On 1^st of September 1977, after two years of negotiations between the State Vorarlberg and the Austrian Republic, the Vorarlberg State Library was established as an independent, scientific library and the bibliographic centre of Vorarlberg. Strictly speaking, it was a re-establishment: Already in 1904 the Vorarlberger Landtag (state parliament) agreed on the foundation of a State Library, initiator was the archivist for the state Viktor Kleiner. This library was a supporting library to the archive rather than an independent institution.

Throughout history Vorarlberg was host to a wide range of important libraries, therefore, the absence of a central collection was sorely missed. The majority of precious collections by monastic libraries such as the Benedictine Abbey of Mehrerau, St.Anna and Thalbach in Bregenz, Minorite Monastery Viktorsberg or literature from the Jesuitengymnasium (Jesuit grammar school) and the library of the stately home of the counts of Hohenems have been taken or sold abroad and sometimes even destroyed.

Already Maria Theresia realised the necessity of scientific libraries. In order to establish better connections with the intellectual culture of more remote counties of the monarchy, national librarianship was introduced to support the foundation of university and academic libraries. Sadly Vorarlberg was not considered in this project. The main reasons have been the restricted autonomy in administration (Vorarlberg belonged to Vorderösterreich and from 1782 onwards to the Tyrolean Gubernium), the lack of a central office and the annexation by the Kingdom of Bavaria that led to a total loss of political autonomy in Vorarlberg.

Nevertheless nowadays Vorarlberg owns a wide-ranging collection of historical books. Special thanks go to the Vorarlberg State Museum Association, founded in 1857, and the Vorarlberg State Archive, founded in 1898, which showed sustained effort in “consolidation and maintenance of the academic librarianship. Their efforts resulted in a rise from 3000 books in 1903 to 50.000 in 1975. Among them are thirty incunabula, an impressive collection of prints from Vorarlberg and about a hundred books from the former library in Hohenems. The given financial situation and human resources were no longer adequate to deal with the steadily growing collection and the rising duties required from staff. These circumstances emphasised the need for a long-term solution. Growing cultural consciousness in Vorarlberg supported the breakthrough autumn 1977 when the State Library was instituted.

Since the collection of the Archive Library was the foundation for the collection of the newly established State Library, the State Archive and the State Library shared premises. Due to the continuous increase in popularity of the first universal public library the premises at the “Altes Landhaus” were soon grown too small for both institutions. When director Dr. Eberhard Tiefenthaler was in charge, the collection of the State Library had risen sixfold within a few years. While in 1977 only one person was employed, 7 years later the staff included 14 people. Thanks to Dr. Thiefenthalers full commitment, the Vorarlberg State Library moved into the new premises, namely the former Benedictine Abbey St. Gallusstift which was state property since 1981, when the first stage of reconstruction was concluded. After the second stage of reconstruction (Mitteltrakt and north wing), the head of the provincial government Vorarlberg, Herbert Kessler, inaugurated the Vorarlberg State Library on 27^th of June 1986.

The former monastery St. Gallusstift (Gallus Abbey) is located at the foot of the Gebhardberg Hill and has emerged over a period of 600 years. Yet the ‘Genius Loci’ (In contemporary usage, ‘genius loci’ usually refers to a location's distinctive atmosphere, or a "sense of place", rather than necessarily a guardian spirit. is even older, as archaeological excavation from 1904 show. Archaeologists discovered a consecration altar from the 3^rd century AD which is assumed to have belonged to a local, Celtic divinity (Vindeliker - a tribe which lived between Lake Constance and the Tyrolean river Inn). Considering other archaeological finds, one can trace back the roots of the cult traditions at this place to Celtic Brigantion, centuries before the Romans conquered it in the year 15 BC.

