DiCHOT: Music memes as digital cultural heritage?

published 04.03.2026

Memes enrich and enliven our digital everyday lives in messenger, on social networks, in forums, and on blogs. These user-generated works, known as user-generated content (UGC), have been legally strengthened by the 2021 copyright reform. Since August 2025, the five-year project DiCHOT – Digital Cultural Heritage of Our Time, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, has been investigating how UGC can be recorded, evaluated, archived, and communicated in dialogue with young people at the German National Library and the University of Oldenburg. In our blog post, you can learn for example how this preserves digital cultural heritage and promotes media literacy.

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Guided tour on International Tourist Guide Day on 21 February 2026

published 05.02.2026

On International Tourist Guide Day, the German National Library is partnering with the German National Tourist Guide Association. Under the motto “With open eyes...”, Silvia Berger will guide you in Frankfurt am Main through the nation's memory (in German). The tour of the DNB is free of charge, but the number of participants is limited.

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Digital collection:
Record smashed!

published 12.02.2026

In February 2026, the DNB set a new record for its collection of online publications. This is another significant milestone in preserving our digital cultural heritage for future generations. You can read all about this milestone in the DNB blog post.

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Kathrin Brannemann is the new Director of the DNB Frankfurt

published 02.02.2026

Kathrin Brannemann took up her post as Director of the German National Library in Frankfurt am Main on 2 February 2026. The library and information scientist succeeds Ute Schwens, who has retired after more than 25 years of successful work in this role.

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“Frag nach, Just ask!“ – Now also at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein in Essen

published 28.01.2026

The exhibition “Frag nach, Just ask!“ and the digital interactive interviews with Holocaust survivors Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier can now also be experienced in North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 27 January 2026, they will be part of a new memorial and learning centre initiated by the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Culture and Science at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein in Essen. The initiative Zeitzeugen e.V. is responsible for the educational offerings related to the project in Essen.

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Arts in Exile – Review of 2025

published 26.01.2026

The German Exile Archive 1933–1945 provides information about the activities for the virtual exhibition “Arts in Exile“ in 2025 in a blog post written by Dr. Jesko Bender. From the Thomas Mann Year to book launches and cooperations to technical issues - a lot has happened in 2025 in the virtual exhibition “Arts in Exile“.

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