The Frankfurt Roman Alliance has hidden a rather exciting project far back in the coalition agreement: "The central city library is getting a new building on the Zeil," it says there. In keeping with the international trend of expanding city libraries into meeting points and cultural centers that can be used in a variety of ways, a “third place” is also to be created in Frankfurt, where people enjoy spending their time creatively, free from consumer constraints. There should be a “maker space”, a kind of large, well-equipped workshop in which joint projects can arise. A “library of things” is also planned, in which, in addition to books and media, other items such as tools or sports equipment can be borrowed. How exactly the building will be designed and what offers will be available should be discussed and developed with the urban community.

Rainer Schulze

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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However, it is better not to take the second step before the first: Because there is no property in sight for a library on the Zeil.

The city does not have its own space in the pedestrian zone, so it would have to rent an existing building or purchase a plot of land.

The central library has already been housed in the city center: it is around 150 meters from the Zeil on Hasengasse.

The city had the former main branch of the Frankfurter Sparkasse rebuilt 14 years ago and leased it from the investor DIC.

The lease runs until 2037, when the building, which opened in 2007, will become the property of the city.

More than a library

Sylvia Weber (SPD), head of the education department, is responsible for the libraries in Frankfurt. She also gave the impulse to include the move of the central library to the Zeil in the coalition agreement. Weber saw impressive role models on a trip to Denmark and Holland. In Aarhus, for example, "Dokk1", which opened in 2015, is a building that is much more than a library: it also houses a citizen service point where you can deal with authorities, recording studios, workshops and a "repair café". The family area is like a large indoor playground, in which a gong sounds whenever a new child is born in the city's delivery room. Oh yes: there are of course books too. In Helsinki there is a comparable project with the "Oodi",which also makes a name for itself with its spectacular architecture.

But how realistic is it that Frankfurt will also receive such an offer? The spokesman for the education department calls the plan a long-term “vision” for redesigning the inner city. “It won't come tomorrow. But the city library can be a beacon for the city center. We have to create more spaces for education and meeting places there. ”However, the coalition also points out that the city library is already centrally located:“ It is not in a bad location. But a move could give an impulse to revitalize the city center, ”says the SPD parliamentary group leader Ursula Busch. It will be easy to find another use for the building on Hasengasse - for example by a city authority. The planning policy spokeswoman for the Greens, Julia Frank,thinks the suggestion is a "nice thought". However, the central library is already in the city center, she says.