A breath of fresh air is now blowing in the Schongau library: the non-fiction section was completely reviewed in the first few months of the year and media that was no longer current was sorted out. There is now more air on the first floor – for reading afternoons, for example. The library team has also set up a new reading corner.
Schongau - The Schongau city library has been around for more than 20 years - this small anniversary was celebrated in 2023. Of course, there are always changes and innovations in the media, but this spring library director Kornelia Funke and her team took on the entire non-fiction section. With the support of a librarian from the Michaelsbund, the many volumes were examined over several days. “Every book was picked up,” reports Funke, and around 1,000 media were sorted out.
400 new media, 1000 non-fiction books sorted out
Of course, not a single classic was thrown out, but even in non-fiction, the level of knowledge or the form of presentation has changed over the years: “We have to react to that, the reader perceives something like this negatively,” Funke is convinced. Non-fiction books should be purchased and added to gradually. 400 new media, mainly in the area of children's literature and novels, have already been purchased. The Leipzig Book Fair once again provided valuable suggestions for this. For teenagers and young adults, however, you can now find information on “Booktok”.
Redesign: Everything is now a little airier
At the same time there was also a redesign in the library with new signs, “we have already received positive feedback”. Some shelves were also removed and everything was made a little more airy. In this way, new reading areas and more space for reading afternoons or events were created on the first floor. Funke also leads to a new small sitting area on the ground floor. For this purpose, some new furniture – armchairs and a small table – were purchased, “of course everything within our means”.
And what's more, the people of Schongau don't use the city library, as the study for the cultural development plan showed. Overall, Funke can draw a positive conclusion, which she recently communicated to her city council colleagues in a letter in response to this result. 54,178 loans were registered in 2023, around ten percent more than in the previous year. More readers are also coming to the library in person again, with “Onleihe” continuing to be very popular. “We are delighted with over 24,000 visitors,” writes Funke in her balance sheet. “With these numbers, we don’t have to hide from the national average, even in comparison with full-time libraries with large budgets.”
Families in particular are really enjoying using the library right now
“The library is attractive for all generations,” says Funke. She noticed that families in particular have been using the library more recently. This proves that the media selection is correct. The opening times are accepted differently. In order to become even more attractive, the library team wants to make further improvements: from May 2nd, Thursdays will be open for two and a half hours longer. All of this is done on a voluntary basis; 16 reading enthusiasts work side by side with Funke in the library at Münztor. The library team was also supported by employees of the building yard during the renovation work.
By the way, books that are removed from the Schongau library do not necessarily end up in waste paper. For example, some of the books are placed on a shelf in the lobby of the library; you can purchase these copies for 50 cents. Others end up in the book cell or at the flea market. EA Schongau recently picked up a whole bunch of the non-fiction books that had been sorted out. “They pass the books on or put them in the container – that way they get some extra money for youth work,” says Funke, happy about this special use.
Opening times:
Monday 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.,
Tuesday all day 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
Thursday 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (new from May 2nd),
Friday 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.,
every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Our Schongau newsletter regularly informs you about all the important stories from your region.
All news and stories can also be found on the Schongauer Nachrichten Facebook page.
The local newspapers in the Weilheim-Schongau district are represented on Instagram under “merkur_wm_sog”.