With the goals of participation and sustainability, libraries advocate for democratic values that are anchored in the German constitution. It is on this foundation that libraries ask themselves political questions and set themselves political tasks within the scope of their social mandate. This applies to public and research libraries and explains the great spectrum of tasks and services with which they make an impact on society.

Andreas Degkwitz, Humboldt University Library, Berlin; Barbara Schleihagen, German Library Association, Berlin, Germany.