A large library in Germany. The museum is located in Leipzig. In 1912, it was founded under the initiative and promotion of the German Book Industry Federation. The initial funds were borne by booksellers. In 1921, due to the financial crisis, the state began to provide assistance, which was formally taken over by the state in 1923. Its task is to collect and preserve all German publications, similar to the nature of the library, the collection is generally limited to the library. Since 1941, German books have been collected in foreign languages and books related to Germany written by foreigners. Later, the collection has expanded to music, painting, patents, microfiche, audio-visual materials and other literature fields. It also collects publications of the United Nations and other international organizations. It became one of the national libraries of the German Democratic Republic in 1949-1990. In 1988, 8.5 million books (pieces), 30,000 periodicals, 960,000 maps, 630,000 dissertations, 10,000 recording materials, 176,000 music scores, 754 manuscripts, 347,700 photographs and prints were collected. The collection includes all German publications from 1913 to the present, German publications published abroad and German-related publications. There are 538 formal staff, 126 informal staff and 26 interns. The chief and Deputy librarians are divided into general affairs department, collection department, bibliography department, catalogue department, reference department, circulation department, dissertation department, music department, recording and data department, map department and so on. The library operates a fee-based service. There are 4 reading rooms and 3 specialized research rooms for social sciences, natural sciences, industrial technology and periodicals, with a total of 520 seats. In 1982, 177,000 readers were received, 287,500 books and magazines were borrowed from the library, and 74,800 copies were answered and consulted. The library publishes "German National Bibliography" and includes German publications published in Democratic Germany, Federal Germany and foreign countries (see German National Bibliography).