College and Research Libraries


By E R N E S T M A A S S 

Leibnitz Contribution to 
Librarianship 

Mr. Maass is the cataloger of the Zionist 

Archives and Library of New York. 

IT is NO ACCIDENT that Leibnitz (1646-1 7 1 6 ) , whose almost universal attain-
ments are comparable to those of Aristotle, 

worked as a librarian for over forty years. 

While he is better known as a philosopher, 

man of affairs, promoter of the sciences, 

and writer on theology, jurisprudence, 

history, and politics, and for his discovery 

of integral calculus, all these pursuits are 

closely connected with his position as a 

librarian. 

A t the age of twenty-three, Leibnitz, 

already the author of several essays on 

philosophy and law, became secretary to 

J. C . von Boineburg, first minister to the 

Elector of Mainz. It was in Mainz that 

Leibnitz entered the field of library work 

when he compiled a subject catalog of the 

statesman's library. T h e thoroughness 

with which he cataloged the collection is 

indicated by Leibnitz' own words: 

[ I set u p ] a catalog which probably does 
not have its equal. It enables the reader to 
find all the authors dealing with a certain 
subject, and often there are more than ten 
entries for one small book.1 

In 1672 the Elector sent Leibnitz to 

Paris as his diplomatic representative. 

There he submitted to Louis X I V a plan 

1 Schiel, Hubert. " L e i b n i z . " In Lexikon des 
gesamten Buchwesens. Hiersemann, Leipzig, 1936, 
v. 2, p. 309. 

for the conquest of Egypt by the French. 

During his stay in the French capital 

Leibnitz came in contact with the leading 

French librarians, associating with Cara-

cavi, Clement, and Baluze, and visited 

the famous Bibliotheque du Roi. Return-

ing to Germany, he was appointed histori-

ographer and librarian by Duke John 

Frederick of Brunswick-Liineburg at 

Hanover, a dual position which was not 

uncommon in the seventeenth and eight-

eenth centuries. He remained in the serv-

ice of the Brunswick family until his 

death. 

T h e ducal library and Leibnitz' private 

collection were both housed in his home 

in Hanover. His private collection, which 

has been preserved as a whole in the 

municipal library of that city, consisted, 

to a large extent, of dissertations, treatises, 

and pamphlets, and included a number 

of medieval manuscripts. 

Leibnitz expanded the ducal collection 

constantly. He kept himself informed on 

new publications and sales and regularly 

received catalogs, auction lists, and offers 

from antiquarians. From 1687 to 1690 

he traveled extensively in Germany and 

Italy, collecting material for his genealogy 

of the Brunswick family, and used this 

unique opportunity to buy a number of 

valuable books. Other purchases included 

the libraries of Gottfried Hermant in 

Beauvais (1690), Counselor von Westen-

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20 7 



holz in Hanover (1696), Emmerich Bigot 

in Rouen (1706), and the manuscript 

collection of the Danish state counselor, 

Marquard Gude ( 1 7 1 0 ) . 

O n his return from Rome, where he 

had declined the librarianship of the Vati-

cana, Leibnitz was entrusted with the 

additional assignment of administering the 

Bibliotheca Augusta in Wolfenbuttel. 

His letter of appointment contained the 

following provisions: (a) T h e secretaries 

had to put the catalogs in order; (b) 

Outsiders, scholars, and noblemen who 

desired to see rare books and manuscripts 

were to be accommodated; (c) In case 

Leibnitz should resign he was not to take 

with him copies of secret documents of 

the Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel family; (d) 

Leibnitz had to make sure that persons 

who had used manuscripts of the library 

in the compilation of their works would 

submit their writings to the censor before 

publication, ne detrimentiosum quid aut 

ingratum irrepat.2 

T h e Wolfenbuttel library had a subject 

catalog; Leibnitz had to arrange for the 

compilation of an author catalog. T h e 

staff consisted of Lorenz Hertel, Leibnitz' 

representative, and two secretaries. T h e 

cataloging progressed very slowly during 

the first eight years. In fact, Leibnitz 

asked not to be called librarian of the 

Bibliotheca Augusta, because he was able 

to exercise only partial control as admin-

istrator in absentia. 

