Public libraries of Berlin, 12 years after reunification

In August 2003, the IFLA conference will be held in Berlin. The organisers are expecting more than 4,000 participants, who will thus have the chance to get to know some of the libraries of the new capital of the reunified Germany, where the situation of public financing is catastrophic. For the libraries, that means reductions everywhere: reductions in budget, jobs, libraries. A restructuring of the system of public reading (from a decentralised to a centralised system) could perhaps improve the situation.
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