Two Irish monks St. Columbanus and St. Gall established and built the first monastery on the very same area by means of a ‘charter of protection’ given by King Theudebert. They settled down together with their Irish and Franconian companions, erecting little wooden houses near a late-roman chapel which had been desecrated by Alemanni. They led a pastoral life having their own orchard, vegetable patch and cattle. Both monks worked as missionaries. During their services in the chapel they used a copper bell from Ireland, which is preserved until today. In 1786 it was brought to St.Gallen / Switzerland where it is stored in the cathedral. Additionally it is delivered that the founding abbot Columbanus sat on a rotten oak trunk by the abbey reading a book in the spring of 612.

The late Middle Ages are of historical importance for the area around the Vorarlberg State Library.  For the first time the estate Babenwohl is mentioned in a document from the 13^th century, the castle was built in the second half of the 14^th century. It was one of many Monfort fiefdoms and served as a defensive castle for the stronghold at Gebhardsberg Hill. Parts of today’s walls in the south wing are remains of the original castle. The first registered feudal lord was Jäck Keller; he is put on record in a document from 1380. During the subsequent two centuries he was followed by numerous secular and clerical lords. The estate was sold under Habsburg rule in 1523.

In 1601, the Benedictine Abbey Mehrerau acquires the property and uses the residential house as hideout in times of need. The stables were used as wintering grounds for the alpine cattle. Meanwhile, Babenwohl estate, which is no longer part of the feudal system after being sold to the Benedictine Abbey, was leased to citizens of Bregenz. From around that time the first pictorial presentation derives.

Merian’s copper engraving from the series “Topographia Sueviae” (1643) depicts a little church to the west of the castle that was part of the Babenwohl estate. This church replaced the former decayed Gallenstein-Chapel being erected by the wish of the abbot of Mehrerau and the town of Bregenz. This new church incorporated the legendary Gallusgrotte (Grotto of Gallus). As a result the cult around Gallus and the Gallenstein intensified; it even led to a separate “Beneficium ad Lapidem Sti. Galli” in 1697.

In 1788 the church was closed as a result of the Josephine Reforms, from that time the property was part of the ‘Religion-funds’ (funds aimed to bring the various institutions of the Roman Catholic Church empire under the direct control of the monarchy à known as ecclesiastical policies). Although reopened in 1790 after the death of Joseph II. the church was forced to close in 1808 due to bad conditions developed by former negligence, Bavarian administration ordered the demolition.

Already in 1806 Mehrerau had to succumb to resolutory action and together with the Castle of Babenwohl it was assigned to the Kingdom of Bavaria. When Vorarlberg became part of the Habsburgs Empire again, it was sold again due to its poor conditions. Plazidus Schilling, the new owner of the entire estate used it for farming and in need of building material, he dynamited the original, still existing Gallusgrotte (Grotto of Gallus) and the Gallenstein.

Baron Ernest von Poellnitz, born in Würzburg (Bavaria/ Germany), purchased the Castle of Babenwohl and its surrounding land on February 11^th, 1854. According to his own plans he renovated and extended the castle in order to use it as residence for himself and his family. His grandchild, Grete Gulbransson, who spent a great part of her childhood in the Castle of Babenwohl, tells about family life at Babenwohl in her novel “Geliebte Schatten”. The modifications by constructor Gabriel Mallaun give the castle its appearance of today. 

Adele Fitz Gibbon, the 4^th daughter of Baron Poellnitz, sold the whole estate to the Benedictine Convent of Mariastein May 3^rd, 1906. This monastery was founded in Beinwil/ Jura (Switzerland) in 1085. In 1648 the guild was relocated to the place of pilgrimage Mariastein in Solothurn (Switzerland). In 1875 the guild was forced to leave the monastery as a result of cultural disagreements in Switzerland, only a few monks were allowed to stay in order to take care of the pilgrims. Searching for a convenient asylum near Switzerland, Abbot Augustin III Rotenflue and his monks arrived in Bregenz, after stopping in Delle (France) and Dürrberg bei Hallein (Germany).