Leibnitz on Book Selection 

T h e letters which Leibnitz exchanged 

with Hertel were gathered and numbered 

by no less a man than Lessing, librarian 

at Wolfenbuttel many years later. A t 

first the correspondence dealt only with 

library matters; later it touched upon 
2 G u h r a u e r , G. E . " B i b l i o t h e k a r i s c h e s aus Leib-

n i z e n s L e b e n und S c h r i f t e n . " Serapeum 1 2 : 1 6 , 
1851. 

literature, science, and politics. From 

this exchange of letters we learn of a con-

troversy concerning Leibnitz' book selec-

tion policy. Hertel maintained that at 

the auction of Counselor Lucius' books in 

Hanover in 1708 Leibnitz did not buy 

enough books of large size. In his reply 

Leibnitz made his position perfectly clear: 

Above all I consider w h e t h e r w i t h the 
publication of his book an author has 
rendered a service to the w o r l d of l e t t e r s ; 
otherwise, there w o u l d be no limit to the 
expenditures. In the case of books dealing 
w i t h ordinary matters, I prefer the small 
ones to the large ones, especially w h e n they 
deal w i t h a single subject. Besides, small 
but interesting books, which disappear in 
the course of time, have to be preserved in 
the great libraries.3 

Leibnitz and Hertel 

T h e relationship between Leibnitz and 

Hertel was not always a happy one. T h e 

Duke of Wolfenbuttel received an anony-

mous letter which discredited Leibnitz' 

administration and concluded, " T h e li-

brary is in an awful state of confusion 

which, it seems, will continue as long as 

the librarian lives."4 T h e anonymous 

writer apparently was Hertel, and in a 

letter dated Apr. 30, 1705, Leibnitz com-

plained in no uncertain terms about Her-

tel's giving an unfavorable report to the 

Duke about the administration of the 

library. After Leibnitz' death Hertel 

became his successor. 

T h e library in Wolfenbuttel suffered 

considerably from the lack of funds. 

Leibnitz, who on one occasion called the 

Bibliotheca Augusta a present peu 

auguste,5 solicited the interest of the Duke 

3 Ibid., p. 21. 
* T h y r e g o d , O s k a r . Die Kulturfunktion der 

Bibliothek. N i j h o f f , T h e H a g u e , 1936, p. 42. 
B H e s s e l , A l f r e d . Leibniz und die Anfange der 

Gottinger Bibliothek. P i l l a i , G o t t i n g e n , 1924, p. 6. 
( V o r a r b e i t e n z u r Geschichte der G o t t i n g e r U n i v e r -
sitat u n d B i b l i o t h e k , iii.) 

246 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



more than once. H e even suggested the 

creation of n e w sources of revenue w h i c h 

should be applied to the l i b r a r y . H e ad-

vocated the introduction of stamped 

paper, and in a humorous vein commented 

upon his proposal in a letter to H e r t e l , 

saying that the scholars, poets, and artists 

w o u l d cheer the D u k e if he w o u l d accept 

the suggestion, but if he r e j e c t e d it, the 

w h o l e corps w o u l d pronounce anathema 

against him. . . B u t I have n o w re-

lieved m y conscience." 6 W h e n this pro-

posal w a s not accepted, L e i b n i t z recom-

mended that m u l b e r r y trees be planted 

in the domain a d j o i n i n g the l i b r a r y build-

ing f o r the r e a r i n g of s i l k w o r m s . H e 

started the p r o j e c t w i t h his o w n f u n d s , 

but lack of support forced him to abandon 

it. F i n a l l y the librarian had to resort to 

the sale of duplicates. T h e D u k e in 

H a n o v e r w a s little better than his relative 

in W o l f e n b i i t t e l ; L e i b n i t z pointed out to 

him h o w small the subvention f o r the li-

b r a r y w a s as compared to those f o r 

" w o r t h y and pleasant yet transitory and 

ephemeral purposes such as music and 

c o m e d y . " 7 O n l y in 1 7 0 8 did he succeed 

in o b t a i n i n g an a n n u a l b u d g e t of t w o 

h u n d r e d thalers, an a m o u n t w h i c h re-

mained unchanged until 1 8 3 5 . 

