Golden Seal of the Saint Michael’s League

BookTok – ever heard of it? It’s a trend on the video portal TikTok. As the name suggests, literature is shown and discussed in short clips. The target group is young adults. And who says that digital media is the downfall of the classic book? Not always, anyway. Recommendations discovered online are what prompt some people to pick up a print product in the first place. Jeannette Grimes, head of the Oberding community library, knows this too. And she also knows why her library has now been awarded a gold library seal for the first time.

Oberding – A good example of the BookTok trend is the novel “Beloved Villain”. Grimes holds it in her hand and points to the artistically designed cover, the purple-tinted book edges. The look can also motivate people to buy it – or borrow it from the library. The novel falls into the relatively new genre of “dark romance”. It is about love, but its darker sides. No Rosamunde Pilcher happy ending. BookTok has caused a “huge push”, says Grimes, on the book market.

That’s why a sign with the word “Dark Romance” has recently been put up on a shelf in the library. The library uses so-called reading motifs on the signs. They provide guidance when choosing books. For example, a distinction is made between different types of humor, or the thrillers are divided into sections with notes. “A Stephen King is not an Eberhofer,” says Grimes. The 56-year-old from Aufkirchen gives another example of “chick lit,” or light literature. The sign says: “This type of book can also be put down easily without having to think about it any further afterwards.” Apparently it was something other than dark romance.

The motto is to always be up to date. This is also the impression you get when you enter the modern library on Sankt-Georg-Straße. This is also why the library has now earned the gold certificate from the Sankt Michaelsbund professional association. It has been awarding the prize across Bavaria since 2019. The Oberding library has met 23 of 24 criteria. There is only one thing it does not have: an electronic visitor counter. “We used to have one, but it’s broken,” says Grimes. She praises her colleagues: “The Golden Seal is a team effort.”

Otherwise, their facility covers everything required. Around 300 square meters of public space in the library and the two branches in the elementary and middle schools as well as the high school. And with Grimes, there is a full-time manager who works 27 hours a week. There are also four part-time employees and nine volunteers. Other criteria include: sufficient opening hours, online interlibrary loans and catalogs, as well as events and exhibitions. Whether it’s handicraft groups, reading circles, reading clubs with closing parties, cooperation with the senior care center next door at Pflegestern, flea markets, author readings, cinema afternoons or picture book cinema, optionally with handicrafts. There was something for all age groups.

“The library is a meeting place. You can go there and it doesn’t cost anything,” says Grimes. In Oberding, you don’t pay an annual fee, you just have to provide your details. They are very grateful to the community for their support. After all, a library is an optional service – like a swimming pool. They have a great working relationship with the schools and kindergartens.

The library has 1,107 active readers this year, 146 of whom are new and, interestingly, only 120 borrow e-media. There are around 16,500 media in the library, including 350 of the popular Tonies, and 76,000 e-media are available via the LeoSued portal. Germans have seen a decline in audiobooks and DVDs. Nowadays, there are streaming services and a certain Alexa. And YouTube videos are replacing non-fiction books. Nintendo Switch games, on the other hand, are in vogue. While Oberding still had 28 in stock in 2019, there are now around 1,000.

“We are a modern library,” Grimes emphasizes, meaning that she offers books on current topics such as heat pumps or the Middle East conflict, from a variety of perspectives: “We are a public library, people should be able to get balanced information.” “Even about domestic violence, alcohol abuse or divorce. Even if she is aware that no one affected would borrow books on these topics, the relevant literature on the shelves should give the feeling that you are not alone.

The community library has now been in existence for 16 years; before that, there was a parish library in Niederding. Six years ago, a man moved from the community center to the senior citizens’ center. Grimes has supported all 16 years with her commitment. She studied at the LMU and has a degree in German as a foreign language, modern German literature and psychology. Before they had their two now grown-up children, she taught at home and abroad.