4 German Studies

Brian Vetruba

Simplified map highlighting Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and Austria.
Map of German-speaking countries covered in this chapter.

Introduction

German is a West Germanic language most closely related to Afrikaans, Dutch, English, and Yiddish. According to Ethnologue, over 133 million people worldwide speak German as a native or second language (“German, Standard” 2024). Within the European Union (EU), German is the most widely spoken native language and is a working language alongside English and French within the EU government. German is the single national official language for Austria, Germany, and Liechtenstein. In Switzerland, where 63.7% of the population speak German, it is an official national language along with French, Italian, and Romansh (Ammon 2020, 100). German is also a primary language in eastern parts of Belgium and in the Italian autonomous province Bolzano–South Tyrol (South Tyrol), where it has regional official language status. There are also sizable numbers of German-speakers in 42 countries, including Canada; all Eastern European countries; Namibia, a former African colony of Germany; Russia; and the US (Ammon 2020, 94–95).

Within academia, German has held a prominent position as a language of scholarship. The proportion of German articles published in natural science journals, for example, rose to considerable levels in the 19th and early 20th centuries. By 1920, 44% of scientific publications were in German, compared to 33.26% for English and 14.35% for French (Ammon 2004, 162). German was especially strong in chemistry publications, as evident by publication studies analyzing citation sources (Ammon 2004, 161). Likewise, German is a language of scholarship in a number of humanities and social science disciplines, including anthropology, archaeology, music, and philosophy. All of this has resulted in German becoming one of the languages collected most frequently by North American research and university libraries. After English, German materials make up the highest percentage of the HathiTrust Digital Library’s collection (HathiTrust Digital Library, n.d.). And among books published currently, German accounts for the third highest number, by language, after English and Chinese, with 9.78% of titles (Talbot 2022).

The purpose of this chapter is to provide librarians responsible for German Studies and German collections an overview of resources and tools available to assist them in serving faculty and students in German Studies and related fields, and to help them build these collections. German Studies is a dynamic field focused primarily on the literatures, cultures, and histories of German-speaking countries; its multidisciplinary aspects are discussed below. The primary focus of the chapter is on resources from or related to the dominant German-speaking countries of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland; other German-speaking areas are covered tangentially.

Academic Field

German Studies at North American universities and colleges has been evolving and redefining itself for decades. Up until the 1980s, Germanistik, the German term for the field, focused primarily on the study of language and canonical German literature. Starting in the 1980s, German departments began to include writers and topics not traditionally part of the canon (Trommler 2018, 255). The 1990s saw inclusion of texts from philosophy, history, and the sciences alongside traditional literature (Trommler 2018, 252). The study of German-language film became a firmly established and recognized subfield. As evident by examining the program of the German Studies Association’s 2023 annual conference, German Studies now intersects with other disciplines, including Digital Humanities, economics, Environmental Studies, history, political science, and sociology. Given the historical legacy of German-speaking Europe, both Jewish Studies and Holocaust Studies are interwoven within the field. Courses and conference programs centering on Black German Studies (sometimes also known as African German Studies), Disability Studies, Gender Studies, Migration Studies, Queer Studies, and similar fields are now commonplace. Likewise, scholars are increasingly studying comics, graphic novels and other types of texts. German Studies has also become more globalized, looking at German culture, language, and the history of German-speaking countries outside of Europe, such as Postcolonial Studies through a German Studies lens. For a discussion of postcolonial and diversity aspects within the field, see Criser and Malakaj (2020).

German Studies librarians primarily work with those teaching and studying German culture, language, and literature, who are usually housed in academic departments named German Studies or Germanic Languages and Literatures. Sometimes these faculty and students are part of multi-language departments, such as the Department of German, Nordic, Slavic, and Dutch at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. At smaller institutions, they may belong to world languages and cultures or modern languages departments. Depending on the institution, a German Studies librarian may also need to address the needs of and work with faculty and students in comparative literature, European history, film studies, linguistics, philosophy, and political science. Beyond academic departments, many universities have research centers with interest in German Studies, such as centers of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, and European Studies. Some universities even have centers focusing on German or Austrian Studies, such as Brandeis University’s Center for German and European Studies, and the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities’ Center for Austrian Studies. Lastly, external community organizations, such as German-American and German-Canadian groups, may also have an interest in library collections and programming related to German Studies.

German is commonly taught at universities and colleges throughout North America. Despite declines in recent years, it remains the fifth top-ranked language at US colleges and universities. In 2021, German language courses in the US had 53,543 enrollments (Lusin et al. 2023, 50). Doctoral and masters programs in German, however, have seen a decrease over the years. For example, Canada and the US had 6 and 52 PhD German programs in 2011, respectively (Peterson’s 2011, 380–387); by 2021, these numbers had fallen to 5 and 45 (Peterson’s 2021, 309–314). A number of German departments have begun iniatives to recruit new students by revising degree requirements and partnering with other departments. A number of schools, for instance, have dual German and engineering degrees, including Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, University of Georgia, and University of Maryland. The University of Colorado at Boulder relaunched its PhD program in 2013 and shortened the degree requirements to four years, versus 8–10 for other programs. (Smith 2012).

Scholarly Organizations

Scholarly associations to be aware of include:

  • American Association of Teachers of German (AATG): promotes the teaching and research of the language, literatures, and cultures of the German-speaking world in schools and at the college level. It publishes two journals: The German Quarterly and Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German.
  • Association for German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland: a scholarly organization which holds annual conferences with open access (OA) conference reports.
  • Austrian Studies Association: an association devoted to scholarship on all aspects of cultural life and history in the Austrian, Austro-Hungarian, and Habsburg territory from the 18th century until today.
  • German Studies Association (GSA): an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary association of scholars of German, Austrian, and Swiss history, literature, cultural studies, film, political science, and economics. The GSA publishes the journal German Studies Review.
  • German Studies Canada/ Études Allemandes Canada (GSC/EAC): an association for people teaching and researching German Studies within transdisciplinary contexts in Canada. It has an annual conference and publishes Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies.
  • Modern Language Association (MLA): promotes the study and teaching of languages and literatures. Publishes PMLA as well as a number of book series. You can join specific discussion forums via MLA Commons.
  • Other organizations focusing on specific areas/aspects:

There are scholarly associations for specific literary authors (e.g., Goethe Society of North America), and German Studies is also covered in societies devoted to specific literary and historical periods (e.g., Sixteenth Century Society & Conference). For additional scholarly associations, see the GSA’s list of related organizations.

In addition to scholarly organizations, research institutes and cultural organizations can provide valuable insights into research trends and scholarships. The German Historical Institute (GHI), for example, promotes research in the fields of German/European and Jewish history, history of the Americas, and transatlantic history, including Migration Studies. GHI publications, many of which are OA, are collected by academic libraries. The American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) focuses on political, economic, and security issues confronting Germany and the US, and offers white papers and other publications, podcasts, and other events.

Funded by the German government, the Goethe-Institut (Goethe Institute) is the most important cultural organization to be aware of. It provides German-language instruction and promotes art, film, literature, and other aspects of German culture through in-person and online programming. Goethe-Institut USA has six locations, and Goethe-Institut Kanada (Goethe Institute Canada) has three. The Austrian Cultural Forums and Pro Helvetia are the Austrian and Swiss counterparts to the Goethe Institut.

Scholarly Networks

The scholarly community H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online has freely available email discussion networks focused on aspects of German Studies. Posts include calls for papers, book reviews, and tables of content for new issues of journals. In particular, these networks are recommended:

Others of secondary relevance include H-Black-Europe for Black German Studies, H-Holocaust for Holocaust Studies, H-HRE for the Holy Roman Empire, and HABSBURG for the Habsburg monarchy and successor states.

For additional detail on the field of German Studies, consult Halverson and Costabile-Heming, (2015) and Hodkinson and Schofield (2020). Another valuable resource is the Ithaka S+R report by Cooper et al. (2020), Supporting Research in Languages and Literature. Some practical tips for keeping up on the academic field include:

  • If budgets allow, attend conferences of the scholarly organizations. If not, peruse conference programs and newsletters of these groups.
  • Subscribe to H-Net networks and follow organizations on X (formerly Twitter).
  • Talk to faculty and graduate students at your institution. Ask them about emerging trends in the field.

Publishing Landscape

Given its size, Germany plays a dominant role in publishing, and Austrian and Swiss authors routinely publish with German publishers rather than their own due to the larger German market (Bosse 2005, 52). Nevertheless, the publishing landscape and book production for all three countries is interconnected. For example, the Deutscher Buchpreis (German Book Prize), awarded by the Börsenverein (German Publishers and Booksellers Association), has been won by authors from both Austria and Switzerland as well as from Germany. Tonio Schachinger, an Austrian writer, won the prize in 2023, and Kim de l’Horizon, a Swiss novelist, won in 2022. Austria and Switzerland were among the top three importers of books from Germany in 2022, constituting 17% and 14% of the German book export market, respectively (International Publishers Association [2023], 190).

The publishing landscape in all three countries is constantly in flux with mergers, acquisitions by global conglomerates, and firms going out of business. One of the most notable changes was the 2013 merger of Random House and Penguin Group by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann and Pearson Publishing, which formed the world’s largest book publisher (Penguin Random House 2019). Commercial scholarly publishers Brill and De Gruyter officially merged in early March 2024 to form De Gruyter Brill.

Open access has generally been embraced in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. For an overview of the OA landscape in each country, and for descriptions of organizations and initiatives, see the Global Open Access Portal. A key player for OA and research in Germany is the funding organization Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; German Research Foundation), whose webpages on OA give a helpful overview. For Austria, see the Open Science Austria platform; for Switzerland, see the Swissuniversities’ Open Access webpages. See also the Open Access and Open Educational Resources chapters in this Handbook.

Knowing key German terms for publishing will be helpful:

  • Programm refers to the frontlist titles for the year and may also include backlist titles.
  • Neuerscheinungen means “new releases.”
  • Belletristik is the German work for “belles lettres” and includes fiction, poetry, drama, essays, and other literary nonfiction.
  • Sachliteratur is nonfiction but more for a general audience, whereas Fachliteratur is more for scholarly audiences.
  • The noun Wissenschaft and corresponding adjective wissenschaftlich can mean “science/scientific,” but can also refer to “scholarship,” “studies,” or “scholarly.” Literaturwissenschaft, for example, is the term for “literary studies.”

For additional terms, see the 2015 list compiled by Heidi Madden “International and Area Studies Workshop–Germanic Collections,” pages 35–40, and the Bibliotheks-Glossar (Library Glossary).

