Digitization and indexing of the letter collection as part of the Dehmel Archive at the Hamburg State and University Library

• Applicant: Professor Robert Zepf
• Subject Area: German Literary and Cultural Studies (Modern German Literature)
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 549004317

The Dehmel Archive, an important collection of the State and University Library Hamburg, provides a comprehensive insight into the life and work of the poet Richard Dehmel (1863-1920) and his wife Ida Dehmel (1870-1942). Acquired by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in 1926, the archive comprises five main sections, including manuscripts, the library, music collection, and miscellaneous items, among which is an extensive collection of approximately 35,000 letters. This correspondence not only reflects Dehmel's work but also the extensive network of the couple, which included prominent figures from the culture, science, and politics of the early 20th century. The Dehmel Archive, previously only accessible locally, holds enormous potential for humanities research, especially after its digitization and made available online. In a preliminary project (Dehmel digital), a subset of about 3,500 letters has already been digitized and their metadata updated. The continuation of the project aims to digitize the entire correspondence, standardize metadata in the Kalliope Union Catalog, and make it freely accessible via the online platform of the SUB Hamburg. The project includes various work packages, including project coordination, library preparation of the collection in Kalliope, image digitization of the letters, and provision of the technical infrastructure. Digitization will follow the DFG's (German Research Foundation) best practices to ensure high image quality and compatibility. The digitization and indexing of the Dehmel Archive provide access to a significant historical document for both the academic community and the general public.

• DFG Programme: Cataloguing and Digitisation (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)