New members of the Executive Board are Prof Dr Marion Ackermann (designated President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and also Spokesperson of the Executive Board) and Frank Scholze (Director General of the German National Library). Together with Gerald Maier (President of the Baden-Württemberg State Archives), both will organise the work of the Board. Gero Dimter (Vice President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) and Ute Schwens (Director of the German National Library and permanent representative of the Director General at the Frankfurt am Main site) have been appointed as their deputies. Carmen Kschonsek (Deputy President of the State Archives of Baden-Württemberg) remains a deputy member of the Board.
Alongside the General Assembly and the Board of Trustees, the Executive Board is one of three committees of the German Digital Library Competence Network. It represents the Competence Network and the German Digital Library externally.
Prof Dr Marion Ackermann: "The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation is of outstanding importance for the German Digital Library: not only is it one of the founding institutions of the German Digital Library, but it is also home to the administrative office, which is responsible for finance, law, communication and marketing and also supports the Executive Board and the Board of Trustees of the German Digital Library. I am delighted that the members of the competence network have placed their trust in me to take over from Hermann Parzinger in this important digital project. Easy digital access to our cultural heritage that puts users at the centre will play a key role for all cultural institutions."
Prof Dr Gerald Maier: "As a long-standing member of the board of the Competence Network, I have been able to closely follow the development of the German Digital Library in recent years. The German Digital Library is facing major challenges, and I look forward to working with Marion Ackermann and Frank Scholze in a spirit of trust to further develop this digital platform for culture and science, which is jointly supported by the federal and state governments."
Frank Scholze: "The German National Library has played a key role in the establishment and development of the German Digital Library from the very beginning. As a data partner and the institution responsible for technology and services, we see it as our task to work with our partners in the competence network to make Germany's digital cultural heritage accessible and tangible in the long term. For me, being elected to the Board of the German Digital Library is an expression of this trust and an incentive to continue the successful cooperation in the interests of all cultural and knowledge institutions and to give it a stronger strategic focus."
The reason for the election of the Executive Board was the change from Prof. Dr Dr h.c. mult. Hermann Parzinger (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) and Dr Klaus Ceynowa (Bavarian State Library) into retirement. As President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger has been a member of the board of the German Digital Library since it was founded and was also its spokesperson. The Bavarian State Library has also been represented on the board since the German Digital Library was founded.
Congratulations to Marion Ackermann, Frank Scholze and Ute Schwens and good luck to the new board!