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Elisabeth Niggemann

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Elisabeth Niggemann
Born (1954-04-02) 2 April 1954 (age 70)
NationalityGerman
EducationRuhr University Bochum
Occupation(s)Director General of the German National Library
(1999-2019)

Elisabeth Niggemann (born April 2, 1954) is a German librarian specializing in the digitization of cultural heritage resources. From 1999 to 2019, she served as the director general of the German National Library.

Education and career

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Elisabeth Niggemann was born in Dortmund on April 2, 1954.[1] In college she studied biology and English, receiving a Ph.D. in biology from Ruhr University Bochum.[1][2]

Niggemann started her career in libraries in 1987 at the German National Library of Medicine as head of the acquisitions department.[3] In 1989, she became head of cataloguing and subject indexing at the University and State Library at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf; in 1994, she became director of that library.[3] From 1990 to 1995 she also lectured in library and information science at Heinrich Heine University.[2]

Niggemann became the director general of the German National Library in 1999.[4] In 2019, she announced her retirement, with Frank Scholze taking her place as director general as of January 1, 2020.[5]

Library leadership

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In 2010, Niggemann was a member of the Comité des Sages, the European Union's high-level reflection group, examining the digitization of Europe's cultural heritage.[6][7] She chaired the Conference of European National Librarians, a network of Europe’s national libraries, between 2005 and 2011.[6]

She was the first chair of the Europeana Foundation, from 2007 to 2011, helping to launch and consolidate the digital platform for cultural heritage.[6] She was reelected as chair in September 2017, leading the board of the foundation to maintain the sustainability of Europeana.[6]

Niggemann is one of the editors of Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie.[8] She has also written or co-written a number of reports on cultural heritage strategies, including The New Renaissance (2011) and Fachinformationsdienste statt Sondersammelgebiete (2014).[9]

In March 2018, Niggeman was awarded Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Sperber, Katharina (8 January 2012). "Flirten Sie im Lesesaal". Frankfurter Rundschau. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Executive Profile: Elisabeth Niggemann". Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Dr. Elisabeth Niggemann" (PDF). SDG-master. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  4. ^ "History". Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Frank Scholze replaces Elisabeth Niggemann as Director General of the German National Library". Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "Meet Elisabeth Niggemann, elected Chairman of Europeana Foundation". Europeana Pro. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Digital Agenda: "Comité des Sages" calls for a "New Renaissance" by bringing Europe's cultural heritage online". European Commission. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie". journals@UrMEL. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Niggemann, Elisabeth". WorldCat Identities. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Ehrung "Chevalier des Arts et Lettres" für Elisabeth Niggemann". Deutscher Bibliotheksverband Newsletter. 116. 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2018-12-07.