University library
University libraries are academic libraries that primarily serve to supply universities with literature and information . This includes university libraries , polytechnic libraries , art university libraries , music university libraries , libraries of colleges of education and polytechnics .
Classification in the German library system
In contrast to public libraries , which mainly serve general information, vocational training and the satisfaction of cultural needs, university libraries are responsible for the supply of literature and information in the areas of teaching, research and study. In the target and structure paper Libraries '93 published by the Federal Association of German Library Associations , the university libraries are assigned to functional level three, i.e. the specialized needs. The legal basis for universities and thus indirectly also for university libraries is the Federal Higher Education Framework Act , which, however, only stipulates general principles. More detailed provisions are regulated in the higher education laws of the federal states and the respective higher education regulations. Some of them expressly include the university library as one of the central institutions of the university .
User group
University libraries primarily serve the members of their own university with regard to teaching, research and study. This group includes in particular professors, other people working in teaching and research, and students. In addition, the libraries can generally also be used by members of other universities and all interested persons. If the university library assumes other roles at the same time, for example as a city library , it addresses several user groups equally.
assignment
The main task of the university libraries is to provide comprehensive and immediate literature and information for teaching, research and study. This is done in particular through the provision of information, information production and support for scientific teaching and learning. Both scientific monographs , handbooks , bibliographies and specialist journals as well as, increasingly, databases and other electronically available resources are documented and made available. For this purpose, local stocks of all subjects represented at the university are built up and database licenses are acquired for national or international databases. The university libraries that took part in the Library Index 2010 spent an average of 30% of their media budget on electronic holdings, in individual cases even up to 75%.
Many university libraries are also universal libraries .
The users are strengthened in their information skills through advice and training. The libraries create the space for electronic scientific publishing by maintaining university publication servers .
They also offer work opportunities for individual or group work and the use of technical aids. In addition, university libraries fulfill other non-university regional and supraregional tasks. In particular, the participation in regional, national and international interlibrary loan services as well as the maintenance of the special collection areas , the cooperation in the respective library network and the provision of information to the population of the region with scientific literature should be mentioned in this context. In addition, some university libraries are also city libraries , state libraries or state libraries and in this function they perform a variety of additional tasks.
Classification within the university
The university library is part of the university organization. Like the university computer center and the central student advisory service, it is one of the university’s central facilities. University libraries are largely organized hierarchically, the superior of the library manager is, for example, the university's chancellor. In many university libraries, the employees are still civil servants or employees in the public service .
Carrier / household
The institution of the university libraries is usually the respective federal state. Most university libraries are financed by a budget that comes from the state budget. It is either set directly by the state for the library and assigned to it, or it is part of the global budget for the entire university. When the federal state allocates a uniform global budget , the university autonomously determines the individual items.
Typology
The entirety of university libraries in Germany is divided into university libraries, technical college libraries, libraries of music and art colleges and the libraries of comprehensive universities and colleges of education. There are currently 78 universities , some of which have up to several hundred individual libraries within their library systems. The university libraries represent the most important part of the university libraries. The term university library is often used synonymously with university library. In addition to the university libraries, there are 177 other university libraries, particularly at technical colleges, but also at art and music colleges.
University libraries
Main article: University library
University libraries also include libraries from technical universities and other equivalent universities. In terms of inventory size, they show an extremely heterogeneous overall picture - the smallest university libraries have several hundred thousand media units, the largest over five million. There are two different organizational models within the university libraries : the single-tier or integrated and the two-tier or dual library system.
The older of the two models is the two-tier library system in which there is a central library and, parallel to it, many smaller, independent institute libraries distributed over the entire campus . The central library performs central tasks such as creating a general catalog or interlibrary loan. In contrast, the seminar, institute or chair libraries belong to a certain institute or chair and consequently also primarily take care of its interests.
The institute's libraries are often run by not specially trained staff, while the central library is looked after exclusively by technically qualified staff. The existence of many smaller libraries often leads to the acquisition of duplicates , but can have other advantages.
The single-tier library system is found particularly at newer universities. It is characterized above all by a uniform organizational and administrative center. There are several branch libraries with a specialist focus, which are often housed in one building. All the literature selection is under participation of scientists from the expert speakers hit the library. The uniform organizational structure avoids duplicates.
University of Applied Sciences libraries
Main article: University of Applied Sciences library
Technical college libraries emerged in their current form in the 1970s, when various predecessor institutions became today's technical colleges. So this type of library is relatively new. University libraries are of very different sizes - as are the universities of applied sciences - and mostly not universal libraries, as they only build up subject-specific collections.
Music and art college libraries
Music and art colleges are the smallest types of universities in Germany, which is why their libraries often receive little attention. A decisive difference to the university and technical college libraries is the type of holdings. In music and art colleges, books often only play a subordinate role compared to art sheets, slides, sheet music and sound carriers.
Pedagogical university libraries and comprehensive university libraries
These two types play a subordinate role today, as the associated university types are only available in small numbers.
history
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The first university library was built at the Sorbonne in Paris as early as 1257. In Germany, the first university libraries followed in the 14th century in the wake of the founding of universities and the upward development of the university system as a whole. The libraries of the universities of Heidelberg , Leipzig, Rostock, Freiburg and Tübingen deserve special mention . During the Reformation , other important university libraries such as the Würzburg University Library were founded.
An important era in connection with the emergence of university libraries is also the Enlightenment , during which, for example, the Lower Saxony State and University Library Göttingen , the University and State Library Halle, University Library Erlangen were founded. In the course of the Prussian educational reform in the 19th century, other important libraries emerged, for example in Bonn and Berlin.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were many new libraries that were able to rely on an existing inventory of other institutions, such as the University and State Library of Münster , which was founded in 1902. However, many other libraries had to start building inventory from scratch. The founding of the five (former) comprehensive universities in North Rhine-Westphalia from 1972 in Duisburg, Essen, Paderborn , Siegen and Wuppertal is also interesting : In contrast to many older libraries, the libraries there were built up in one shift from the start. An example of many things is the Goettingen State and University Library .
literature
- Engelbert Plassmann , Jürgen Seefeldt: The library system of the Federal Republic of Germany: a manual . 3. Edition. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1999, ISBN 3-447-03706-7
- Gisela von Busse: Structure and organization of the academic library system in the Federal Republic of Germany . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1977, ISBN 3-447-01878-X
- Rupert Hacker: Basic librarianship . 7th, revised edition. Saur, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-598-11394-3