Service to Scholars 

A l t h o u g h a visitor f r o m F r a n k f u r t 

complained in 1 7 1 0 about L e i b n i t z ' un-

w i l l i n g n e s s to s h o w him the t w o libraries 

in H a n o v e r , as a rule the philosopher w a s 

most liberal and generous w h e n scholars 

w a n t e d to use the l i b r a r y f o r their investi-

gations. A n E n g l i s h theologian, f o r ex-

ample, asked f o r books w h i c h he needed 

to compile a m a r t y r o l o g y of the P r o t e s -

tants. T h o u g h L e i b n i t z did not v i e w this 

6 S c h o n e m a n n , C a r l . " U m r i s s e z u r Geschichte der 
W o l f e n b u t t e l e r B i b l i o t h e k . " Serapeutn 4 : 2 1 4 , 1843. 

' H e s s e l . Op cit., p. 6. 

p r o j e c t w i t h f a v o r , still he w r o t e H e r t e l , 

" I t w o u l d be better not to w r i t e a book 

w h i c h m i g h t stir up passion; yet one must 

not r e j e c t a z e a l o u s man w h o believes he 

is r e n d e r i n g a service to his c h u r c h . " 8 

In spite of his achievements in l i b r a r y 

w o r k , w h i c h cannot all be enumerated 

here, L e i b n i t z w o u l d rank w i t h such dis-

tinguished f e l l o w - l i b r a r i a n s as L a m b e c k 

or M a g l i a b e c c h i if one considered only 

his practical accomplishments. H i s spe-

cific m e r i t lies in his ideas and plans con-

c e r n i n g libraries w h i c h he developed in 

his letters and m e m o r a n d a to the G u e l p h i c 

princes. 

Universal Library 

T h e librarians w h o m L e i b n i t z had met 

in P a r i s w e r e influenced by G a b r i e l 

N a u d e , first director of the Bibliotheque 

du R o i and a u t h o r of the oldest m a n u a l 

on l i b r a r y science, Advis pour dresser une 

bibliotheque, published in 1 6 2 7 . H e had 

f o r m u l a t e d the idea of a universal l i b r a r y , 

w h i c h w a s to contain the most i m p o r t a n t 

books in all branches of science as w e l l as 

commentaries and reference books. A li-

b r a r y of this type, he asserted, w o u l d 

g r e a t l y enhance the g l o r y of its royal 

sponsor. L e i b n i t z pursued similar ideas 

and carried them f u r t h e r . 

H i s ideal is the w e l l - r o u n d e d l i b r a r y . 

H e calls it a general inventory, an en-

cyclopedia, a storehouse of all sciences, a 

mute but pansophical teacher. T h e li-

b r a r y is to him a treasury of the h u m a n 

spirit or a convention of the greatest men 

of all times and nations m i r a c u l o u s l y 

assembled in one b u i l d i n g , w h o tell the 

readers their choicest thoughts. 

If somebody wants to begin a career in 
trade and industry, a writer who knows the 
subject well can advise him; if a town is to 
be fortified, one may obtain plans and may 

8 G u h r a u e r . Op. cit., p. 9-10, 23. 

JUNE, 1943 20 7 



read about the defects of fortification dis-
covered by the victor; if a new law is to be 
issued, the library has all the information 
on the subject. . . .9 

A library must have material on every-

thing, be it finances, carnival, gardens, 

military science, genealogy, maps, or how 

to influence men in high positions. It 

might include "pleasure objects" as well, 

such as "finds" from voyages, portraits, 

games of hazard, machines, and medals. 

Whether such an ambitious scheme 

could have been realized by any of the 

libraries in Leibnitz' time is doubtful, but 

it shows the grandeur of his conception. 

No less remarkable, considering the period 

in which these ideas were conceived, are 

Leibnitz' observations on the quality and 

function of a library. 

T h e importance and rank of a library, 

he states, are determined only by the in-

trinsic quality of its collections and not by 

the number, size, or rarity of its books. 

Leibnitz attaches particular importance 

to works dealing with inventions, demon-

strations, experiments, and historical and 

geographical matters as well as "curious" 

pamphlets. Serials and new books must 

be purchased regularly if the collection as 

a whole is not to decay. A fixed annual 

budget is indispensable. T h e highest duty 

of the librarian is to make the books ac-

cessible to the public. Therefore, he has 

to arrange for author, subject, and chron-

ological catalogs, long hours of admission, 

liberal loan rules, and adequate heating 

in the winter. 

