The year 2024 is not only EMBL’s 50th anniversary, it also marks the 50th/45th anniversary of the Szilárd Library. It was in 1974 when the library at EMBL was founded, and later inaugurated on 20^th November 1979 with the support of the first EMBL DG Sir John Kendrew.

To mark the 45^th anniversary, on 20^th November 2024 a gathering was held for those who shaped our library’s journey at EMBL Imaging Centre.

The celebration brought together former and current librarians, colleagues from Heidelberg University and research libraries, past and present library committee members, and OSIM and EMBL colleagues.

Mary Holmes, first EMBL librarian, talked about the founding of EMBL, Leo Szilárd and the early days of the Szilárd Library that started with a pencil and two cupboards. Vladimir Benes, Head of Genomics Core Facility and Scientific Ombudsperson, reviewed the history of the library, librarians, as well as the challenges that the library was facing since its beginnings. Bastian Drees, Head of OSIM, presented the EMBL Szilárd Library today as part of the Office for Scientific Information management (OSIM) and shared the visions of the library’s future serving the six EMBL sites across Europe.

Honorable guests had a tour of the exhibition “The World of Molecular Biology” and visited the library reading room for the opening of the Christmas book flea market, which this year is dedicated to collecting contributions for the library at “Katharina Labouré Haus” a home for elderly people in Heidelberg.

The Szilárd Library team thanks everyone that helped organize this celebration: Alumni Relations, Catering Service, Course and Conference Office, Creative team, Exhibition team, Facility Management, and Photolab.