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The International Gutenberg Society, founded one hundred years ago, now has more than 1300 members in 35 countries around the world.

The Society commenced its work on 23 June 1901, the day of the inauguration of the newly founded Gutenberg Museum in Mainz. Its aims were, and have been ever since, to promote research into the history of printing and of the book, as well as to give moral and financial support to the Gutenberg Museum.

In this age of new media, it is important to preserve the memory of one of the greatest inventions of mankind - printing from movable type and the printing press - which marked the transition from the Middle Ages to the new age and which, for more than 600 years, was the motor and carrier of our cultural and intellectual development. Even now, Gutenberg's heritage is the basis and focus of the many developments which have led to our modern information society.

After the unparalleled, triumphant progress of audiovisual media, such as the telephone, radio, and television, written communication - including email and internet - has a renewed importance. There is a growing interest in type and typography, an area in which Gutenberg set the technical and aesthetic standards 600 years ago.

The Gutenberg Society is a non-profit organisation, funded through its members' annual fees and supported by the city of Mainz, the Ministry of Sciences, Research and Culture of Rhineland-Palatinate, and private donations.

The President is the Major of the city of Mainz, assisted by a Vice-President and a Board of Directors, whose members are either elected by the Annual General Meeting or are members ex officio, representing the government of Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz City Council, Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, the University's Gutenberg Institute for the History of the Book, and the Gutenberg Museum.

The Board of Directors also bestows the honour of a “Senator of the Gutenberg Society” on meritorious members.

There is a list of all names of the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, the Council of Senators, and the honorary members.