Leibnitz vs. Naude 

A comparison of the ideas of Naude 

and Leibnitz shows that a change in em-

phasis has taken place. T h e library which 

Leibnitz envisages helps to achieve the im-

9 T h y r e g o d . Op. cit., p. 36. 

provement of mankind, a consideration 

totally absent in Naude's statement. T h e 

philosopher considers the usefulness of li-

braries for the prince and his subjects far 

more important than the glory that goes 

with the ownership of valuable books. He 

assigns to the library the character of a 

public institution and puts it on the same 

footing with the church and the school. 

A t this point a reservation is necessary. 

Leibnitz has justly been called the spiritual 

father of the great university library.10 

But, except for his successful insistence on 

a regular budget, his ideas, which were 

sent to the dukes in the form of memo-

randa, were shelved and did not reach the 

public during his lifetime. Thus, the 

popular accounts that treat Leibnitz as if 

his ideas had been applied in practice in his 

time need some revision. This is particu-

larly true of writers, like Pfleiderer, who 

tried to portray Leibnitz' activity as the 

one bright moment in a dark period of 

German history.11 

Classification Scheme 

Leibnitz was well aware of the diffi-

culties of classification. In his treatise on 

the division of knowledge proposed by 

Locke we read: " T h e same truth may be 

classed in various ways according to its 

relationships. Thus it happens that people 

arranging a library often do not know 

where to put certain books because they 

might fit equally well into two or three 

different places."12 Leibnitz contributed 

to library science his own system of 

classification, which was intended to divide 

books in a library according to their classes 

by a single and convenient method. He 

did succeed in evolving a theoretical ar-

rangement consisting of only a few groups, 

1 0 Hessel. Op. cit., p. 4. 
1 1 T h y r e g o d . Op. cit., p. 43. 
1 2 G u h r a u e r . Op. cit., p. 37. 

248 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



the four university faculties of theology, 

jurisprudence, medicine, and philosophy.13 

However, as soon as he began actually to 

classify books by his own method, the 

groups multiplied to such an extent that 

the whole scheme became too complicated 

and unwieldy for practical purposes. His 

experience as a librarian is evident from 

the fact that his classification provided for 

a special class, Communia communium, 

books of all kinds which did not fit into 

any other category. Another interesting 

feature is a special subdivision in the his-

tory of literature class entitled "Biblio-

thecaria seu res libraria tanquam pro re-

pertio universalis" or, in other words, li-

brary science. 

This repertory, or globus intellectualis, 

was one of Leibnitz' most cherished 

projects. Already in his youth he had 

planned to publish a nucleus librarius 

semestralis based on catalogs of fairs, 

which was to expand gradually into an 

inventarium scientiae humanae libris pro-

ditae, a universal system of science in 

which every subject would find its well-

defined place. Leibnitz hoped that a uni-

versal encyclopedia would emerge from 

the combination of the subject catalogs of 

different libraries. Pursuing the same 

idea, the philosopher asked Louis X I V to 

order a survey which would abstract the 

world's best books and would then be 

13 L e i b n i t z , G. W . Opera philosophica. J. E. 
E r m a n n , ed. E i c h l e r , B e r l i n , 1840, v. 1, p. 417. 

combined with the as yet unwritten ob-

servations of the foremost men in each 

field. This survey was to be the basis of 

an exhaustive scheme of science, intended 

for "the greater happiness of mankind."14 

Thus the relationship between Leib-

nitz the philosopher and Leibnitz the li-

brarian becomes clear. As a philosopher 

who emphasized the uniqueness of the in-

dividual, he thought that even the smallest 

book had a specific and definite value. A t 

the same time, his characteristic trend to-

ward the universal made him assign an 

important role to the libraries. His ideal 

was to elevate humanity to a higher level. 

Leibnitz was convinced that mankind 

would find its happiness if the progress 

of science were combined with pure Chris-

tianity; he wanted the academies, which 

he was instrumental in founding in 

Prussia and Russia, to help in the realiza-

tion of this aim. T h e progress of science, 

Leibnitz thought, was possible only if 

everybody was enabled to inform himself 

easily about the sum total of the research 

of preceding generations. In that way he 

logically came to see the necessity and 

the inestimable value of libraries, store-

houses of knowledge that were equipped to 

meet the far-reaching demands which he 

himself had formulated in the interest of 

libraries. 

14 L e i b n i t z , G. W . Samtliche Schriften und Briefe. 
P r e u s s i s c h e A k a d e m i e der W i s s e n s c h a f t e n . Reichl, 
D a r m s t a d t , 1923-38, v. 1, p. 42. 

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