A bit of nostalgia resonates

Created: 01/04/2023, 16:00

Ulrike Göpfert had doubled the management job for two months with Jan Marberg.

©Andreas Bretting

The mood is relaxed at Ulrike Göpfert.

However, the new pensioner – until recently head of the city library – is careful not to sit next to her ex-colleagues.

Because then she would probably be nostalgic, she admits.

"We were a bit like family."

Weilheim - When she first worked in the library in 1985, it was still housed next to the town hall - where the town band practices today.

"Well, I probably wouldn't have stayed in these cramped premises for so long," says Göpfert and then remembers a curious episode that could only have happened with the old location: "Back then, the magazine subscriptions simply went to the town hall -Letter box.

And once the cover of a test magazine had sanitary napkins on it.

At the time, this cover caused incomprehension to horror - or even irritation as to what that was supposed to be."

She herself still remembers her “starter gift”: a tendonitis.

"Because in the first few months we still had to type the index cards on a mechanical typewriter." Shortly thereafter, an electrically-assisted writing implement arrived, "soooo a box," she says, and measures almost a full meter width with her hands.

Looked at the library beforehand

The old Bräuwastl-Stadl soon came up for discussion as a new location.

"The first time I saw it, I was absolutely horrified," she admits.

But after the completion of the expansion, the initial skepticism soon gave way to love.

"I miss the building every day, especially dashing down the stairs," says Göpfert, who wants to remain dynamic in her upcoming free time: with her husband and dog in the mountains, and she also wants to lease a sunny field, because working with plants is a wonderful balance, and maybe she wants to start singing in a choir again.

Of course you ask, compensation for what, if the stress at work is gone now.

"Reconciliation for reading detective stories," admits Göpfert frankly, because she actually enjoys this hobby.

She lists her favorite authors: Fred Vargas, Henning Mankell, Minette Walters - "only the Eberhofer thrillers, I prefer to watch them on TV."

There were also oddities

Another passion of hers was behavioral research.

For the works of Konrad Lorenz and Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, when she was around 15 years old, she already had special permission to borrow them from the public library in Schweinfurt, where she grew up.

She likes to remember the events in the Weilheim library, from fairy tales to poetry slams: events that she didn't invent, but was happy to support.

In addition, there were the many technical innovations that she witnessed, from new media - "in the beginning there were children's radio plays on music cassettes" - to new EDP-supported administration and search tools.

However, her enthusiasm for technology has its limits: "When I'm browsing, I want to have real pages in my hands, and above all: I can still read it if the power goes out." she was able to bring joy through her patience and through her support for Stöber.

There were also often curiosities: "But if I told you about them, you might be able to recognize the people

and I don't want that.” Of course, she admits, she could alienate her experiences in literature – purely theoretically, because in practice she simply felt no urge to write.

"So you don't have to worry that a book will come out from me," says Göpfert and laughs.

Successor wants to set new impulses

Successor Jan Marberg has now added a new publication about skiing, after all he wants to keep an eye on what is currently on offer.

The 34-year-old, who was born near Cologne but grew up in Upper Franconia, took a good look at the house when he applied in the summer.

"I have to sense something positive for the future when I get a new job," says Marberg, who liked the impression he made in Weilheim.

He is currently exploring opportunities for various state and federal subsidies, "because who knows how long culture will continue to receive funding."

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My space

He himself completed his training in Germering, so he has warmed up a bit to Upper Bavaria.

Marberg now wants to familiarize himself with the processes and conditions of the "very nice house" before he maybe sets new impulses.

In any case, managing a library is a perfect job: "You don't have to sell any products here, you can convey values ​​to visitors and show them new things."

Göpfert adds quite familiarly: "You said that beautifully." Nevertheless, the outgoing folio manager does not want to appear in the city library that often for the time being.

"I don't want to become a 'grey eminence' in this house, I just want to gain some distance first."

Andrew Bretting