutely involves the real object in exhibition showcases that is explained, that is accessible to the layperson. Here we have had a real handicap since 2012. Until then, we used the Owl Hall. We were able to show pieces from our holdings, present publications, did numerous events with university members, but that had to be cancelled because the renovation was just around the corner and we needed the space. That won't be overcome until the construction is finished.

Also contributing to awareness since 2018 has been our new crowdsourcing tool. Encouraging citizen participation and strengthening the connection between experts in the region and the library as their treasure trove. This allows anyone to work with the existing texts and images not only reading, but also describing, transcribing or transliterating. In the past 19 years, we have also endeavored to close historical gaps. We have acquired two important estates, first Franz Rosenzweig, of extraordinary importance for Kassel and German Jewry in the 1920s, and then Hans Jürgen von der Wense, a perhaps not so well-known writer, whose estate is extraordinarily extensive and which is really being used quite intensively. Last year, we were also able to bring our research into Nazi looted property to a positive conclusion with the restitution of the Walkemühle holdings, which was very close to my personal heart.

To what extent has the position of the UB at the university changed in the last 19 years?

I think in general, unlike at the beginning of the millennium, the UB is used by students as the preferred place of learning. It is recognized by academics that we provide services quickly and prudently, that we respond flexibly to new demands, and that we offer an optimum of information provision despite scarce resources. And that friendly contact persons are always available at all library locations. The library is seen as a building, but it is also seen as a team of people who strive for transparency and good service every day. And they do this on a variety of channels, from advice at the service desk to answering calls and e-mails to training courses, videos and communication on social media.

Summing up: What issues were you personally most focused on during your term of office?

On the one hand, there was the expansion and modernization of all services, but also the adaptation of the organization to the requirements of the digital era. That is the first major complex. In day-to-day business, that naturally means a lot of personnel management. And that's very demanding, especially in view of the desire to bring all employees on board.

A second major complex, starting in 2006, was of course construction planning. I experienced hundreds of meetings. As a result, I hope you can recognize a little bit of the handwriting that had to be realized in the face of some resistance from the builders and financiers. And the third, less spectacular but no less important: In Kassel, there are few human resources and little material funding compared to other UBs. My job was to accomplish as much as possible what needed to be done with scarce resources. That is a task that kept me busy every day.

And finally, it was enormously important to me to re-root the library in the urban community. I can remember, shortly before I started my service in 2001, there was the Hessian Library Day in Kassel. There I met people from the city society who said, "If you come to Kassel, do something with the Owl Hall." That's what the president at the time urged me to do when I took up my post. This resulted in some 80 Eulensaal events, which continue to have an impact to the present day. I share the view with my successor that this should be revived as soon as the possibilities exist. After the renovation, modern event technology and a catering area will be available there, so a whole new event quality can be expected.

Interview: Sybille Kammler