Germany

According to the International Publishers Association ([2023], 162–63), Germany has the largest book market in Europe and is one of the top exporters and importers of books. According to the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, Börsenverein (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels 2023, 46), there are 3,000 publishers in Germany. One major difference from North American markets is that in Germany a book has the same price nationwide regardless of where it is sold. The publisher sets the price for a book in each format and can discontinue the fixed price 18 months after a book is released (Anderson 2019). The fixed prices do not apply for book exports from Germany. See the German Publishers and Booksellers Association’s The System of Fixed Book Prices according to German Law (2015) for more information.

In 2022, German publishers released 71,524 first and new edition book titles, 116 fewer than in 2021. Of these 71,524, 89.9% were first editions. The number of German translations rose 6.7% between 2021 and 2022, with English being the original language for over 60% of titles (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels 2023, 100–101). Belles lettres made up 34% of new titles for 2022, children’s and young adult literature 18.5%, Ratgeber (“self-help”) 13%, school and education 10.6%, general non-fiction 10.4%, and travel 4.7%. Academic titles accounted for 9% of the 2022 book market, with humanities, art, and music titles seeing the highest amount (4%) (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, n.d.). In 2021, only 10.8% of German consumers purchased eBooks, compared to 58.3% for print books (Richter 2022). Among fiction and non-fiction publishers, Penguin Random House received the highest revenue in 2022, followed by Carlsen, a publisher of children’s and young adult literature and graphic novels, and Bastei Lübbe (Buchreport 2023).

Börsenverein is the national association for German publishers and booksellers; it also promotes book publishing and reading nationwide, and is a valuable source for data and insight into German-language publishing trends. The Börsenverein organizes and runs the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair) and issues a number of literary awards (discussed below). The large publishing houses and conglomerates make the lion’s share of publishing revenue, but the vast majority of German publishers are small and medium-sized. In 2019 it was reported that “around 7 percent of publishers account for 95 percent of the total turnover of more than €5 billion ($5.62 billion). The remaining 93 percent are small and medium-sized independent publishers” (Peschel als 2019).

The Kurt Wolff Stiftung (Kurt Wolff Foundation) is an association of 122 independent publishers in Germany. Librarians should be aware that titles from independent publishers may not be distributed by library vendors, given the publishers’ low output. The Foundation’s Es geht um das Buch (“It’s about the Book”), an annual catalog, can help in becoming familiar with independent publishers and their releases. Also helpful is the list of independent publishers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from Morehotlist.

Austria

According to data from the national Österreichische Bibliografie (Austrian Bibliography), 12,157 new book titles were published in Austria in 2021, of which 31% were in the social sciences, 16.3% in the arts and entertainment, 13.2% in literature, 12.5% in history and geography, and 11.8% in technology, medicine, and related fields (Statistik Austria 2023a, 24). Data from Statista Market Insights shows a clear preference of print books over eBooks. In 2022, the average reader spent an estimated 118.90 € for print compared to 80.11 € for eBooks (Statista Market Insights, n.d.). Similar to Germany, Austria has fixed book prices, and the law stipulating this was recently updated (Mena Report 2022).

The publishing landscape in Austria is much smaller than in Germany. Statistik Austria (Statistics Austria), the national statistics agency, notes 456 book publishing companies in 2021 (2023b). An estimated 81% of companies have fewer than 10 employees. Of the 1,002 active publishers in 2000, 85% had 50 or fewer titles available (Buchacher and Steyer 2006, 23). Most small publishers survive in Austria by being part of a niche or specialized market, securing subsidies, or becoming part of German publishing groups (Klamet 2020, 51–52).

Despite the small number of publishers overall, Austria’s publishing output is consistently well-represented at European book fairs. In 2023, 175 Austrian publishers exhibited at the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair). Austria was also the 2023 guest host country for the Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair).

Der Hauptverband des österreichischen Buchhandels (HVB), the professional association for Austrian publishers, booksellers, and antiquarian book dealers, provides bestseller lists and a publisher and bookseller directory, and awards a number of Austrian literary prizes (noted further below). Other publisher lists include Österreich liest (Austria Reads), from the Büchereiverband Österreichs (Austrian Library Association), and Publishing Companies of Austria. Noteworthy Austrian publishers include the following:

  • Böhlau: a scholarly book and journal publisher and subsidiary of the German publisher Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; covers history and other humanities fields.
  • Jung und Jung: covers German-language literature and German translations. Its Österreichs Eigensinn series includes canonical works of Austrian authors from the 19th and 20th centuries.
  • Paul Zsolnay: founded in Vienna in 1924 but now a subsidiary of the German publisher Hanser. Publishes belles lettres and non-fiction.
  • Der Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften: publishing arm of the Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Austrian Academy of the Sciences). Publishes a wide range of scholarly books and journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Includes a large number of open-access titles.
  • Czernin: titles include non-fiction in the fields of politics, art, and history, especially the Third Reich, along with belles lettres, especially works from newer Austrian authors.
  • StudienVerlag: scholarly book and journal publisher in the areas of education/pedagogy, history, Jewish Studies, literary criticism, and other fields in the humanities and social sciences.

Switzerland

In 2022, 12,828 books were published in Switzerland. Of these, approximately 26% were in German, 13% in French, and 2% in Italian. Books in other languages accounted for about 59% of the total, 94% of these were in English (Bundesamt für Statistik 2023).

Of the 12,508 titles published in 2021, literature accounted for about 13%, followed by art and technology / management / construction, with 10% and 6%, respectively (Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek 2022). Although revenue from eBooks ($146.60 per reader) is higher than that from print ($113.90), the number of users of print books is twice as large, at 3.2 million compared to 1.4 million using eBooks (Statista Market Insights 2023).

The publishing scene in Switzerland is dwarfed by Germany’s. According to Myriam Lang from the Schweizer Buchhandels- und Verlags-Verband (SBVV; Swiss Book Trade and Publishing Association), approximately 280 publishers (mainly independent) in Switzerland regularly publish books (European Literature Network 2020).

Switzerland has four main publishing and bookseller associations, each representing a specific language region, with SBVV covering German-speaking Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Among its services, the SBVV has a publisher and bookseller directory (which can be filtered by genre, etc.), bestseller lists, and industry reports. SWIPS (Swiss Independent Publishers), a collective of 29 independent publishers in German-speaking Switzerland, provides a blog noting new titles and links to publisher catalogs. Swiss publishers often exhibit at book fairs, and Switzerland is routinely a guest country.

Noteworthy German-language publishers in Switzerland include:

  • Diogenes: one of the largest independent fiction publishers in Europe; publishes contemporary literature, classics, and literary non-fiction, both original titles and translations in German.
  • Kein & Aber: publishes Swiss belles lettres and nonfiction as well as German-language translations.
  • Limmat: focuses on Swiss belles lettres and German translations from French, Italian and Romansh. Also publishes nonfiction with a focus on Switzerland, women, migration, and the biographies of lesser-known voices.
  • Nagel & Kimche: part of the HarperCollins Publishing Group, it focuses on contemporary Swiss literature in German as well as translations of international literature.
  • Rotpunktverlag: publishes political nonfiction on social justice, ecology, and international issues. Its literature series Edition Blau includes works from contemporary Swiss authors. Also publishes the literary journal Viceversa Literatur: Jahrbuch der Schweizer Literaturen.

University Presses from German-speaking Countries

University presses in German-speaking Europe developed differently than their Anglo-American counterparts. Most university presses, such as Oxford University Press, are independent or only loosely affiliated with the university itself, and those in the UK, US, and Canada compete for authors and manuscripts internationally, with most not affiliated with the press’ university (Bargheer and Walker 2017, 293, 296). Presses in German-speaking countries, in contrast, are generally service units of the university, and their main goal is to provide a publishing venue for their faculty and researchers (Bargheer and Walker 2017, 294; Bargheer and Papst 2016, 335). On average, the German-language university presses publish about 44 titles a year, usually in a hybrid model with small print runs and an OA electronic version (Bargheer and Walker 2017, 298). Most of the university presses publish titles in English as well as in German.

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft deutschsprachiger Universitätsverlage is an association of 29 German-language university presses from Austria, Germany, and South Tyrol. Of the titles published by its members, 61.6% are available OA (Arbeitsgemeinschaft deutschsprachiger Universitätsverlage [2022?]). The “Publikationen” (Publications) menu link brings up a list of all published books and journals by members. “Fachgebiete” (Subject areas) under “Publikationen” allows browsing by subject area (in German). Records for most of the titles available OA include links to downloadable versions; for others, consult the press’ websites. These titles are eventually ingested into the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB).

Commercial Publishers from Europe

Two of the most important publishing conglomerates are Brill and De Gruyter, which
merged in early 2024 but maintain separate websites.

  • Brill: publishes secondary literature, primary literature, and reference works covering history, literature, cultural studies, philosophy, theology, law, and the social sciences. Its output includes print and electronic books and journals as well as databases, with content in German, English, Dutch, and other languages. Brill’s imprints include Böhlau, Wilhelm Fink, Ferdinand Schöningh, and Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, all of which were recently independent. Much of Brill’s content is available OA; see Discover Brill’s Open Access Content.
  • De Gruyter: publishes secondary literature, primary literature, and reference works as print and electronic books, journals, and databases. Content is in German and English and covers the gamut of humanities, social science, and science disciplines. Its search interface includes a filter to limit to OA titles. De Gruyter’s website doesn’t allow for easy browsing by subject, such as German literature or history of German-speaking countries. Consult DeGruyter’s catalogs for new titles and databases in specific subjects.

Other key publishers to follow are:

  • Aisthesis: focuses on German-language belles lettres and literary criticism; also covers philosophy, history, media studies, and psychotherapy, and publishes collected works and critical editions.
  • Edition Text + Kritik: covers primarily German literature but also other literatures, music, film, and cultural studies. Most notable is Text + Kritik, a critical journal usually covering one German-language author or topic per issue.
  • Georg Olms: covers art, classical studies, European history, German language and literature, philosophy, musicology, and other fields in the humanities.
  • Hanser: publisher of German-language belles lettres, German translations of international literature, and non-fiction.
  • J. B. Metzler: a subsidiary in the Springer Nature conglomerate, its output includes print and eBook handbooks covering the works and lives of literary authors, philosophers, and other figures. Also publishes introductory texts about emerging fields.
  • Königshausen & Neumann: books and journals on literature, literary criticism, philosophy, music, art history, cultural studies, and media studies. Publishes yearbooks on literary authors and philosophers.
  • Suhrkamp: publisher of German-language belles lettres, German translations from other literatures, philosophy, and graphic novels. Publishes collected works and critical editions of canonical German-language authors and authors.
  • Universitätsverlag Winter: publisher of books and journals covering German literary and language studies as well as other humanities fields, such as Romance, Slavic, and English literary and language studies. Also has OA content.
  • Wallstein: publications include German-language belles lettres (contemporary works as well as critical editions of older works), literary criticism, history, Holocaust Studies, Jewish Studies, philosophy, and other humanities fields.

