University Library Freiburg


The University Library Freiburg is the library of the University of Freiburg. As an academic and research library, the University Library caters to students and staff of the University of Freiburg, the University of Education Freiburg, the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, and the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Freiburg. The library is open to interested members of the public as well.

History

When the University of Freiburg was founded in 1457 the libraries were most commonly attached to the respective faculties. The term „biblioteca universitatis“ was used for the first time in 1505 in protocols of the university's Academic Senate probably for the faculty of arts library. Besides the faculty's book-collection, its different Burses and so called "Stiftungshäuser" were of great importance for the students. Endowments were important to the library's accretion as well, particularly in its early years. Maria Theresia's Maria Theresa reforms constitute the background of the above-mentioned arrangements and increasingly influenced the library's acquisition policies as well. In 1755, the various libraries were finally joined to form a common library and a new hall was constructed to house the inventory of books.A full-time librarian worked there from 1768. The abolition of the Catholic order Society of Jesus in 1773 marked the end of the Jesuit presence at the university. The Jesuit order had been in charge of large parts of the university since 1620. Due to the suppression of the order, large collections of books from Jesuit libraries were transferred to University of Freiburg, leading to a rapid expansion of the University Library's stock. In 1791 the grammar school moved to the Brunnenstraße and would later become the "Berthold grammar school". The library remained at its location. The secularization and reforms introduced by Emperor Joseph II of Austria subsequently caused the disbandment of several monasteries, further contributing to the increase in books.
The creation of a commission dedicated to acquiring literature in 1795 as well as the professionalization of the library direction led to a continuing prosperous growth of the library and its inventory. After the library had moved into a gothic revival building in 1903, numerous reforms to the organization were enacted. The executives Emil Jacobs and Josef Rest undertook several reforms concerning the library's organisational system: in 1924 an interlibrary loan system service of southern German libraries, a system for acquiring specialist literature, indexing and a consulting service were set up. In 1932, a collection of natural scientific and medical textbooks were acquired, further the so-called "Preußische Instruktionen" Preußische Instruktionen helped to bring forward the alphabetical categorisation and participation on establishing the German general catalogue from 1931 until its destruction during the second world war World War II. Various publications and exhibitions showed a new emphasis on public presence. On top, use of the library was further improved by funding exhibitions and publications, thus PR. During Nazi Germany, the University Library like the University of Freiburg itself complied with the racist laws and censorship of the regime. Due to the timely evacuation of many of books, the library was able to prevent the destruction of large quantities of its inventory during World War II, despite significant damage to the library building. The post-war years are characterized by reconstruction and the reorganization as well as expansion of the library's stock.
A new building was constructed in 1978 to house the library and its inventory, which by now had grown to become very extensive. New catalogs were introduced and a university library system including faculty libraries was implemented. In recent years, the expansion of digital volumes and new media has been a focus of the development of the University Library Freiburg. The podcasting service offered by the library was selected as a landmark in the initiative sponsored by the German government and the Federation of German Industries.
The first hall serving as location for the University Library mentioned above was expanded in 1822 to ensure its continuous use. In 1903, the library moved to a gothic revival building, which is today known as the Kollegiengebäude IV . In 1978, the University of Freiburg constructed a new building across from the Kollegiengebäude II and next to the Freiburg Theater.

Current Building

The library had to be renovated primarily because the technology that was used in the building, e.g. the air conditioning system, was outdated, and because the front was damaged. The reconstruction of the library was intended to save money in the management of the building. The library is also supposed to integrate into the city's urban development concept. In early 2006, the reconstruction was initiated by an architectural design competition. The winner was Degelo Architekten, an architecture firm from Basel. Initially, the costs were estimated at 32 million Euros. The newly constructed building holds 1,200 workspaces in four reading rooms as well as 500 work areas in the parlatory. At the same time it is supposed to save 60 to 70% of the energy costs of the former building, about 700,000 Euros per year.
Between fall 2008 and July 2015, the University Library was moved to two temporary quarters: the UB 1 was in the former civic hall and the UB 2 was located on the street Rempartstraße. Due to the temporary move of the library, the UB 1 initiated 24/7 opening hours.This was maintained in the new building. In September 2009, the pedestrian bridge, which was situated next to the old library, was torn down. In the following months, the building was freed from harmful substances, electronics and carpets.
Starting in January 2011, the old building was rebuilt. Different than originally planned, only three stairwells were not destroyed after the partial demolition of the aboveground part of the building. The extent of this demolition process was far bigger than previously planned. On the one hand, more contaminated material had to be disposed of. On the other hand, the previously planned addition to the existing ceilings would not have fulfilled the new earthquake norms. For that reason, the ceilings had to be renewed completely. The three basements with storage space for books were preserved. During the reconstruction the storage space was further used, and 3.5 million books were accessible further on. The tear down of the building was done in December 2011, after which the shell was built. In October 2012, while building the shell, it became public that the renovation would exceed the planned cost of 44 million euros. On 10 November 2012, a construction worker died on the site of the new University library because he fell from the scaffolding. The shell was completed in April 2013.
In the same month, interior construction began, as well as the installation of a 7,300 m² facade of glass and matted, dark chrome steel. In April 2014, the front was completed. Its paneling was not finished until shortly before the opening in July. In addition to this mishap, the company which was supposed to be responsible for all of the building services went bankrupt. Further difficulties with the building include the fact that traffic participants are blinded by the reflections on the southeastern corner of the glass front when the sun is low in spring and fall. For this reason, canvas blinds are used to cover it during these times.
The new university library began test operation on 21 July 2015, almost two years after initially planned. During this phase the building services, book drop, WiFi, guidance systems and other procedures were being optimized. On 12 October 2015, the library was officially handed over to the university in the presence of two federal ministers. Construction in total then cost 53 million euros. Initially, the library was planned to open in the fall of 2013. Then, "mid- 2014" was announced as an opening date, which was shortly thereafter replaced by "late 2014".
The central concept behind the building's design was to have workspaces around the exterior of each floor with books stored in the center. After a successful test phase, 24/7 opening hours were maintained. The new building is 20% smaller in volume than the previous building; however, it offers a net floor area that is 30,600 m² greater than the previous building and a total of 1,700 workspaces. The building is organized as follows:
With an inventory of approximately 3.6 million volumes, the University Library Freiburg is one of the largest libraries in the state of Baden-Württemberg. In 2007, the library saw over 2 million borrowings by around 36,000 active users.