Biography:Torsten Haß

Short description: German librarian and author (born 1970)

Torsten Haß
Born	Neumünster, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Occupation	librarian novelist playwright poet
Parents	Bernd Haß (father) Adelheid Haß (mother)

Torsten Haß (born 1970 in Neumünster), also known by his pen name Kim Godal, is a German librarian, lecturer, journalist and author of non-fictional and fictional books. His works are for example Dieses Buch ist für die Tonne (an introduction in ancient cynism), the play Die Staatsschuld (a drama about political horse-trading in 1790 between Alexander Hamilton and James Madison) or Die Schwarze Zeit, a six-volume cycle of historical novels about the Holy Grail Stone, the Black Stone and the Philosopher's stone.

Life

Career as a librarian

After Abitur and Alternative civilian service Torsten Haß studied at the Hochschule für Bibliotheks- und Informationswesen, which later merged into the Stuttgart Media University. From 1997 until 2014 Haß was head librarian at the Kehl University of Applied Sciences. Twice Haß was responsible for a LMS migration: in 2000 from a MS-DOS-based system to Dynix Corporations Horizon, in 2010 to aStec Corporations aDIS/BMS. In 2008 he integrated a European Documentation Centre into the library, in 2009 he was responsible for the library renovation and introduced a RFID technology that takes care of securing the media and allows self-service checkout. In 2014, he continued his career as head librarian at the municipal library of Bobenheim-Roxheim. Since 2015, he is head librarian at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences.

Career as an author

From 2001 until 2004 Haß was Press officer at the Kehl University, lecturer for the student’s Internet-Zeitung der FH Kehl and worked for the internet radio office-radio.de. He also was editor of the university publication series Diskussionspapiere. From 2006 until 2011 Haß was freelancer for the Mittelbadische Presse (newspapers: Kehler Zeitung, Offenburger Tageblatt, news portal baden-online.de). In 2009, he also published at Der Freitag Online. After 2009 he worked for the Weblog verwaltungmodern.de, that has stopped appearing in 2020. Since 2018/2019 he publishes in the German language librarianship journals Bibliotheken heute, Bibliotheksdienst and BuB.

Board activities

In 1999/2000 and from 2012 until 2014 Haß was member of the Academic Senate of Kehl University, from 2000 until 2006 (two terms) member of the Kehl University Hochschulrat (Supervisory Board). Since 2018 he is chairman of the Working Group of Rhineland-Palatinate Libraries of University of Applied Sciences (reelected 2021), since 2019 he is deputy chairman of the Council for Academic Librarianship, a committee that advises the Ministry of Science of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Other activities

Before and after his study at the Hochschule für Bibliotheks-und Informationswesen (1993-1996), Haß also worked for a few months as an uncertified and unlicensed nursing assistant in Singen and Stuttgart.

Works

Non-fictional books

• Bibliotheken für Dummies (2019); together with Detlev Schneider-Suderland
• Arbeitgebermarke Bibliothek mit k(l)einem Budget : eine Einführung mit Übungen (2021)
• Vahīṅ dekhiye : Festschrift für Hellmut Vogeler (1996); as an editor
• Das Ende der Gemütlichkeit : Entwurf eines Fundraising-Konzepts für kleinere und mittlere Wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken (2021)
• Dieses Buch ist für die Tonne : Einführung in den klassischen Zynismus (Kynismus) (2020); together with Maximilian Spannbrucker
• Wohnriester und Erbbau : ein aktuelles Fallbeispiel (2021)

Essays and reviews

Essays, satires and polemics

Haß also wrote essays, satires and polemics, e.g. at Der Freitag Online. These works were republished in print in 2021 in the book Der Verlust der Magie.