Notable publishers of German-language graphic novels and comics include Avant, Carlsen, Edition 52, Edition Moderne, Reprodukt, and Zwerchfell. In addition to original German titles, these publishers also publish translations. It may not be obvious whether a particular title is a translation; you may need to research the title or author or consult a vendor.

Content from these publishers is generally included in European vendor databases and, to some extent, by North American ones. It’s useful to consult publisher sites to discover upcoming titles and get information on published books and journals. Unfortunately, there is no one directory or portal for publishers of German-speaking Europe. Publishers Global includes publishers in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Wikipedia.org provides adequate coverage for Germany with its Book Publishing Companies of Germany, but less coverage for Austria and Switzerland. The following provide more comprehensive lists with subject information:

Publishers outside of German-speaking Europe

University Presses

Almost all Anglo-American university presses cover German Studies to some degree. To discover relevant content, browse by subject on each press’ website or search the interfaces of North American vendors. Vendors are covered further below. It’s also good to be familiar with monographic series for future and retrospective purchasing, such as the following:

Commercial Publishers

Below is a select list of commercial scholarly publishers and series relevant for German Studies:

Translations

English translations of German-language literature and non-fiction are published by university presses as well as major trade publishers such as HarperCollins and Penguin Random House. In addition, the following smaller publishers regularly release English translations of German works:

Publisher’s Weekly provides a searchable translation database which can be used to learn about new titles translated into English.

Prizes

All three countries have an abundance of literary awards, which should be monitored by librarians to identify trends or changes in thematic outputs. Librarians should also acquire winning and finalist titles or works by winning authors as these titles and authors are likely to be studied over time. The award websites often provide detailed information on the winning and finalist authors and titles. English-translations of award winners are often released within a few years. Below is a list of prominent awards for German-speaking countries:

  • Deutscher Buchpreis (German Book Prize): the equivalent of the Booker Prize; awarded each year at the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair) to the best novel written in German.
  • Deutscher Krimipreis (German Crime/Mystery Novel): awards for the best crime or mystery novel written in German and German translation.
  • Georg Büchner Preis: named after the German dramatist and writer Georg Büchner (1813–1837) and considered the most prestigious award within German-speaking countries; awarded annually to an author writing in German who has made significant contributions.
  • Hotlist Preis (Hot List Prize): awarded to an independent publisher from Austria, Germany, or Switzerland for the best new German book of the year.
  • Ingeborg-Bachmann-Preis: awarded at the Tage der deutschsprachigen Literatur (Festival of German-Language Literature) to an author writing in German after presenting excerpts of an unpublished work. The award is named after the Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmann (1926–1973).
  • Preis der Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair Prize): three annual awards for newly published fiction, non-fiction/essay, and translation.
  • Österreichischer Buchpreis (Austrian Book Prize): awarded annually for the best German-language work of belles lettres, poetry, drama, or prose non-fiction by an Austrian author.
  • Die schönsten Bücher Österreichs (The Nicest Books from Austria): the 15 new “nicest” books published each year in different categories and recognized by the Austrian publisher and bookseller association Der Hauptverband des österreichischen Buchhandels (HVB) and the Austrian government. The government also sponsors other literary prizes.
  • Schweizer Buchpreis (Swiss Book Prize): also yearly; awarded to the best German-language work of literature or essays by a Swiss author or author living in Switzerland.
  • Schweizer Grand Prix Literatur and Schweizer Literaturpreise (Swiss Grand Prize for Literature and Swiss Literature Prizes): yearly awards for Swiss authors and literary works, which can be in French, German, Italian, Romansh, or any Swiss dialect.

Vendors that supply German books (noted further below) have award-winner categories for approval plans. Information on other awards and recipients can be found on Book Prizes from New Books in German and Literaturpreis Gewinner. Both English-language Wikipedia and German-language Wikipedia.de include information and recipient lists.

Keeping Up

Listed below are a few resources to follow to keep up in the publishing landscape:

  • First and foremost, consult with foreign vendors who are located in Europe and are happy to brief librarians on changes in the industry. They may even be able to supply you with publisher lists.
  • Consult Publishing Perspectives; in particular, see its magazines, which are issued around the time of the Frankfurt Book Fair.
  • For new titles, see New Books in German
  • BuchMarkt
  • Buchreport

Collection Development Tools

North American Vendors/Distributors

For English-language materials covering German Studies, most libraries use either EBSCO’s GOBI Library Solutions or ProQuest’s OASIS, both of which provide approval plans, demand-driven or evidence-based plans, and standing orders, as well as firm order services for print books and eBooks. The GOBI approval plan is broadly organized by Library of Congress Classification (LCC) and is customizable, although librarians will need to work within the parameters of their library’s plans. In each plan, a library can set up categories of materials for automatic shipment (i.e., “book”) or title notification (i.e., “slips”). Each librarian can set up their own profile for notifications. Approval plans in OASIS are also organized by LCC and can be customized. eBook offerings for both GOBI and OASIS include different models, including DRM-free. Reviews from Booklist, Choice, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly are available in both GOBI and OASIS.

Although focusing primarily on English-language materials and publishers from the US, UK, and elsewhere, both GOBI and OASIS can provide print and eBooks for some German-language and other foreign language items from European publishers. This can be helpful, as eBook models that will work for North American libraries from German-speaking countries are limited.

Foreign Vendors

The German distributor Harrassowitz is the leading supplier of German imprints to North American academic libraries. Its services include detailed and customizable approval plans and standing orders, as well as new title notifications for both print monographs, music scores, and DVDs. Harrassowitz can also supply eBook monographs, but due to publisher restrictions, institutional-wide access is not available.

Of particular note is Harrassowitz’s “Contemporary German Belles Lettres Approval Plan,” which includes well-established and up-and-coming German-language authors. In addition to German, Harrassowitz supplies materials in other languages, most notably Dutch, Scandinavian, and Finnish.

Harrassowitz recently launched its new order database Fokus, which offers saving and export options as well as multiple subject searching or limiting capabilities, such as by LCC, genre, and time period. Fokus includes a number of “Customized Subject Tags” like “Black Culture Studies” and “LGBTQI Studies,” which are helpful in diversifying collection selections. Under the “Discover” pull-down, one can limit to OA publications, graphic novels, and music scores.

With its team of North America-based sales managers, Harrassowitz is attuned to the North American library landscape. Upon request, Harrassowitz staff can provide individualized reports to assist in making selections. For example, I have requested lists of critical editions of literary works and philosophy for given time periods.

In addition to Harrassowitz, the Dutch vendor Erasmus, which merged with the Italian distributor Casalini Libri in 2020, also supplies German-language publications to North American libraries. Its services include approval plans, standing orders, and new title announcements. Besides German, Erasmus covers Dutch-language publications and those from the Nordic countries.

German Studies librarians should also be aware of vendors covering other languages. Amalivre covers French and Francophone publications, and Casalini Libri covers French, Greek, Italian, and Spanish materials.

The website Comicguide.de: Deutsche Comics von A bis Z has a catalog, publisher list, and other resources related to German-language comics and graphic novels.

Film – Streaming and other formats

With the rise of remote learning and access, streaming video has become a new demand for academic libraries, and sourcing the streaming of German-language film may fall to German Studies librarians. Below are some of the main vendors:

  • Kanopy: includes feature films, documentaries, and educational videos; has a German Cinema Collection. Libraries can license streaming for one or three years, purchase perpetual streaming, or set up a patron-driven acquisition (PDA) plan.
  • Swank: includes feature films, documentaries, and educational videos in its “Digital Campus,” set up for colleges and universities. German-language film is included in its International Film category. Options include title-by-title licensing as well as demand-driven acquisition (DDA).
  • Alexander Street: encompasses all film genres covering multiple subjects, including recordings of theater performances. Options include title-by-title streaming and DDA. Academic Video Online is Alexander Street’s bundled collection of films. To find German-language films, librarians will need to search by individual titles. Streaming video can also be ordered directly in OASIS.

For hard-to-find films, YouTube, Vimeo, or similar sites may be of help. Given the questions of legality and the ephemeral nature of these platforms, however, they should only be used as a last resort.

For films related to the former German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany), the DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst offers not only DVDs, but also scanned tables of contents of East German film journals as well as other information. Streaming for films from DEFA is generally available from Kanopy.

Sometimes you may need to purchase DVDs, Blu-ray, or even VHS. Some libraries may not allow purchasing of DVDs or Blu-rays coded for outside North America or PAL VHS. Amazon.com, Amazon.de, and film distributors are good sources for purchasing such formats.

Providing access to foreign films is less straightforward than doing so for foreign books. Considerations such as licensing, subtitles/closed captioning, access for outdated formats (e.g., VHS) and non-North American DVD/Blu-ray regions must be taken into account. Streaming videos are generally much more expensive than books.

Out-of-print Dealers

In addition to Amazon.com and AbeBooks, librarians can source out-of-print German-language materials from Amazon.de, ZVAB (Zentrales Verzeichnis Antiquarischer Bücher), and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). Antiquariat.de is a portal to directly order from German-language booksellers. Harrassowitz and Erasmus will also source and sell out-of-print and hard-to-find titles.

Book Fairs

Attending book fairs can help librarians discover titles from smaller publishers that may not be covered by distributors and learn about new authors and publishing trends. The two most important fairs are the annual Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair), held in October, and the Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair), held in March or April. Considered among the largest in the world, the Frankfurt Book Fair is international in scope, with a “host country” highlighting its publication and cultural output. German-language publishing is well represented each year, with two of the eight exhibit halls dedicated for German imprints. Smaller in size, the Leipzig Book Fair provides comparable coverage for German-language publications. Buch Wien (Book Vienna), held in November each year, is Austria’s most important book fair. BuchBasel (Book Basel) is likewise the most important Swiss fair for German Studies. German-language publishers are consistently well represented at all fairs throughout Europe. For a comprehensive list, see the European Studies Section’s European Book Fairs.