Shortly after their arrival heavy construction was taking place: between 1907 and 1911 the convent (today’s Mitteltrakt of the State Library) in classicist style was built, it links to the Castle of Babenwohl. Further the library wing on the right hand side and the choir of the monastery church (all planned by Lukas Geis from Freiburg /Germany) were built.

The north wing and the nave built in 1914/15 were realized according to plans by renowned Swiss architect Adolf Gaudy from Rapperswil. Due to the war the inauguration was quietly held on February 3^rd, 1916.

During the years between the wars the now-called Benedictine Abbey St. Gallusstift evolved a rich spiritual life. However on the 2^nd January 1941 the 70 members’ strong guild was banished again and violently sent to go into exile within 12 hours. Members of the Gestapo (Secret State Police) and the border police invaded the abbey and vandalized. They destroyed or spoiled the art objects, used the pews as firewood and distributed or sold the garments among the citizens of Bregenz. Afterwards, the political administration ordered the estate to be used as agricultural vocational college and as a standby military hospital.

After World War II, the abbey became part of the administration by the governor of Bregenz. Only few monks returned after the war and in 1946 the Mitteltrakt and adjacent parts of the north wing were let to a grammar school for girls. At the beginning of the 1970s the canton in Switzerland voted for the monastery Mariastein to belong to the original guild again, consequently, they returned to Switzerland and the abbey in Bregenz lost its service as sanctuary.

About 10 years later, when the last Benedictine has left St. Gallusstift, Vorarlberg acquires the estate. During the summer of 1983 the grammar school for girls moves to a different building and construction and renovation start according to the plans by Dipl. Ing. Hellfried Delpin.

Last but not least after final reconstruction of the former Abbey Church into a gorgeous library hall, inaugurated by State governor Dr. Martin Burtscher on April 30^th, 1993; the whole complex has been available for the Vorarlberg State Library and its users.

Usage of the Vorarlberg State Library

Too little space at the premises in Kirchstraße, made the Vorarlberg State Library move into the buildings of the former St. Gallusstift in 1985. As one of the results longer opening hours facilitate the possibility for employed people to access the library. The collection covers well over 490.000 items, of which approx. 380.000 items can be researched in the OPAC. In the past the collection was stored in repositories closed to the public. Books had to be ordered and delivered by the librarian. Today most parts of the collection are open to the public, freely accessible in light-flooded rooms. The collection of print materials is completed by 1.600 current journals, a wide range of older journals, and non-print materials such as microfiche, microfilm, maps and further digital media, as for example CD-ROM databases or structured internet sources.

The following points introduce the main collection of the State Library.

1. Vorarlbergensien (Literature about and from the region)

The State Library aims to collect all items about or from Vorarlberg as completely as possible: Literature about Vorarlberg, literature written by authors from Vorarlberg or publications printed by publishers from Vorarlberg. Besides monographs, newspapers and journals the State Library aims to collect minor publications by clubs, societies, schools, companies and/or political parties. Additionally posters, maps, postcards, invitations and programmes dealing in some way with Vorarlberg are collected, too.

Today, the Vorarlbergensien collection covers approximately 18.000 monographs, 560 current periodicals (journals from municipalities and/or parishes…), newspapers, journals and the daily press. The articles of the daily newspaper have been indexed since 1982. Likewise our staff researches the daily national newspapers plus neighbouring ones (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung…) for articles that refer to Vorarlberg in one way or another. Retrieval may be done by use of subject heading, name or keyword.

Unfortunately most collections of newspaper are only not available in their original form as conservation and continued use is almost impossible, but all newspapers are available on microfilm. Through this preservative method the originals are saved and filed space-saving. In the near future the State Library has plans to digitise parts of the older newspaper collection, in order to make them available for research in the internet.

The collection of the Vorarlbergensien is supported by a national law and added edict “About delivery and offer of presentation copies for the library”. This orders every publisher in Vorarlberg to deliver two copies of monographs and three copies of any periodical for free to the State Library. As Vorarlberg is home of many small and private publishers it often needs comprehensive research in order to get the desired presentation copies.