Reviews

Haß frequently contributed to the review genre by articles in the Internet-Zeitung der FH Kehl, the joint weblog of Kehl University and Ludwigsburg University of Applied Sciences verwaltungmodern.de and the DGM-Mitteilungen of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Meeresforschung (German Society for Marine Research). In 2021, the reviews were republished in print. As can be expected from a person that choses more than one conventional specialized career path, the reviews of Haß span a substantial number of subjects, for example:

• Biology: Haß for example reviewed The Blind Watchmaker, The Third Chimpanzee and books by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Desmond Morris, Frans de Waal and others.
• Geography: Books for example by Wolfgang Behringer, Stephen Emmott, James Lovelock, Dirk Sager and others.
• History: Haß for example reviewed Founding Brothers, The Hitler Book, Hitler's Scientists, Im Dienst des Diktators, Sapiens but also books by Antony Beevor, Alain Corbin, Martin Gilbert, Max Mannheimer, Andreas P. Pittler, Usama ibn Munqidh and others.
• Mathmatics: Books for example by Mario Livio or Ian Stewart.
• Philosophy: Haß for example reviewed Zhuangzi and Sweet dreams , but also books by Luciano De Crescenzo, John N. Gray, Thomas Metzinger, Susan Neiman, George Steiner and others.
• Politics: Haß for example reviewed A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Revolutionist, The Paradox of American Power, Them, but also works by Noam Chomsky, John Lewis Gaddis, Walter Laqueur, Bernard Lewis and others.
• Psychology: Haß for example reviewed Incognito but also books by Joachim Bauer, Mario Giordano, David Linden, Hans Markowitsch, John Perry, Jon Ronson and others.
• Physics: Haß for example reviewed Big Bang, but also books by Marcus Chown, Werner Gruber, Stephen Hawking, Heinz Oberhummer, Martin Rees and others.
• Law: Haß for example reviewed reviewed Gomorrah, but also books by Murat Kurnaz, Ferdinand von Schirach and others.
• Sociology: Books for example by Barbara Adam, Byung-Chul Han, Camille de Toledo and E. Benjamin Skinner.
• Language/literature: Haß for example reviewed Shakespeare, but also books by Günter Grass, Ernst Jünger, Loriot, Walter Moers, Fritz J. Raddatz and others.
• Technology: Books for example by Jacques Neirynck, Christian Mähr or Philip Plisson.
• Theology and religion: Haß for example reviewed Breaking the Spell, The God Delusion, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Reformation, but also books by Malise Ruthven and others.
• Economics: Books for example by Peter Maass, Pero Mićić, Burkhard Spinnen and others.

Fictional books

The date is the date of creation (as far as can be determined) rather than the date of publication.

Novels, stories and tales

Novels, stories and tales have been published under the pen name Kim Godal.

• Das Kartenhaus : ein Betrugs-Roman (2002)
• Der König des Schreckens : ein Vatikan-Krimi (2013)
• Männchensache : Rechtsfälle zur Vorbereitung im Geschlechterkampf – Roman (2009)
• Morddeich : und andere Kurzprosa (2021)
• Die Schwarze Zeit : ein Mittelalter-Roman (2006)
• Die Schwarze Zeit II : Aphrodites Puppen – Roman (2007)
• Die Schwarze Zeit III : Metathronos – Roman (2008)
• Die Schwarze Zeit IV : Agonie – Roman (2009)
• Die Schwarze Zeit V : Staub – Roman (2010)
• Die Schwarze Zeit VI : Terra re-mota – Roman (2011)
• Totenmelodie : ein Kurpfalz-Krimi (2017)
• Totenquintett : ein Kurpfalz-Krimi (2018)
• Totentraum : ein Kurpfalz-Krimi (2019)

Plays

• En Nuit : Dramolett (2021)
• Omega oder Das Hochzeitsmahl : Drama (2020)
• Die Staatsschuld – In a State of Bonds : Drama (2003)

Poetry

• Das Christkind taumelt betrunken im Wald, der Weihnachtsmann torkelt nicht minder : Winter- und Weihnachtsgedichte (2020)
• Es wiehert der Gaul, es graset das Pferd. Es machte auch nichts, wär’s mal umgekehrt : Liebesgedichte und andere (2020)

See also

• German literature

External links

• Torsten Haß in the Union Catalogues of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and in the WorldCat
• Kim Godal in the Union Catalogues of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and in the WorldCat
• Bibliotheken für Dummies, 2nd edition, ebook