Review Sources

Aside from CHOICE and Library Journal, many of the scholarly journals listed below include reviews of recent publications. Particularly noteworthy is the journal German Studies Review, which includes reviews for all aspects of German Studies (e.g., literature, history, politics). The H-Net networks noted above include reviews for their particular areas. Reviews can also be searched for in H-Net Reviews. The New Books Network German Studies site includes audio interviews with authors. Each issue of The Year’s Work in Modern Language Studies, an annual critical bibliography of new work in the modern languages, includes listings for German literature and philology. Perlentaucher: das Kulturmagazine, an online culture and literary magazine, provides book review summaries from German-language news sources. And for translations of German belles lettres and non-fiction, review sources include the Times Literary Supplement, the New York Review of Books, Publisher’s Weekly, and Library Journal.

Assessment and Cooperative Collection Development

Comparing your library’s German Studies collections against the holdings of other libraries is one way to measure coverage. Besides assessment tools such as GreenGlass (subscription resource) and WorldShare Collection Evaluation (subscription resource), both from OCLC, another approach is simply to use WorldCat (FirstSearch version) to compare holdings of your library against those of libraries with substantial collections. Another useful tool is the subscription database Resources for College Libraries (RCL), which provides core title lists in subject areas deemed essential by expert subject librarians.

One should not compare circulation statistics and electronic resource usage of German-language materials (or of any foreign language materials) with those of English-language materials, as English is the predominant language of research and scholarship in North America. Library administrators and managers might not factor this in when assessing resources.

Librarians covering German Studies should be aware of relevant cooperative collection development arrangements. In these arrangements, libraries divide up collection responsibilities by subject, language, country of publication, etc., with the overall goal of reducing duplication and broadening collections in North America. Such agreements are most often publicized via professional networks; some case studies are noted in library science literature.

Disciplinary Resources

Journals

Below are the major scholarly journals for the field. Unless otherwise indicated, the journals are peer-reviewed and subscription resources.

  • Colloquia Germanica: internationale Zeitschrift für Germanistik (0010-1338): German literary and cultural studies.
  • Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte (0012-0936): arguably a leading journal; covers German literature, philology, cultural studies, and philosophy.
  • Feminist German Studies (1058-7446): all aspects of German literature, culture, and language, including pedagogy; journal of WiG.
  • Film-Dienst (0720-0781): ceased in 2017; covered German cinema and included interviews, portraits, and film festival reports as a non-peer-reviewed periodical. Transitioned to the Filmdienst.de website that includes useful content (both open access and subscription) on German film.
  • Frauen und Film (0343-7736): publishes on film, television, and the media from a feminist perspective. Not peer-reviewed.
  • German as a foreign language: GFL (1470-9570): pedagogical and research articles related to German-language instruction. Open access.
  • German Films Quarterly: German film magazine. Not peer-reviewed. Open access.
  • German Life and Letters (0016-8777): all aspects of German Studies, including literature, film, intellectual and political history, music, art, philosophy, and cultural studies.
  • German Quarterly (0016-8831): German literature, culture and film from the Middle Ages to the present; published by the AATG.
  • German Politics and Society (1558-5441): politics, history, popular culture, film, and literature of contemporary Germany.
  • German Studies Review (0149-7952): history, literature, cultural studies, film, political science relating to German-speaking countries; journal of the GSA.
  • Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory (0016-8890): German literature, culture, and theory.
  • Germanisch-Romanische Monatsschrift (0016-8904): literary history and theory in German Studies, English Studies, and Romance Languages Studies with special emphasis on comparative aspects.
  • Germanistik (0016-8912): quarterly bibliography for secondary literature in Germanic language, literature, as well as in other Germanic languages and literatures, film, comparative literature, and literary theory.
  • Internationales Archiv für Sozialgeschichte der deutschen Literatur (0340-4528): covers German literature from the Middle Ages to the present day, with an emphasis on connections between literature and social history. Not peer-reviewed.
  • Jahrbuch für internationale Germanistik (0449-5233): yearbook focusing on German language and literature, especially from an international perspective. Open access.
  • JEGP, Journal of English and Germanic Philology (0363-6941): Northern European literatures of the Middle Ages, covering Medieval English, Germanic, and Celtic Studies.
  • Journal of Austrian Studies (2165-669X): history and culture of Austria, Austro-Hungary, and the Habsburg territory. Journal of the ASA.
  • Monatshefte (0026-9271): started in 1899; one of the oldest journals covering German Studies.
  • New German Critique: an Interdisciplinary Journal of German Studies (0094-033X): 20th and 21st German Studies, including literature, mass culture, film, literary theory, Holocaust Studies, and intellectual history and philosophy.
  • Seminar: a Journal of Germanic Studies (0037-1939): German literature, media and culture, including the fields of philology, philosophy, aesthetics, media studies, gender studies, and transnationalism.
  • Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German (0042-062X): pedagogical and research articles related to German-language instruction; published by the AATG.
  • Weimarer Beiträge: Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft, Ästhetik und Kulturwissenschaften (0043-2199): literary studies, aesthetics, and cultural studies related to German-speaking countries. Material from 2004 to last three years available open access at Weimarer Beiträge (back issues via Goethe University Frankfurt). Not peer-reviewed. Print resource.
  • Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie (0044-2496): German philology, literature, and language history for all periods.
  • Zeitschrift für Germanistik (0323-7982): German Studies. Open access since 2006.
  • Zeitschrift für interkulturelle Germanistik (2198-0330): German language, literature, and cultural studies. Open access.

Besides topical and disciplinary journals, university and some college libraries also acquire yearbooks such as The Brecht Yearbook/Das Brecht-Jahrbuch, and the Goethe Yearbook, which are usually published by literary societies for many authors. To find additional journals, librarians should consult the MLA Directory of Periodicals, which is included in a subscription to the MLA International Bibliography (subscription resource); and the Zeitschriftendatenbank (ZDB; Union Catalog of Serials; open access), which includes German and Austrian library holdings for print and electronic periodicals, monographic series, yearbooks, and newspapers. Both allow searches to be limited to OA resources.

Also useful is the list of journals in Online Contents Germanistik (Online Contents German Language and Literature Studies; open access), which includes tables of content for many issues. Other subjects, such as Film Studies and history, can be found under “Online Contents – Subjects” on the Databases webpage for the library consortium Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund (GBV). Lastly, EZB, the electronic journal library, provides journal title lists by subject areas with filter options for open access.

Primary source databases

  • Archives Unbound: relevant collections cover German colonial history, the Holocaust, Nazi-occupied Europe, post-war occupation, and German folklore. Subscription resource.
  • Austrian Literature Online: books, journals, newspapers, manuscripts, theses, and scholarly essays, mostly related to Austria and Austria-Hungary. Open access.
  • Deutsche Literatur des 18. Jahrhunderts Online: first editions of 642 German-speaking authors of the 18th century. Subscription resource.
  • Early European Books: drawn from the holdings of major European libraries; includes books and other primary sources from about the 1450s to 1700. Subscription resource.
  • Emblematica Online: searchable and browsable digitized emblem books from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel, and other libraries. Open access.
  • EuroDocs: a portal to transcribed, reproduced, or translated primary source documents from prehistoric times to the present day for European countries; from Brigham Young University’s library. Open access.
  • German History in Documents and Images (GHDI): collection of documents, images, and maps documenting Germany’s political, social, and cultural history from 1500 to the present. Includes both original German texts and English translations. Open access.
  • German Literature Collections: from Proquest; each collection available separately. Subscription resources.
    • Bertolt Brechts Werke: works of German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht. Includes critical apparatus.
    • Die Deutsche Lyrik in Reclams Universalbibliothek: German poetry from over 500 authors from the 15th to the early 20th century which has been published by Reclam Verlag since 1945.
    • Digitale Bibliothek Deutscher Klassiker: critical edition works of more than 30 authors from the Middle Ages through the early 20th century. Includes prose, poetry, drama, diaries, letters, political speeches, historical documents, and writings on German art and philosophy.
    • Goethes Werke: complete works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe from the definitive Weimar Edition. Includes critical apparatus.
    • Kafkas Werke: complete works of Franz Kafka from the critical edition Franz Kafka, Kritische Ausgabe, Schriften und Tagebücher. Includes critical apparatus.
    • Schillers Werke: digital edition of the definitive national edition of Friedrich Schiller’s works. Includes critical apparatus.
  • Lebendiges Museum Online (LeMO; Living Museum Online): documents, photographs, biographies, maps, videos, chronologies, and statistics related to German history. Open access.
  • Luthers Werke: complete works of Martin Luther, with critical apparatus including Bible translations, treatises, sermons, letters, table talks, poems, and hymns. Subscription resource.
  • Nineteenth Century Collections Online: one collection includes 9,500 English, French, and German titles of the Romantic era. Subscription resource.
  • Sophie: A Digital Library of Works by German-Speaking Women: fiction, drama, poetry, and music written by German-speaking women from medieval times through the early 20th century. Open access.

For German literature, history, and philosophy and other German Studies-related subjects, De Gruyter offers subscription primary source databases. Project Gutenberg-DE, Wikisource.de, and Zeno.org, all commercial sites but nevertheless open access, offer public domain German-language texts related to literature, music, art, natural sciences, and social sciences. These sites also provide access to historical reference works. Additional primary source materials can be found in the digital libraries noted further below in the “National and Other Major Libraries and Their Catalogs” section.

Secondary Source Databases

In addition to the more general and multidisciplinary databases such as Academic Search Premier/Complete/Ultimate (subscription resource), JSTOR (subscription resource), and Google Scholar (open access), the following are especially relevant for German Studies:

  • BDSL Online (Bibliographie der deutschen Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft; Bibliography of German Language and Literary Studies): international in focus; indexes journal articles, monographs, and book reviews for all periods of German literature and language studies. Interface in German, but easy to use. Coverage for publications 1985 to 2011 (open access); 1985 to present (subscription resource).
  • Bibliography of Linguistic Literature / Bibliographie Linguistischer Literatur (BLLDB): international in focus; indexes journal articles, monographs, dissertations, and book reviews for general linguistics, with emphasis on English, German, and Romance languages. Coverage for publications 1971 to 2012 (open access); 1971 to present (subscription resource).
  • DigiZeitschriften: similar to JSTOR, database of German-language scholarly journals for the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Mainly a subscription resource, but some issues are open access.
  • Gelehrte Journale und Zeitungen als Netzwerke des Wissens im Zeitalter der Aufklärung (Scholarly Journals and Newspapers in the Age of Enlightenment): database of journals and newspapers from late 1600s to early 1800s. Open access.
  • Germanistik: database for all issues of the bibliography Germanistik (1865-9187); includes citations for German literature and language as well as for other Germanic languages and literatures, film, comparative literature, and literary theory. Coverage 1960 to the present. Subscription resource.
  • Historical Abstracts: covers world history (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, and thus a main database for history of Europe and German-speaking countries. Subscription resource.
  • IBR Online (Internationale Bibliographie der Rezensionen geistes- und sozialwissenschaftlicher Literatur; International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scholarly Literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences). Indexes 7,000 journals in the humanities and social sciences. Subscription resource.
  • IBZ Online (Internationale Bibliographie der geistes- und sozialwissenschaftlichen Zeitschriftenliteratur; International Bibliography of Periodical Literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences): journal article index for 11,500 journals; also includes abstracts for 800,000 articles. Subscription resource.
  • Klassik Online: index to primary and secondary literature for German literature’s classical period (1750–1850). Includes citations for books, book chapters, articles, reviews, and other formats. Open access.
  • KLG – Kritischer Lexikon zur deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur (Critical Lexicon for German-language Contemporary Literature): bio-bibliographical database covering post-1945 German-speaking authors. Includes short biographies, critical essays, lists of prizes won, and references for primary and secondary literature. Also has citations for newspaper and magazine articles and reviews as well as broadcast interviews, all of which are not noted elsewhere. Subscription resource.
  • MLA International Bibliography: from the MLA; includes citations for articles, books, book chapters, and dissertations covering literary studies, modern languages, linguistics, dramatic arts, film, folklore, and the teaching of languages. Coverage is international, from the 1880s to the present. Subscription resource.

