Design Library
Podcast
with Helge Aszmoneit
If you would like to learn more about the German Design Council's library in advance, we recommend the DDC's podcast "Die Design Bibliothekarin" with Helge Aszmoneit:
The place
Since July 2019, the library has been located on the Frankfurt exhibition grounds in Hall 9.3 in the rooms of the Messe Frankfurt Historical Archive. This connection is also associated with many synergies for the library of the German Design Council and the Messe Frankfurt archive in terms of content, from which visitors can benefit.
Selected issues
The Design Library currently has 30 international magazines of the design context, makes them accessible and archives them. Only those publications that have lasting relevance find their way into the library.
Rarities
of the library
The library also contains numerous very special publications that are not only interesting for researching design history. These are, for example, the Olivetti Corporate Design Manual, the "Deutsche Warenkunde" from the 1930s.
Another special feature is the collection of the design magazine "Techničeskaja ėstetika" from the former Soviet Union, which is available from 1965 to 1988.
There is an interesting article on this magazine and the library of the German Design Council by Yves Vincent Grossmann from 2017:
Design classics
Cutlery WMF "Futura"
The historical photo archive also houses countless product photos of well-known design classics as well as rare connoisseur pieces.
Author: Mayer, Kurt. Design. Manufacture: Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik (WMF).
>> Photo: Historical Photo Archive of the German Design Council
Knowledge value since 1960
The foundation’s library offers a valuable, wide-ranging knowledge platform for all aspects of design and related areas. Established in the 1960s, the holding library is a member of the Association of Frankfurt Museum Libraries and makes extensive design knowledge available to the general public – with nearly 20,000 printed volumes, videos, DVDs and CD-ROMs, as well as 50 international periodicals currently in circulation. Thanks to regular additions to its collections, deep-level subject indexing and many genuine rarities in its holdings, e.g. from the 1950s and 1960s, it has developed into a valuable and highly esteemed source of information for specialist audiences and design enthusiasts.
>> The library has been located in Hall 9.3 of the Messe Frankfurt (Frankfurt Trade Fair) since July 2019.
Visitors can obtain assistance with their research at the library; workspaces as well as photocopiers and scanners are available on-site. The public online catalogue already contains 70 percent of the library’s holdings, which for the most part have now been retrospectively indexed. The online cataloguecan be searched free of charge and is publicly accessible on the pages of the German Design Council provided by the Association of Frankfurt Museum Libraries.
Database Design and Applied Arts Index
With the Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI) database, the library offers an excellent research tool for researchers, practitioners and students on design-relevant content from international journals. The DAAI evaluates journals from the fields of design and applied arts, records the bibliographical information and indexes the content via keywords and abstracts.
Thematically, articles on the disciplines of product and industrial design, visual communication, textile and fashion design with all related areas can be found there. The DAAI currently evaluates about 600 journals, currently contains more than 212,000 records and offers numerous search functions.
As access to this database is subject to a fee, research in the DAAI is only possible in the local library of the German Design Council.
Historical photo archive
The library also has a photo archive comprising 42,000 photos, which was operated from 1950 to the end of the 1980s. Access to the photo archive is reserved for academic and non-commercial projects and by prior appointment only.