New management for the Stuttgart University Archive

The University Archive secures and stores materials worthy of preservation from all departments of the university, collects bequests and compiles press documentation on institutions, people and events at the university. It is a public archive that serves scientific research and is also open to all interested citizens. In addition to the director, there are currently three other employees working in the archive, which is managed as a department at the Stuttgart University Library.

Dr. Norbert Becker took over as the first full-time archivist in May 1995. His initial tasks included implementing a filing system that had not previously existed, arranging appropriate facilities for the archive, and establishing substitute documentation for the period before 1944. In the summer of 1944, following a bombing raid on Stuttgart, nearly all of the Technical University's files and written records were destroyed in the flames. Before Becker took office, the library of the Technische Hochschule, now the university library, had already attempted to fill the gap in the missing archive by setting up a collection of newspaper cuttings and adding scattered surviving printed matter and fragments of estates to its holdings from 1950 onwards. In 1997, the archive moved into the storage and office space in Geschwister-Scholl-Straße. At the end of his tenure, Becker can reflect on overseeing 3,080 meters of library collections, over 8 terabytes of digital data, and a database containing around 190,000 records.

"Mr. Becker is a true archivist who puts his heart and soul into his work. During his nearly 30 years of service, Dr. Norbert Becker has not only established and raised the profile of the archive but also foresaw the challenges that would face the university administration in the future in terms of ongoing digitization. He laid the initial groundwork for this within the archive," stated Library Director Dr. Helge Steenweg. "In particular, ensuring the long-term archival of electronic media in a legally compliant and secure manner remains crucial." We are delighted to welcome Dr. Helen Wiedmaier as the new head of the University Archive. She has gained extensive experience in this field, both professionally and during training at both the University Archive in Heidelberg and the State Archive in Stuttgart. I am confident that she will continue Mr. Becker's work and ensure the legally secure archiving of the university's increasingly electronic records in cooperation with the administration, utilizing the DIMAG (Digital Magazine) software. She will continue to run the University Archive with the same dedication to service that it has shown in the past."

Dr. Helen Wiedmaier, born in Backnang in 1992, studied history in Heidelberg from 2013 to 2019. In 2022, Wiedmaier completed her doctorate as a research assistant at the Research Training Group 2304 "Byzantium and the Euromediterranean War Cultures" at the University of Mainz on the topic of "Warriors on the Battlefield - Warriors in Texts. Battle descriptions in the historiographical sources of the 14th and early 15th centuries". From 2022 to 2024, she completed her archival traineeship at the Baden-Württemberg State Archives.

The new head of the archives will also be responsible for further developing long-term digital archiving and enhancing public relations. These activities are now considered fundamental professional tasks, complementing the "classic" archival activities of acquisition, preservation, indexing, and providing access to archival materials. "In order to preserve electronic data in a legally secure manner, it must be processed for archiving in compliance with data protection regulations as soon as it is created—unlike analog paper files," explains Wiedmaier. The new head will also be closely involved in the introduction of the digital file at the University of Stuttgart.

The visibility of the archive as a university institution is particularly important to Wiedmaier. This approach guarantees the preservation of all documents of lasting value. Furthermore, it not only facilitates access to these documents but also actively promotes their use. Additionally, she aims to work closely with contributing bodies. Beyond the institutes, facilities, and entities of the University of Stuttgart, which are required by the Baden-Württemberg State Archive Act to offer their files, documents, and data to the University Archive before destruction, individuals are also encouraged to reach out to the archive. Specific details pertaining to the transfer of prior and future bequests are arranged personally with them.