About the collection
Overview
The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek holds an extensive collection of newspapers. With 5,250 catalogued newspaper titles in the Periodicals Database (Zeitschriftendatenbank, ZDB), it has the second-largest collection of newspapers in Germany. A large proportion of the historical newspapers has already been digitized. More than 1,200 newspapers with more than 8 million pages can be read and searched online in the digiPress newspaper portal.
The historical collection
Particularly Bavarian newspapers have been collected extensively since their outset in the 17th century, not least through the tradition of legal deposits going back to as early as 1663. The systematic collection-building in the field of newspapers was intensified in the 1880s.
Main focuses of content
In addition to acquiring newspapers of supraregional importance, the following focal points with respect to content can be recognized, which are also marked by relatively numerous unique titles:
- Revolutionary newspapers of all political directions (1848/ 49)
- Party journals of highly diverse political orientations
- Catholic press in Bavaria
- Trade and club newspapers
- Humoristic-satirical journals (in particular from the 1850s to the 1920s)
- Newspaper supplements and official publications (the latter suffering substantial losses during the war)
All newspapers and official publications of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek published before 1945, but also corresponding newspaper titles of most other Bavarian libraries and archives, were determined systematically and catalogued in the Periodicals Database (ZDB) within the framework of a DFG project. Individual issues of Bavarian newspapers which were published once with certainty, but of which not a single issue seems to exist any longer today are documented, and the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek continues looking for them.
digiPress – Access to digitized newspapers
Current newspapers and journals available electronically
The Bavarian newspapers published after 1945 have been preserved almost comprehensively by the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Currently, around 250 Bavarian newspapers are archived sustainably in the form of legal deposits.
In the course of the years, the collection profile has been expanded to increasingly also encompass important daily newspapers of other European countries, where possible of different political orientations. Outside the European area, important daily newspapers have also been purchased selectively. Moreover, more than 50 international and German newspapers are continuously subscribed in the form of printed issues or microfilm issues.
E-journals are gaining in importance. The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek holds individual licenses for some electronic journals. Among them are the Sueddeutsche Zeitung or the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, for example. The majority of electronic newspaper titles can be retrieved via two comprehensive databases: Via Nexis, covering several thousand international newspapers, and via wiso, whose press module offers full-text access to over 100 German-language newspapers.