Although there are no databases specifically for German-language film, relevant citations can be found in Film and Television Literature Index with Full-Text and the FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals (both subscription resources).

Dissertations and Theses

In addition to the subscription database ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, WorldCat (FirstSearch version), and the MLA International Bibliography, as well as individual institutional repositories, dissertations and theses can be found from a variety of sources. A select list follows:

The GSA maintains Dissertations in German Studies, a list, with English abstracts, of dissertations published each year, which can help in learning about emerging topics and trends.

Additional databases can be found in the Datenbank-Infosystem (DBIS), a searchable list of subscription and OA resources organized by discipline. Limit listings to open access by going to “Bibliotheksauswahl/Einstellungen” and selecting only “frei im Web.” For German language and literature, use Germanistik, Niederländische Philologie, Skandinavistik, which includes resources for German, Dutch, and Scandinavian Studies.

News Sources and Media Outlets

Germany

Germany has the fifth-largest newspaper and magazine market worldwide and the largest in Europe, with approximately 320 regional daily newspapers, 16 weekly newspapers, and 1,300 magazines (Fazit Communication, n.d.). As in other countries, print circulation is declining relative to online news, including social media. Eleven percent of survey participants in Germany pay for online news, with the tabloid Bild, daily newspapers Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) and Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), and news magazine Der Spiegel most frequently mentioned (Hölig 2023, 76). Bild, FAZ, and SZ, respectively, were noted as having the highest reach in Germany, followed by Die Welt, Handelsblatt, and taz, die Tageszeitung (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Media-Analyse 2023). FAZ and SZ are highly trusted news sources (Hölig 2023, 77), and are national newspapers of record. Other important newspapers include Die Zeit, a weekly national newspaper of record, as well as Der Tagesspiegel. Germany has three main weekly news magazines: Der Spiegel, which is consistently ranked highest in circulation and reach, followed by Stern and Focus (Statista 2023a).

For most of these titles, most content is behind a paywall only accessible to subscribers or via aggregators and databases (noted below). Der Spiegel offers access to all content from back issues, as does Die Zeit via a free account. Almost all of these sites have archives, though these may be limited. Der Spiegel and Die Zeit are the two exceptions, offering free searching of their archives back to the first issue.

Germany has a mix of public and private radio and television broadcasters. ARD is a coordinating organization of Germany’s 10 regional public radio and television broadcasters, such as Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; Northern German Broadcasting) and the internationally-focused Deutsche Welle (DW; German wave), which provides programs in 30 languages. Public Deutschlandradio covers news and current affairs with its Deutschlandfunk network, and culture (including books) with Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

ARD operates the national television network Das Erste (the first), which broadcasts Die Tagesschau, a popular nightly news program. ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; Second German Television) is Germany’s second public television broadcaster and airs the news program heute. Other television networks include the public 3Sat and ARTE; and commercial ProSieben and RTL. The newspapers, magazines, and broadcasters noted above cover the Frankfurt Book Fair each year, providing information about new titles, publishing trends, and author readings.

Austria

In 2021, Austria had 277 newspapers (including free and fee-based newspapers), with 243 weeklies and 34 dailies. The tabloid Kronen Zeitung, also known as Krone, had the highest circulation in 2022, followed by Heute, a free newspaper, Kleine Zeitung, a regional newspaper based in Graz and Klagenfurt, and Kurier (Statista 2023c). The Viennese broadsheets Die Presse and Der Standard are considered national newspapers of record. The Viennese daily Wiener Zeitung, which was the world’s oldest daily printed national newspaper, printed its last daily issue on June 30, 2023. It still publishes an online edition (Ferguson 2023). For news magazines, the most significant are the weeklies NEWS and Profil.

Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF; Austrian Broadcasting) is Austria’s national public radio and television broadcaster. For radio, ORF has Ö1, which broadcasts news, Ö3, FM4, and nine regional radio stations, one for each of Austria’s states. Commercial radio stations include Radio 1 and Radio Arabella. For television, ORF has five television stations and airs the daily news program Zeit im Bild. Commercial television broadcasters include ATV, PULS 4, and ServusTV.

Switzerland

In 2022, Switzerland had 251 newspapers: 213 in German, 29 in French, and 9 in Italian (Statista 2023b). Excluding free newspapers, the seven regional daily newspapers in the newspaper group Nordwestschweiz, including the Aargauer Zeitung and the Limmattaler Zeitung, had the highest circulation in 2022 and 2023. The Zurich-based Tages-Anzeiger was the next highest, followed by the Berner Zeitung (BZ) and Der Bund, two dailies in Bern (WEMF 2023). The daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) is the only German-language newspaper of record for Switzerland. Other important papers include Basel’s Basler Zeitung and Lucerne’s Luzerner Zeitung. Prominent magazines with news content include Beobachter, Schweizer Illustrierte, NZZ Folio, and Schweizer Monat.

Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF; Swiss Radio and Television) is the German-language public broadcaster. SRF has nine radio channels, with Radio SRF 4 News dedicated to news. Die Tagesschau is SRF’s main television news program. Like Germany and Austria, Switzerland has a number of commercial radio and television broadcasters. World Radio Switzerland broadcasts Swiss news in English.

Other Countries

The daily Liechtensteiner Vaterland is Liechtenstein’s one print newspaper, while Radio Liechtenstein and 1 FL TV are the principality’s public radio and television broadcasters. German-speaking South Tyrol in Italy has two daily papers: Dolomiten and the Neue Südtiroler Tageszeitung, and Rai Südtirol is South Tyrol’s German-language public radio and television broadcaster. In Belgium, Grenz-Echo is the only German-language daily newspaper; Belgische Rundfunk (BRF; Belgian Broadcasting Corporation) broadcasts German-language radio over two channels and also produces the news program Blickpunkt. In Luxembourg, the German-language dailies Luxemburger Wort, Tageblatt, and Zeitung vum Lëtzebuerger Vollek are top newspapers (TNS Ilres 2022). RTL Group (Radio Télévision Luxembourg) is a Luxembourg-based conglomerate which provides German-language radio and television to countries including Luxembourg.

Resources for comprehensive listings of news publications as well as broadcasters include the European Studies Section’s German Studies Guide on News; general country reference works, such as Europa World; and Wikipedia. In general, Wikipedia.de is more current on news and media than the English-language version. Zeitungen in Deutschland, a directory of newspapers from Germany, can be searched and browsed by state (Bundesland) and district (Landkreis).

Commercial Databases and Aggregators

Only a few commercial products cover current and historical German-language news. Below are subscription databases available to libraries:

  • F.A.Z.-Bibliotheksportal: digital archive of the newspapers Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) and Frankfurter Rundschau with three modules:
    • F.A.Z.-BiblioNet: includes articles from the daily edition, 1993 to the present, and the Sunday edition, 1995 to the present.
    • F.A.Z. 49-92: has daily articles from 1949–1992 and Sunday edition articles from 1990–1992.
    • Frankfurter Rundschau: contains articles from the Frankfurt am Main daily newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau since 1995.
  • Neues Deutschland Digital Archive: digital archive of Neues Deutschland, the official newspaper of the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party of Germany), East Germany’s ruling party, covering the years 1946–2022.
  • Vossische Zeitung 1918–1934 Online: digital archive of Vossische Zeitung, a renowned Berlin daily, for the years 1918–1934.

Note that issues of both Neues Deutschland and Vossische Zeitung are available open access via Zeitungsinformationssystem ZEFYS, discussed below. German-language news, as well as English-language news covering German-speaking Europe, is available through main news aggregators, including Factiva, Global Newsstream, Nexis-Uni, and PressReader.

Historical News

Below are prominent digital collections and portals to German-language newspapers which can be searched and browsed:

  • ANNO: a collection of historical Austrian newspapers and periodicals from the 16th to 20th centuries. Open access.
  • Compact Memory: 500 Jewish newspapers and periodicals from German-speaking Europe, mainly for the years  1768–1938. Most titles are in German, with some in Hebrew, Yiddish, English, and other languages. Open access.
  • Deutsches Zeitungsportal (German Newspaper Portal): searchable and browsable collection of historic German newspapers from 1671 to 1994. Open access.
  • Digital Exile Press: German-language newspapers published in exile between 1933 and 1945. Open access.
  • e-newspaperarchives.ch: newspapers digitized by the Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek (Swiss National Library) and other Swiss libraries. Open access.
  • ZEFYS (Zeitungsinformationssystem): digital newspaper collection from the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Stabi; Berlin State Library — Prussian Cultural Heritage), with titles from German-speaking Europe. Also includes the subset DDR Presse, a collection of three GDR newspapers: Neues Deutschland (1946–1990), Berliner Zeitung (1945–1993), Neue Zeit (1945–1994). To access the DDR Presse, free registration is required. Open access.

Additional collections and portals are at the Historical News Sources on the ESS German Studies guide, Historic German Newspapers Online from EuroDocs, the Listen digitalisierter Zeitungen (lists of digitized newspapers) from Wikisource.de, and the Indexes and Guides to Western European Periodicals from ESS. The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) has a collection of domestic and foreign newspapers in print, microform, and online formats; use its CRL Library Catalog to find holdings.

Newspaper Indexes

Besides WorldCat (FirstSearch version) and individual library catalogs, librarians should consult the International Coalition on Newspapers (ICON) database and Zeitschriftendatenbank.

