Just six months after receiving the city council’s mandate, the city administration is presenting municipal committees with a concrete proposal for the construction of the new Anna Seghers Library. Mayor Nino Haase: “Libraries are places of education for everyone. Our plan means much more space, a prime location, and state-of-the-art facilities. At the same time, we’ll save significant rent and energy costs in the future. The project therefore fits perfectly into the federal and state infrastructure program. You can hardly make a better investment.”

Starting with the Finance Committee on June 9 and concluding with the City Council on June 17, the city’s committees will deliberate on and vote on the plans submitted by the city administration for the new library at Gutenbergplatz. Their primary goal is to continue offering the people of Mainz an attractive public library in a central location for decades to come. At the same time, according to the plan, the library’s floor space is set to increase by more than 60 percent compared to the current location, as Mainz has significant ground to make up in this area relative to its population size—a fact supported by national guidelines and comparisons with other cities. The move of the Anna Seghers Library to the new building will also involve investment in modern facilities.

As a “small solution,” it is being proposed to the city committees that the city acquire a partial leasehold right for a term of 99 years on the property at “Fuststraße 2” (between Gutenbergplatz, Fuststraße, and Bischofsplatz).

The city administration prefers the “big solution,” provided that it can be 90% financed by state funding: Under this plan, the entire property at Fuststraße 2 would be acquired. The City of Mainz would then become the sole owner of the land and building once it is completed. The additional costs compared to the “small solution” are to be financed, among other things, by selling the no longer needed property at the former “Haus des Deutschen Weins.” In addition, the city would then receive regular income from leasing the upper floor to the State Theater for an orchestra rehearsal and chamber music hall.

Mayor Nino Haase: “Building a modern library in a central location is a significant investment in our city as a center of education and an attractive way to draw visitors to our downtown. A new building funded by the state also represents a sustainable contribution to budget consolidation, as we will be able to save significant rental and energy costs every year going forward.”

The project is to be realized with funding from the “Rhineland-Palatinate Plan for Education, Climate, and Infrastructure.” As early as April, Mainz became the first municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate to submit the required “regional implementation plan.”

Mayor Nino Haase: “We want to get the project off the ground as quickly as possible. Our ambitious goal is for the new Anna Seghers Library to be the first project funded by the Rhineland-Palatinate Plan and then implemented in the shortest possible time. For this reason, too, it would be an exemplary investment project for Rhineland-Palatinate.”

The Rhineland-Palatinate Plan funding program has a total budget of 3.5 billion euros, which is intended to support municipal investments over the next twelve years. Mainz is allocated a regional budget of approximately 167 million euros.

Background Information

As the most-visited cultural institutions nationwide, public libraries offer all age groups and social classes—with low barriers to entry and without any pressure to consume—free access to knowledge and information; they promote language, reading, and media literacy; and they support the formation of pluralistic and democratic opinions. As places of exchange, encounter, and cultural, digital, and social participation, they make a valuable contribution to strengthening the community, counteract social division, and enrich public life.

Since 1980, the Central Library of the Mainz Public Library—Anna Seghers has been located on a 1,600 m² site between the two Bonifatius Towers. Outside of these areas, the administrative offices (offices and storage spaces) are housed in Bonifatius Tower A and spread across two floors. The lease agreements are set to expire in the coming years. Renovation of the premises and modernization of the facilities are on the agenda. Furthermore, the space is significantly too small—both by national standards and when compared to other cities. The need for a high-quality visitor experience (a place to read, study, work, and interact for an average of 750 visitors per opening day, as well as more programs and space for the children’s library) has increased significantly in recent years.

A new building on Gutenbergplatz presents a unique opportunity to create a modern library in a central location with significantly more space. Having public and administrative areas under one roof enables time- and resource-efficient work organization for the benefit of all involved. This will facilitate the positive further development of Mainz’s library landscape based on the Library Development Plan for the State of Rhineland-Palatinate (2025).