Ulrich Korwitz, Director of the ZB MED, hands out ZB MED birthday cake to visitors at the open house event.
40 years promoting the scientific achievements of the future
Cologne, 2 July 2013 – The ZB MED first opened its doors on 3 July 1973. Fast forward 40 years, and the library – which specialises in the fields of medicine, health, and nutritional, environmental and agricultural science – has now become one of the country’s most important pieces of information infrastructure, an institution that plays a major part in maintaining Germany's status as a key player in the world of science and research. The ZB MED celebrated its 40th anniversary with an open house event at its Cologne site.
People who turned up to use the library as normal on 2 July 2013 were in for something of a surprise. They were confronted by a market stall selling fruits and vegetables, but this was just a front for improvisation artist Jörn Kölling, a.k.a. "the Charmer", who the ZB MED had hired for the day. Acting as Wilhelm Tell, Kölling recited poems by famous writers including Heinrich Heine and Hermann Hesse.
And there were plenty of other exciting experiences in store. The library's open house event gave visitors the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes on a guided tour and to experience the ZB MED's recently acquired scanning robots in action. At the "Meet the experts“ session, visitors were able to learn more about how to conduct searches using the search portals MEDPILOT and GREENPILOT and pick up tips on publishing their Bachelor's and PhD theses. There was even a quiz on the history of the ZB MED: First prize was an e-book reader, which was presented to the lucky winner at 3 PM.
As well as showing visitors parts of the library that they don't normally get to see, Ulrich Korwitz, Director of the ZB MED, also gave a presentation highlighting the long and varied history of the ZB MED, which was formed from two older institutions: the “Bibliothek der Akademie für praktische Medizin” (Library of the Academy of Practical Medicine) in Cologne, which was founded in 1908, and the “Höhere Landwirthschaftliche Lehranstalt Bonn-Poppelsdorf” (Bonn-Poppelsdorf Institute of Higher Education for Agriculture), which was founded in 1847. "We're proud that we can look back on such a long and venerable history – I hope we can continue down this same successful path for the next 40 years!" Korwitz said in his presentation.
The highlight of the event was the cutting of the three-storey ZB MED birthday cake which everybody had a chance to taste. "We really got some great insights into the ZB MED's work," said one visitor, succinctly summing up the success of the open house event.