Locating articles on topics from newspapers before the 1990s can be problematic, as aggregators don’t include German-language news coverage that far back. As noted previously, newspapers’ online archives don’t always provide significant historical coverage. One workaround is searching for articles in Google with the title and dates. Other resources include:

  • Zeitungs-Index: Verzeichnis wichtiger Aufsätze aus deutschsprachigen Zeitungen. Pullach bei München, Verlag Dokumentation Saur, 1974–2003. Subject and author index of important articles from 20 newspapers of German-speaking Europe. Book reports are indexed in the supplement Buchrezensionen (1975–2001).
  • Indexes and Guides to Western European Periodicals: includes print and electronic indexes, guides and websites for periodicals from the 17th to 21st centuries.
  • Innsbrucker Zeitungsarkiv: index from the University of Innsbruck for articles on German and other literatures in German-language news periodicals. Includes some full text.

Catalogs, Bibliographies, Archives

National and Other Major Libraries and Their Catalogs

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (DNB; German National Library) serves as a deposit library for materials published in Germany and systematically collects German-language materials published elsewhere. The DNB’s collections include a German music archive and German exile archive (1933–1945), and a web archive. The Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek (catalog of the German National Library) has a new beta-version available. Germany has seven geographically based library consortia or networks of public and academic libraries. The Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund (GBV; Common Library Network) is the largest; the K10-plus union catalog includes GBV’s holdings as well as those of another network.

Similar to the DNB, the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (ÖNB; Austrian National Library) is a deposit library for all works published in or about Austria, including electronic media. Notable digital collections include ANNO; Austrian Books Online, a collection of more than 600,000 public domain works; Beethoven Digital; Ariadne, a database for women and gender studies; and archival materials for literary authors Peter Handke, Robert Musil, and others in Digital Editions. Although having only a German-language interface, the ÖNB catalog uses Primo, which is familiar to many librarians. The Search Engine of the Österreichischer Bibliothekenverbund (övb; Austrian Library Network) allows for simultaneous searching of holdings in 90 Austrian academic libraries as well as the ÖNB.

The Schweizer Nationalbibliothek (SNB; Swiss National Library) collects, catalogs and preserves information about Switzerland, in print and other media.This includes material published in Switzerland and abroad. Some of the SNB’s notable digital collections (often in partnership with other Swiss libraries) include E-Periodica, a collection of Swiss periodicals, many of which are open access; digitized literary estates and archival documents from the Swiss Literary Archives; and a web archive of Wikipedia articles in French, German, Italian, and Romansh having to do with Switzerland. Besides the Swiss National Library’s main catalog, Helveticat, the SNB has specialized catalogs and databases. Swisscovery is the new national discovery system for material from 500 Swiss libraries.

Other catalogs and libraries include the following:

Two special libraries important for literary scholars are the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek (Duchess Anna Amalia Library), whose main focus is German literature and culture from 1750 to 1850, and the Herzog August Bibliothek (HAB; Duke August Library), which specializes in the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Both have digitized some collections. Another special library is the Leo Baeck Institute in New York, whose collections focus on the history and culture of German-speaking Jews; DigiBaeck is its search portal for digital collections.

In the 2010s, the German academic and research library community switched to the “Specialized Research Services” (FID; Fachinformationsdienste) system from the comprehensive collection-focused “Specialized Research Collections” (SSG; Sondersammelgebiete). With this new system, a library designated as an FID library for a specific discipline or area studies region (e.g., South Asia) works with researchers to identify needs and services. Collection development is focused on current rather than future needs (like the SSG system). Each FID library develops and maintains an online portal to resources. Currently, there are approximately 40 FID libraries. For German Studies librarians, the most relevant is the one for Germanistik (German literary and language studies): Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg, the university library for the Goethe University. Its very useful portal Germanistik im Netz (German literary and language studies on the web) is described further below. Another helpful FID portal is Historicum.net, for history. For more information on the FID and SSG systems, see Madden (2021).

Other libraries and their collections are described in the English-language version of Wikipedia (e.g., List of Libraries in Germany) and Wikipedia.de. The 2003 open access Handbuch der historischen Buchbestände in Deutschland, Österreich und Europa (Handbook of historical book holdings in Germany, Austria, and Europe) provides detailed information.

Bibliographies

In addition to the bibliographies noted below, readers should consult the resources in the Secondary Source Database section, above.

Due to the German Spelling Reform of 1996 (Reform der deutschen Rechtschreibung von 1996), the recommended spelling of the word “bibliography” in German changed to “bibliografie” from “bibliographie.” Some titles changed to the new spelling, including the national bibliographies, while others still maintain the “ph” spelling. Both forms should be used when searching for bibliographies.

As noted previously, Germanistik is a quarterly bibliography covering secondary literature on Germanic literatures and languages and related fields. It’s available for subscription as a periodical or in a database. Particularly helpful is its organization by period and genre with specific author entries.

National Bibliographies

The Deutsche Nationalbibliografie (German National Bibliography) has been published since 1913 under different titles. The website provides a history of the bibliography with a number of download options. Searching is also available via the Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek (catalog of the German National Library). The bibliography is produced in seven series and includes all formats of monographs, periodicals, AV media, maps, dissertations and habilitation theses, and print music published in Germany as well as in Austria and Switzerland. It also includes German-language materials published elsewhere, and materials about Germany.

The Österreichische Bibliografie (Austrian Bibliography) includes all works published or printed in Austria since 1945, regardless of format. Works about Austria published abroad are included in a separate section. PDFs of years 2003–2018 are available to download. To search the Bibliography, use the ÖNB catalog. For earlier publications, see the partially complete Österreichische Retrospektive Bibliographie (2001–; Austrian Retrospective Bibliography)

Switzerland’s national bibliography Das Schweizer Buch (The Swiss Book), began in print in 1943 but has been exclusively online since 2007. Das Schweizer Buch, which indexes all Swiss output regardless of format as well as materials published abroad on Swiss topics and people, is available via PDF downloads and Helveticat. For earlier publications, see these bibliographies:

  • Bibliographisches Bulletin der Schweizerischen Landes-Bibliothek = Bulletin bibliographique de la Bibliothèque nationale suisse (1901–1942)
  • Bibliographie und literarische Chronik der Schweiz = Bibliographie et chronique littéraire de la Suisse (1877–1901)
  • Bibliographie der Schweiz = Bibliographie de la Suisse (1871–1877)

Other important national retrospective bibliographies include:

  • Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke (Union Catalog of Incunabula): incunabula of the 15th century.
  • VD16 (Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des 16. Jahrhunderts; Bibliography of Books Printed in the German Speaking Countries of the 16th Century): many materials available full text. Search VD16.
  • VD17 (Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des 17. Jahrhunderts; Bibliography of Books Printed in the German Speaking Countries of the 17th Century): many materials available full text.
  • VD18 (Verzeichnis Deutscher Drucke des 18. Jahrhunderts): includes materials published in German or in the German-speaking world between 1701 and 1800; much available full text.

Select Subject-specific Bibliographies

Listed below is a select list of subject bibliographies.

Bibliographies of Individual Authors and Literary Societies

Bibliographies of literary authors, philosophers, critics, etc. (known in German as Personalbibliografien) can be helpful for tracing both primary literature and secondary literature about their works. A prime example is the Weimarer Goethe-Bibliographie Online (WGB), which includes works on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Many of these bibliographies are noted in the Germanistik im Netz’s Bibliographien list, which is no longer being updated.

Many literary societies for authors either produce or note bibliographies. For example, the Austrian Anna-Seghers-Gesellschaft includes a downloadable bibliography. Literary societies are also valuable resources for biographical information and criticism. A list of literary societies is available from the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Literarischer Gesellschaften und Gedenkstätten, the Working Group of Literary Societies and Memorials. One can also find societies by googling Gesellschaft (German word for “society”) and the name of the author.

Another tool is Buchhandel.de, the open access database version of Verzeichnis Lieferbarer Bücher, the German equivalent of Books in Print. Designed for booksellers and publishers, the database provides only limited search options, but it does note all German-language books in print as well as some periodicals.

Archives

German-speaking Europe has substantial physical archives, including national, provincial/state, municipal, church, business, and family ones. Germany alone has 351 noted in Archives Portal Europe. A select number of archives are noted below, followed by search tools to discover additional ones.

Select list of archives

  • Österreichisches Staatsarchiv (Austrian State Archives): the main national archive for Austria. Collections noted: national government documents, archive of the House of Habsburg and imperial Austria, and Vienna War Archive (Kriegsarchiv). Archivinformationssystem: search tool for the State Archives.
  • Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv (Swiss Federal Archives): national government documents. Has pages on frequently requested topics. Digitized sources are full-text government documents, and the Archives’ catalog can be searched for finding aids and documents.
  • Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives): national archive for Germany. Also includes archival collections from East Germany. Has online thematic portals, virtual exhibitions, and multiple search tools to find archival materials.
  • Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen (German Cinematheque, Museum for Film and Television): a leading film and television archive and museum located in Berlin. Primarily analog with some digital collections, including personal and film company papers, film, photos, and other documents.
  • Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach (DLA; German Literature Archive in Marbach): one of the most important archives, with around 1,600 papers and collections of German-speaking authors, critics, translators, philosophers, philologists, and other scholars, literary publisher archives, and over 450,000 images and objects from 1750 to the present. Kallías is the DLA’s online catalog; it is still in beta and doesn’t include all holdings.

Search Tools for Archives

  • Archives Online: searches Swiss archives and their collections.
  • ArchivNet: searches Austrian archives and their collections.
  • Archivportal-D: has information on archives from all over Germany as well as digitized archival material.
  • Archivregister: directory of Austrian archives.
  • HelveticArchives: online database for the archival collections of the Swiss National Library, the Swiss Literary Archives, and other archives.
  • Kalliope: union catalog for collections of personal papers, manuscripts, and publishers’ archives at institutions in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and, to some extent, the US.
  • Swisscollections: searches Swiss libraries and archives, includes listings for archival material (including unpublished papers), images, old prints and rare books, document collections, film material, manuscripts, maps, and more.
  • Wirtschaftsarchivportal: portal for business archives in German-speaking countries.

Archives from German-speaking countries are included in Archives Portal Europe (open access), Other tools include ArchiveGrid (open access), which encompasses archives in English-speaking countries but also some German-language ones, and Archive Finder (subscription resource), which covers the US, UK, and Ireland.

