Christian Dunkel
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Special Subject Librarian for Japan
The East Asia Department of Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and it’s changing roles for the Asian Studies community in Germany and beyond – past developments and future perspectives
Since 1951 the East Asia Department of Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin has been continuously responsible for collecting and providing materials and resources from and about East and Southeast Asian countries for the wider Asian Studies community in Germany. Funded and mandated by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) we started as the so called "Sondersammelgebiet Ost- und Südostasien", i.e. special collection for materials from and about East and Southeast Asia (social sciences and humanities) and – after a revision of the funding system and its regulations – we continue our services since 2016 as "Fachinformationsdienst (FID) Asien", i.e. Specialised Information Service Asia.
This year we entered the fourth and final funding period as FID which will last until the end of 2027. Currently, the DFG is launching a follow-up programme under the name "FIDplus" that will allow FIDs to continue their activities, if they meet certain criteria. In this presentation I would like to give a summary of our services and achievements for the research community in Germany and Europe so far and outline future challenges and perspectives for the continuation of our work.