Libraries
City Council calls for libraries to be open on Sundays
Borrow a book or browse the library on Sunday? So far this is not possible. photo
© Robert Michael/dpa
Libraries fulfill a special cultural function – but so far, unlike theaters or museums, they are usually not allowed to open on Sundays and public holidays. There is new resistance to this.
The German Association of Cities demands that public Libraries are also allowed to open on Sundays. “In the future, cities should be able to decide for themselves whether and how often they open their libraries on Sundays,” said managing director Helmut Dedy to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
“Opening public libraries on Sundays would be a measure that doesn’t cost the federal government a cent and at the same time promotes education, culture and inner city development.” The federal government must adapt the Working Hours Act accordingly.
Management levels and teams from leading libraries in Germany recently called for the right to open on Sundays in an open letter to the federal government.
“Public libraries are the most heavily used educational and cultural institutions in cities, but at the same time almost the only ones that are not allowed to open on Sundays,” says Dedy, who points out that opera houses, museums, theaters, swimming pools, cinemas, concert halls and scientific ones Libraries are also allowed to open on Sundays. “It doesn’t add up,” says Dedy. Opening on Sundays would give more people free access to cultural and educational offerings.
In June, a court in North Rhine-Westphalia ruled that public libraries in the state could also open on Sundays and public holidays. The Verdi union had sued against a corresponding regulation in the state.