Reference Tools

Books and Articles Especially Useful for Librarians Covering German Studies

Especially relevant for finding additional digital and print resources are:

  • Faulhaber, Uwe K., and Penrith Goff. 1979. German Literature: An Annotated Reference Guide. New York: Garland Pub. Fully annotated listings of print sources.
  • Gantert, Klaus. 2012. Erfolgreich recherchieren: Germanistik [Successful researching: German Language and Literature]. Berlin: De Gruyter Saur. Intended for German-speaking students; provides an overview of the most important resources for the field.
  • Gantert, Klaus, and Margrit Lauber-Reymann. 2023. Informationsressourcen: Ein Handbuch für Bibliothekare und Informationsspezialisten [Information resources: A handbook for librarians and information specialists]. 3rd. completely rev. ed. Berlin: De Gruyter Saur, 2023. Open access; provides a listing of general and specific subject and discipline reference sources.
  • Madden, Heidi. 2019. “Collecting the Core — Gegenwartsromane, Contemporary German-Language Novels.” Against the Grain, September 2019: 47–49.
  • Richardson, Larry L. 1984. Introduction to Library Research in German Studies: Language, Literature, and Civilization. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press.

For an overview of subjects:

  • Boyle, Nicholas. 2008. German Literature: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Fulbrook, Mary. 2019. A Concise History of Germany. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. A well-respected textbook for German history.
  • Watanabe-O’Kelly, Helen. 1997. The Cambridge History of German Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Detailed overview of literary eras through 1990.

General Reference

German literature, the history of German-speaking Europe, and other areas of German Studies are well-represented, if briefly, in general library reference databases such as Oxford Reference and Credo Reference (both subscription resources). The subscription resource Cambridge Companions, which include most canonical German literary authors and philosophers as well as subjects and topics, provide thorough surveys of current scholarship. Titles in Oxford Handbooks Online (subscription resource) also provide overviews. Despite all its caveats, open-access Wikipedia.de (unlike the English-language version) provides useful coverage of German Studies topics.

Brockhaus Enzyklopädie (Brockhaus Encyclopedia) is a prominent German-language general encyclopedia. Past editions were titled Der Große Brockhaus (The Big Brockhaus), and the most current print edition is Brockhaus Enzyklopädie in 30 Bänden (2006; Brockhaus Encyclopedia in 30 Volumes). Brockhaus Enzyklopädie Online is available for subscription.

A number of historical general encyclopedias are available open access, including Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon (6th ed.; 1905–1909) and Johann Heinrich Zedler’s Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon aller Wissenschafften und Künste (1731–1754), a major German 18th-century encyclopedia. Others are listed on Lexika from Zeno.org and at Die Retro-Bibliothek.

For country information, see Europa World (subscription resource), the European Commission Country Knowledge Guides (open access), and the CIA’s World Factbook (open access). Statistisches Bundesamt (German Federal Statistical Office), Statistik Austria (Statistics Austria), the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, and Liechtenstein’s Office of Statistics all offer some statistical information in English as well as in German.

Subject Encyclopedias, Lexica, Dictionaries

The Dictionary of Literary Biography database (subscription resource) provides biographies, critical essays, and bibliographies of primary and secondary sources for many German-language literary authors. Although somewhat dated, The Oxford Companion to German Literature (3rd ed.; 1997), is available in the Oxford Reference database. It covers German literature from the 8th century through the mid-1990s with short articles on authors, titles, and themes. Historical dictionaries in the Rowman and Littlefield series Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts, such as the Historical Dictionary of German Literature to 1945, can be useful for quick reference. Similarly, titles in the Historical Dictionaries of Europe provide background on all European countries. Other useful reference works include:

  • Bock, Hans-Michael, and Tim Bergfelder. 2009. The Concise Cinegraph: Encyclopaedia of German Cinema. New York: Berghahn Books. A standard English reference source for German film.
  • Eigler, Friederike Ursula, and Susanne Kord. 1997. The Feminist Encyclopedia of German Literature. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. Covers women in German literature and culture from the Middle Ages to the 1990s.
  • Konzett, Matthias. 2000. Encyclopedia of German Literature. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn.

Below are notable German-language reference works:

  • Fricke, Harald, Klaus Grubmüller, Jan-Dirk Müller, and Klaus Weimar. 2007. Reallexikon der Deutschen Literaturwissenschaft: Neubearbeitung des Reallexikons Der Deutschen Literaturgeschichte. 3rd ed. 3 vols. Berlin: De Gruyter. An encyclopedia of German literary studies with articles on different genres, methodology, and literary theory with bibliographies.
  • Gall, Lothar. 1988-2018. Enzyklopädie Deutscher Geschichte. 94 vols. München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag. An encyclopedia of German history from the Middle Ages to the present which includes concise surveys of the literature, key debates in the field, and bibliographies.
  • Kosch, Wilhelm. 1968-2024. Deutsches Literatur-Lexikon: biographisch-bibliographisches Handbuch. Edited by Bruno Berger, et al. 3rd fully revised ed. 38 vols. in 39. Bern: Francke Verlag. A bio-bibliography for German-language authors from the Middle Ages to the present.
  • Kühlmann, Wilhelm, Achim Aurnhammer, Christine Henschel, and Bruno Jahn, eds. 2008. Killy Literaturlexikon: Autoren und Werke des deutschsprachigen Kulturraumes. 2nd completely revised ed. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Lexicon covering German-language authors and their works.
  • Arnold, Heinz Ludwig. 2009. Kindlers Literatur Lexikon. 3rd fully revised ed. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler. Comprehensive German-language encyclopedia of world literature from Antiquity to the present with synopses and biographical sketches. Available as a database from Munzinger.

Verfasser-Datenbank (subscription resource), a reference database about authors and their works from the Middle Ages through the present, includes content from Killy Literaturlexikon as well as four other reference works. Handbooks (in German Handbücher (plural), Handbuch (singular)) are valuable reference sources with bibliographical and biographical information. De Gruyter and J. B. Metzler are two prolific publishers of handbooks.

Biographical Reference

Biographie Portal (Biography Portal; open access) is a portal to search articles in 10 OA biographical reference works, including Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; 1875–1912), Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB; 1953–), the Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon (Austrian Biographical Dictionary; 1815–1950), and the Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (Historical Dictionary of Switzerland; 1998–2014. ADB and NDB can also be searched in Deutsche Biographie (open access). The World Biographical Information System Online (WBIS) is a subscription-based database which includes biographical articles from a number of archival sources, such as the German Biographical Archive.

Language Dictionaries

Considered the German-equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s Deutsches Wörterbuch (DWB; The German Dictionary; 1854–1961) notes the etymology, meanings, varied forms, synonyms, and regional differences of words. An online version of the DWB is available open access. Also important is Johann Christoph Adelung’s Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der hochdeutschen Mundart (Grammatically-critical Dictionary of the High German Dialect), the 1811 edition of which is available online open access. Wörterbuchnetz is an OA German dictionary portal which allows cross-searching of the DWB, Adelung’s dictionary, and 35 other historical and regional dictionaries and lexica. The open access Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache is a dictionary and corpus of contemporary German. Munzinger offers a subscription package of 15 German dictionaries from the publisher DUDEN; the package can be licensed from CRL.

For bilingual English-to-German and German-to-English dictionaries, Oxford includes some in Oxford Reference and Oxford Dictionaries (both subscription resources). A list of OA language dictionaries is available on the ESS German Studies guide.

Websites

Listed below is a select list of useful websites for librarians and users:

  • Black Central Europe: scholarly website in English and German covering Black history in German-speaking countries; includes biographies, interactive maps, primary source documents, teaching resources, and videos.
  • Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (German Federal Agency for Civic Education): information in various formats on historical, political, and social topics.
  • Filmportal.de: information on over 150,000 German films and individuals in the film industry, industry news including film festivals, and updates on theatrical, DVD, and streaming releases.
  • Germanistik im Netz (German literary and language studies on the web): the FID portal for German Studies in Germany; includes comprehensive listings of resources and tools, tutorials, a disciplinary repository, and more.
  • Germanistenverzeichnis: directory of German language and literary academics worldwide.
  • Lebendiges Museum Online (LeMO; Living Museum Online): an online portal for German history from the 19th century to the present from the Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum), Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik (Federal Republic of Germany’s House of History), and the Bundesarchiv.
  • Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (Berlin’s Literary Colloquium): valuable resource for keeping up on new books and the literary scene in Germany. Includes videos and podcasts.
  • Literary and Cultural Online Magazines:
  • Xlibris: commercial website which provides overviews of the eras of German literature and German-language authors

Additional reference sources can be found on the ESS German Studies guide.

Distinctive Print Collections

Major German Collections in North America

University libraries with comprehensive German-language print collections include many Ivy League institutions on the East coast; Duke University; Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the University of Chicago. Many of the the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) universities also have exhaustive collections, including Indiana, Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Michigan, and Wisconsin-Madison. The Library of Congress (LC) has one of the world’s largest German collections. The New York Public Library also has a substantially-sized collection (Hacken, Madden, and Vetruba 2016, 96–97).

Libraries’ Distinctive Collections

Special collections of German-language materials, as well as those focusing on German-speaking Europe, include:

  • German-Americana (University of Cincinnati): one of the largest collections focusing on German Americans; includes books, pamphlets, documents, journals, newspapers, and manuscripts.
  • Germany-related collections (Center for Research Libraries): documents on German foreign policy, colonial affairs, the Reich Chancellery, the Nazi Party (including propaganda operations), Jewish persecution, and personal documentation on Hitler and post-War Germany.
  • International Dada Archive (University of Iowa): 60,000 volumes; includes a Digital Dada Library.
  • Library of Congress (see German Collections at the Library of Congress for an overview)
    • Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection: its strengths are 15th century woodcut books, early 16th illustrated books, and 20th century artist books. Includes the 15th-century Giant Bible of Mainz.
    • Sigmund Freud Papers: family papers, correspondence, manuscripts, and interviews. Some material digitized.
    • Third Reich Collection: miscellaneous books, albums, and printed materials from the Reichskanzlei Library in Berlin and the private book collections of several high-ranking Nazi Party officials. Includes Hitler’s personal library.
  • Library of the Juridisch-politischer Leseverein (University of Alberta): the Juridisch-politischer Leseverein was Vienna’s chief intellectual club for the 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection of over 13,000 books, serials, and pamphlets focuses on political and cultural thought of Central Europe.
  • Lincke’sche Leihbibliothek (University of Chicago): collection of approximately 15,000 volumes of popular literature (Trivalliteratur) published 1775–1985.
  • Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies collections (University of Wisconsin, Madison): print collection focusing on German Americans; includes North American German Dialect Archive.
  • Mike Lützeler Contemporary German Literature Collection (Washington University in St. Louis): started in 1985, a comprehensive collection of contemporary German-language belles lettres, essays, autobiographical works, and literary periodicals. Produces an annual bibliography with subject and genre descriptors.
  • William A. Speck Collection of Goetheana (Yale University): one of the largest collections of Goethe editions and other related works and ephemera in the world. Yale also has strong holdings of the German Romantics, such as Novalis, Fichte, and Hölderlin, as well as late 19th and 20th century authors, such as Wedekind, Rilke, Hofmannsthal, and Schnitzler.

