[InetBib] FWD: [IFLA-L] International librarians concerned about manuscripts of Baden-Württemberg

["Harald Müller" <hmueller@xxxxxxx>]

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Magda Bouwens" <Magda.Bouwens@xxxxxxx>
Date:  Tue, 3 Oct 2006 10:34:13 +0200

Media release

3 October 2006





International librarians concerned about manuscripts of Baden-Württemberg



Dr Alex Byrne, President of the International Federation of Library 
Associations and Institutions (IFLA), expressed dismay when he heard of the 
planned sale of the manuscripts of the House of Baden by the provincial 
government of Baden-Württemberg.



He said: "The international library and archival community is shocked to hear 
of the proposal of the Government of Baden-Württemberg to sell all the works 
acquired before 1872 - some 3500 out of a total of 4200 volumes - from the 
manuscript collection of the Badische Landesbibliothek in Karlsruhe.  This 
incomparable collection includes major treasures taken from monasteries in 1803 
and documents a thousand years of commerce and cultural development in Europe.  
It is not only a treasure for Baden-Württemberg and Germany but part of the 
world heritage.  It must be protected."



The collection includes prachtmanuscripts, an illuminated Book of Hours 
belonging to Archduke Christoph I of Baden (1490), the prayer book of Susanna 
von Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach medieval lectionaries from the scriptorium of 
the monastery at Reichenau, and the Gospel of St. Peter (ca. 1200).  The 
majority of manuscripts come from the libraries of monasteries in the Black 
Forest, the Upper-Rhine, and Lake Constance and most were acquired when the 
monastic libraries were expropriated following secularisation in 1803.  They 
record the development of religion and society in the region.



It is understood that the sale is intended to finance the preservation of the 
Salem castle, the last castle of the house of Baden, and its ongoing 
maintenance.  While this is desirable, it must not be done at the expense of 
this important collection of manuscripts.



The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions calls on  
the Government of Baden-Württemberg to abandon this proposal and renew its 
commitment to the preservation of the history of Baden-Württemberg as 
documented in the manuscript collection of the Badische Landesbibliothek.











The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions is the 
leading international body representing the interests of library and 
information services and their users.  It is the global voice of the library 
and information profession.  http://www.ifla.org <http://www.ifla.org/> .



Contact:

Dr Alex Byrne, IFLA President, Tel +61 2 9514 1465, Email alex.byrne@xxxxxxxxxx 
<mailto:alex.byrne@xxxxxxxxxx>

Dr Peter Lor, IFLA Secretary General, Tel +31 70 31 40 884, Email ifla@xxxxxxxx