BY SUSANNE ZOEHRER
Visitors to the Austrian Cultural Forum often marvel at the library that is housed on the 4th floor of the impressive ACFNY building. With a collection of over 10,000 books covering a wide variety of topics relating to Austrian culture, the ACF library can rightfully claim that it is the place for anyone in New York wishing to find out more about cultural issues in connection with Austria.
Of course, an archive of this magnitude has a history, and it takes constant attention to keep the collection of books catalogued, organized, and updated. This task has always depended on the hard work and devotion of the ACF librarians. Veteran librarian Friederike Zeitlhofer and current head of the collection Trude Desmond took the time to reflect on the past and present of the ACF Library.
Ms. Zeitlhofer started working for the Austrian Cultural Forum in the 1960s. She was instrumental in laying the groundwork to establish a library that met international standards. When Ms. Zeitlhofer came to the ACF (then the Austrian Cultural Institute), she was still new to New York and was a newcomer in the field as well. But she slowly grew into the job of being a librarian, and eventually it became a true passion. Until her retirement in 2003, Ms. Zeitlhofer devoted her time to organizing, cataloguing, and expanding the vast collection of books. Not only that, she also oversaw the Library's period of transition, when the old brownstone that housed the ACF was torn down to make way for the modern new home of the Austrian Forum. Moving out of an old building and into a new one also marked a symbolic transition. It meant much more than physically relocating and reorganizing the collection of books because it was accompanied by the leap into the digital age. The traditional brownstone building was replaced with a post-modern, high-rise structure, and the comfortable, carpeted room gave way to a contemporary space offering computer access among sleek, honey-colored wooden bookshelves.
Back in the "brownstone days" Ms. Zeitlhofer took great pains to establish what she likes to call a "cozy library atmosphere" of quietness for the visitors. Sometimes this meant she had to conduct necessarily noisy phone calls when the library was closed. Then there were the countless other tasks that go along with the job of a librarian - most importantly the expansion of the collection. In her years of presiding over the library, Ms. Zeitlhofer almost doubled the number of books in the collection, and when the new building finally opened in 2002 she was proud to hand the reigns over to her successor.
After Mr. Manfred Kapper, who supervised the difficult moving process, Ms. Trude Desmond took over the job of librarian at the ACF in 2005. Just as devoted as Ms. Zeitlhofer, it has become Ms. Desmond's task, among many others, to digitize the library. Until as recently as October 2007, visitors had to request information on certain books via telephone or email, or in many cases had to search the library card index in person. Today, researchers are able to query the catalogue of the Austrian Libraries Association online. More than 1,500 books in the ACF collection have already been entered into the system. Ms. Desmond cautiously estimates that the process of digitization will be completed by the end of 2009.
Let there be no doubt that the ACF Library has gracefully made the transition to modern times. Even though it remains somewhat of an insider tip for researchers wishing to find out more about Austria, it has slowly but steadily built its reputation. It is a place where visitors can peruse hundreds of books relating to Austriaca, with topics ranging from literature to music, architecture, political science, and much more. Also, the Library functions as a contact point for high schools, colleges, and universities that require information on Austrian history, geography, and other related fields of interest. Ms. Desmond gives tours and is always glad to send out information material free of charge or respond to library-related questions. For anyone interested in European literature, the recently founded European Book Club, whose members include Germany, Italy, France, Spain, The Czech Republic, and Austria, provides for additional intellectual stimulation. Monthly meetings are organized to discuss a book selected by the participating institutions.
Most of all, the ACF Library is a true treasure trove for anyone interested in Austrian culture. And visitors may well stumble across a pleasant surprise when they open the cover of certain volumes. Since so many authors have been to the ACF in the past years, there are quite a few autographed editions hiding among the large selection of books. Which ones? That's for the curious reader to discover.