For additional details and other distinctive collections, see Hacken, Madden, and Vetruba (2016), Hacken, Madden, and Vetruba (n.d.), and the German Archival and Manuscript Resources in the US and corresponding PDF “Sampling of German Archival and Manuscript Resources in the U.S.” from the University of Notre Dame. The list Notable European Studies Holdings in North America from ESS is no longer updated but is still useful. Also consult Hope, Anne, and Jörg Nagler. 1991. Guide to German Historical Sources in North American Libraries and Archives. Washington, D.C: German Historical Institute.

Professional Development and Networks

Two primary groups for librarians responsible for German Studies offer professional development and networking: European Studies Section (ESS) and the German-North American Resources Partnership (GNARP). ESS, a section of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), which itself is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is the professional home for academic librarians covering any region of Europe. Free membership is available to any member of ACRL, although most meetings and resources are open to non-members as well. The section holds online or in-person meetings twice a year, often including its Germanists Discussion Group. ESS also offers webinars, conference programs, and workshops. The 2023 workshop “European Language and Area Studies Workshop for Librarians” included “German Studies: Austria, Germany, Switzerland & The Netherlands” by Heidi Madden, a useful accompaniment to this chapter. The section’s email list, ESS-L (available to members and non-members), is valuable for keeping up in the field and assisting with challenging reference questions. The ESS German Studies guide is a must-read for librarians covering Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

GNARP, one of CRL’s Global Resources Programs, has negotiated database discounts from German vendors, funded the digitization of German-language newspapers, and provided travel grants to attend conferences or book fairs in Europe. Membership includes both a fee-based institutional option and a personal one for librarians at libraries that are not GNARP members. CRL is restructuring as this article is being written, and it is unclear where GNARP will fit. Two UK groups to be aware of are the German Studies Library Group and the West European Studies Library and Information Network (WESLINE), which hosts the WESLINE email list.

Occasional conferences focus on European Studies librarianship and thus on German-speaking Europe. GNARP teamed up with the Collaborative Initiative for French Language Collections (CIFNAL), another CRL global resources program, to host “New Directions for Libraries, Scholars, and Partnerships: an International Symposium” in 2017 and “New Shape of Sharing: Networks, Expertise, Information” in 2021. Online content for both is available.

 

Key Takeaways

  • ESS is a very welcoming and helpful community. Don’t be hesitant to ask questions on ESS-L.
  • European vendors are “on the ground” experts. Set up meetings with them. Ask about the publishing landscape, and request customized reports.
  • Consult New Books in German and literary prizes websites for key titles to collect.
  • Explore the databases noted above. Even if your library can’t subscribe, it helps to know what is out there.
  • Take faculty and graduate students out for coffee and ask about their research interests and views on the field.

References and Recommended Readings

Ammon, Ulrich. 2004. “German as an International Language of the Sciences – Recent Past and Present.” In Globalization and the Future of German : With a Select Bibliography, edited by Andreas Gardt, and Bernd Hüppauf, 157–172. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Ammon, Ulrich. 2020. “German as the Official Language of State.” In The Position of the German Language in the World, translated by David Charlston, 92–116. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Anderson, Porter. 2019. “Fixed Book Prices in Germany: Two New Studies Are Introduced in Berlin.” Publishing Perspectives, November 8, 2019. https://publishingperspectives.com/2019/11/fixed-book-prices-in-germany-two-new-studies-borsenverein-released-berlin/.

Arbeitsgemeinschaft deutschsprachiger Universitätsverlage. [2022?]. “Fact Sheet 2021.” Accessed January 8, 2023. https://ag-univerlage.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AG-Univerlage-Fact-Sheet-2022-A5.pdf.

Arbeitsgemeinschaft Media-Analyse. 2023. “Reach of national daily newspapers in Germany (in million readers).” Chart. July 26, 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/417363/national-daily-newspapers-reach-in-germany/.

Bargheer, Margo, and Pabst, Jutta. 2016. “‘Being small is not a fault’: Making sense of the newer generation of German-language university presses.” Learned Publishing 29: 335–341. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1053.

Bargheer, Margo, and Walker, Kizer. 2017. “Library Publishing and the University Press in the United States and Germany: Lessons from Two Academic Contexts for Sustaining the Scholarly Book.” Bibliothek Forschung und Praxis 41, no. 3 (2017): 291–307. https://doi.org/10.1515/bfp-2017-0037.

Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels. 2023. Buch und Buchhandel in Zahlen 2023. Frankfurt am Main: Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels.

Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels. n.d. “Warengruppen.” Accessed December 1, 2023. https://www.boersenverein.de/markt-daten/marktforschung/wirtschaftszahlen/warengruppen/.

Bosse, Anke. 2005. “Überblicke, Einblicke, Ausblicke: Zur Geschichte deutschsprachiger Literatur nach 1945.” Germanistische Mitteilungen 62 (2005): 47–63. https://www.bgdv.be/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/gm62_bosse.pdf.

Buchacher, Christoph, and Mario Steyer. 2006. “Die österreichische Verlagsbranche. Eine Branche unter Druck?: Probleme der Mittelbetriebe im österreichischen Buchverlagswesen unter Berücksichtigung politischer Rahmenbedingungen.” Forschungsbereich Wirtschaft und Kultur no. 5, Institut für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte & Institut für Soziologie und empirische Sozialforschung, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien. https://research.wu.ac.at/ws/portalfiles/portal/17545398/document.pdf.

Buchreport. 2023. “Leading twenty fiction and non-fiction publishing houses ranked by revenue in Germany in 2022 (in million euros).” Graph. March 27, 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/384197/publishers-revenue-germany/.

Bundesamt für Statistik. 2023. “Printmedien: In der Schweiz herausgegebene und im Buchhandel erschienene Bücher (Titel) nach Sprachen.” [Table] July 7, 2023. https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/kultur-medien-informationsgesellschaft-sport/medien/medienangebot-nutzung/printmedien.html.

Center for Research Libraries. 2008. “Overview of CRL’s Dissertation Collection.” FOCUS on Global Resources 27, no. 4 (Summer). https://www.crl.edu/focus/article/376.

Cooper, Danielle, et al. 2020. Supporting Research in Languages and Literature. Ithaka S+R. https://sr.ithaka.org/publications/supporting-research-in-languages-and-literature/.

Criser, Regine, and Ervin Malakaj, eds. 2020. Diversity and Decolonization in German Studies. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

European Literature Network. 2020. “UK-Swiss Publishing Day: The Recap Swiss Publishing Panel.” December 7, 2020. https://www.eurolitnetwork.com/uk-swiss-publishing-day-the-recap-swiss-publishing-panel/.

Fazit Communication. n.d. “Newspapers and Magazines.” Facts about Germany.” Accessed January 28, 2024. https://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/media-and-communication/newspapers-and-magazines.

Ferguson, Donna. 2023. “World’s oldest national newspaper prints final edition after 320 years.” The Guardian, July 1, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jul/01/worlds-oldest-newspaper-prints-final-edition-after-320-years.

Faulhaber, Uwe K., and Penrith Goff. 1979. German Literature: An Annotated Reference Guide. New York: Garland Pub.

Gantert, Klaus. 2012. Erfolgreich recherchieren: Germanistik [Successful researching: German Language and Literature]. Berlin: De Gruyter Saur.

Gantert, Klaus, and Margrit Lauber-Reymann. 2023. Informationsressourcen: Ein Handbuch für Bibliothekare und Informationsspezialisten [Information resources: A handbook for librarians and information specialists]. 3rd. completely rev. ed. Berlin: De Gruyter Saur, 2023. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110673272/html.

“German, Standard.” 2024. In Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 27th edition. Edited by Davide M. Eberhard, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/deu/.

Hacken, Richard, Heidi Madden, and Brian Vetruba. 2016. “Alles deutsch, oder nicht?: Übersicht über deutsche Bibliotheksbestände in den Vereinigten Staaten.” Translated by Susanne Gagneur. BuB: Forum Bibliothek und Information 68, no. 2-3: 96-99. https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/jportal_derivate_00302602/BuB_2016_02_096_099.pdf.

Hacken, Richard, Heidi Madden, and Brian Vetruba. n.d. “German Studies Collections in North America.” English translation of “Alles deutsch, oder nicht?: Übersicht über deutsche Bibliotheksbestände in den Vereinigten Staaten.” Accessed February 29, 2024. https://acrl.ala.org/ess/meet-the-community/governance/ess-archive/german-studies-collections-in-north-america/.

Halverson, Rachel J., and Carol Anne Costabile-Heming, eds. 2015. Taking Stock of German Studies in the United States: The New Millennium. Rochester, New York: Camden House.

HathiTrust Digital Library. n.d. “About the Collection.” Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.hathitrust.org/the-collection/.

Hodkinson, James R., and Benedict Schofield, eds. 2020. German in the World: The Transnational and Global Contexts of German Studies. Rochester, New York: Camden House.

Hölig, Sascha. 2023. “Germany.” In Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023, by Nic Newman with Richard Fletcher, Kirsten Eddy, Craig T. Robertson, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, 76–77. [Oxford, UK]: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-06/Digital_News_Report_2023.pdf.

Hope, Anne, and Jörg Nagler. 1991. Guide to German Historical Sources in North American Libraries and Archives. Washington, D.C: German Historical Institute.

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Link List

(accessed February 2024)

About the Author

Brian Vetruba (he/him; lgbtq+) is European Studies Librarian at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where he also is the liaison subject librarian for Jewish Studies and Linguistics. As part of a librarian exchange between the University of Minnesota and the University of Chicago, he serves as the librarian for Germanic Literature and Scandinavian Studies for the University of Chicago Library. He has 20+ years of experience as an academic librarian, having previously worked at Washington University in St. Louis as the subject librarian for Germanic Studies and Comparative Literature. He has served in a number of leadership roles in library and scholarly organizations, including Chair of European Studies Section (ESS), 2022–2023; Chair of German-North American Resources Partnership, 2015–2020; and Chair of the Advisory Committee on the MLA International Bibliography, 2011–2012. He holds a Master of Information Studies (MISt) from the University of Toronto, along with an MA in German Literature and Culture and an MA in West European Studies from Indiana University.

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Handbook for European Studies Librarians Copyright © 2024 by Brian Vetruba is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.24926/9781946135971.004