TIR is pleased to announce the launch of the international Animal Libraries Network - animal-libraries.org
The Stiftung für das Tier im Recht (Foundation for the Animal in the Law; TIR) manages the Animal Libraries Network (animal-libraries.org) and, together with six other libraries and archives currently participating in the network, offers access to specialized literature relevant to animals and nature. It is intended as a tool for all interested parties, researchers as well as media professionals and as a working and communication tool for the animal libraries themselves.
April 8, 2022
The status of animals in our society has changed dramatically in recent decades. Interest in their diverse functions both in the ecological framework and within human society is steadily increasing. Recent branches of research are no longer interested only in their behavior and anatomy; their emotions and individual personalities are also being increasingly explored, unearthing some astounding facts. This, in turn, is also fueling interdisciplinary scientific fields such as human-animal studies and historical animal studies, which are becoming increasingly important.
The Animal Libraries Network, which goes online today as www.animal-libraries.org, has set itself the task of pooling information in these fields of interest and making it more visible and accessible. It connects private and public libraries, archives, and databases focused on animal-related subjects involving human society. The collected material, including scientific publications, photographs, and other historical documents of various kinds, helps researchers, media professionals, and other interested parties in their examination of all facets of the human-animal relationship.
The platform is sponsored and run by TIR with its own library of animal-related books, scientific articles and around 1000 DVDs in law, ethics, and society. The foundation for the idea of a network on animal libraries was laid in mid-2018 during an inspirational exchange with Dr. Carola Otterstedt of the Stiftung Bündnis Mensch & Tier. The Rachel Carson Center at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, a member of the Environmental Libraries Network, also contributed significantly to this project's success. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved!
The platform animal-librariers.org will be expanded continuously. We hope for the participation of further private and public libraries and archives that have collections related to animals or nature that they would like to make available to a wider public. Currently, the following libraries and archives are part of the network:
The Stiftung Bündnis Mensch & Tier has made numerous German-language essays and studies by well-known experts available online and includes helpful book recommendations on topics including animal welfare, ethics of the human-animal relationship, animal husbandry, animal-assisted intervention, the Begegnungshöfe network (network for human-animal interactions), species conservation, as well as companion animals and farm animals.
The Archiv für Agrargeschichte (Archive for Agricultural History; AfA) is an independent institute specialized in archiving, scientific research, and the dissemination of information and knowledge. It catalogs all kinds of sources from historical research on agricultural, food and environmental history of the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition to protocols, letters, reports, and other materials in physical or electronic form, this impressive collection also includes a comprehensive image and audio carrier portal, jointly run with the European Rural History Film Association (ERHFA).
Tierschnipsel is a private collection of image and text documents from 1700 to 1950 on the history of animal welfare and vegetarianism. In addition, the collection contains approximately one thousand postcards and contemporary testimonies on the human-animal relationship, with a focus on horses and farm animals.
tierbefreiungsarchiv (animal liberation archive) collects, sorts, and archives materials from and about the animal rights and animal liberation movements. To this end, the project is divided into two primary areas of work - the Archives and the Special Collections Library.
The Special Collections Research Center at NC State University Libraries in Raleigh, North Carolina, holds the largest scholarly archive of animal protection collections in the United States. The collections document the social, cultural, legislative, political, and intellectual history of animal welfare and rights, as well as animal studies at large.