On top of current literature the State Library collects and files older literature that has been published before the foundation of the library. Although the State Archive and the Vorarlberg State Museum Association had been collecting literature from and about Vorarlberg from 1898 onwards and handed them over to the State Library, the collection of the Vorarlbergensien is still incomplete. The State Library aims to fill these gaps with the help of donations and/or selective purchases.

Media Centre

When the Kuppelsaal (Dome hall) of the abbey church was renovated, the registry was transformed into the Media Centre. It focuses on audio-visual media about or from Vorarlberg. The constitution of the Media Centre was an important step in order to keep the Vorarlbergensien collection complete. The main parts of this collection are made up by video and audio productions and photographs.

Most important for the media collection of the Vorarlbergensien are – of course – broadcasts from the ORF (Austrian TV channel). Mainly productions by the non-private television studios (e.g. Vorarlberg-Heute, Österreich-Heute, news…) are recorded and indexed, but some productions from private channels, too. Since 1988 we have recorded around 75.000 productions which fill more than a thousand video tapes. These tapes are stored in a cold storage room to prolong their service life. Our aim is to conserve all the archived material for future generations; therefore, the State Library is initiator of a project to digitise the entire media collection as computer based files. For audio transmission the focus lies on records by local radio stations. Similar projects are at hand.

The collection of photos consists of several parts that were either purchased or donated: The archive from Risch-Lau (Inc.): 30.000 negatives; the collection from Alf Stäger: 130.000 negatives; the archive from the Landesbildstelle (Helmut Klapper): 30.000 pictures; the archive from Oscar Spang: approx. 100.000 photographs and a collection of postcards consisting of around 25.000 images of Vorarlberg.

2. Academic Library

The academic library as part of the State Library is of great importance. Seeing as Vorarlberg has never had a university and hence no university library the provision with technical, scientific literature has been scarce. Our academic library provides local, scholarly interested people as well as people from abroad (South of Germany), with a wide range of literature for further education in private or professional life. When the State Library was founded, this collection was not very extensive, since the focus had been on historical and or regional (Vorarlbergensien) literature. Today, every scholarly field has the same accession.

The State Library purchases about 10.000 books and 1.500 audiovisual media (AV-media) annually, the budget for 2006 was approx. 550.000 €. Additionally an increasing number of online resources such as the Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek (Electronic Journals Library) from the University of Regensburg (Germany), the online journals from the Wissenschaftsverlag Springer or the Datenbank-Infosystem  (DBIS), an online database serviced by the Bavarian State Library.
On top the State Library of Vorarlberg offers an outstanding service to its users. IntelligentCapture, software the State Library was instrumental in developing, enables a customised online research (dandelon) in by now 25.000 tables of content, numbers are rising.  

Several aspects have contributed to the enormous rise in lending: a collection aiming at universality, longer opening hours (mo-fri 9-18.30, sat 9-13.00), improvement of all library services, focused public relations and co-operation with existing educational institutions. In 1985, 7.240 books were circulated; in 2005 the number was 262.000. Additionally about 2000 items circulated via Interlibrary Loan or Document Delivery.

In 2006 the State Library has roughly 6.000 users (annual fees reduced: 5 €/ full price: 10 €). Fortunately, the number of young people that use the services by the State Library is still increasing.

Yet another reason for the rise is the guided tours and the public events that take place on a regular base. Every year more than 2.000 people take part in a guided tour and around 5.000 people visit one of the cultural events in the Kuppelsaal (Dome Hall). The larger part of the guided tours is school classes, but the number of clubs or companies that voice their interest is increasing. According to the interest of the group the tours are adapted to focus either on the concrete duties of the library on the architectonical and historical aspects of the former Benedictine Abbey.

Almost every month an event turns the Kuppelsaal (Dome Hall) and library into a cultural hub and at the same time the doors open up to new users.