Damian Elsig new head of the Swiss National Library
The newly appointed director of the NL will take office Aug. 16, succeeding Marie-Christine Doffey, who has led the institution since 2005 and will leave in June
Damian Elsig is the new director of the Swiss National Library. The newly appointed head of the NL will take office Aug. 16, 2021, succeeding Marie-Christine Doffey, who has led the institution since 2005 and will retire at the end of June.
Damian Elsig, born in 1972 in Sierre, studied contemporary history, modern history and political economy in Bordeaux and Fribourg, graduating in 2001 from the University of Fribourg.
After gaining his first professional experience at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in Bern, he joined the cultural service of the canton of Valais in 2004 as deputy director of the Valais Media Library, taking over as director five years later.
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A career at the Valais Media Library
The bilingual institution is a reference point in the digital transformation.
Damian Elsig has also been entrusted with various management tasks in connection with Valais cultural heritage and digital culture, especially in collaboration with the cantonal museums and the State Archives of the Canton of Valais.
He headed the project for the development of the cultural center Les Arsenaux in Sion, of which he was director until 2020, and since 2014 he has been added to the Directorate of Culture of the Canton of Valais. Having been president of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Libraries from 2010 to 2018 he also has a deep knowledge of the Swiss library landscape.
Damian Elsig succeeds Marie-Christine Doffey, deputy director of the NL since 2003 and then director since 2005. The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) would like to thank Marie-Christine Doffey for her great commitment to the institution.
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