Visit one of the oldest libraries in Germany. With numerous collections of lectures, literature, rare books, manuscripts, media units, and other scholarly documents since its establishment in 1734, the university library of Göttingen State is an impressive institution with six branch libraries across various academic departments. The state library for the German State of Lower Saxony is a leader in the development of digital libraries and one of the largest German academic libraries.
History of the library
Early on after it was founded in 1734, the library began to follow an important concept to library history: its holdings were intended for scientist use and they were acquiring titles according to their content. Due to their planned inventory, the library became known as one of the most important libraries in Germany and prototype of a modern university library. Under the long leadership of Christian Gottlob Heyne (1763–1812) the library became an exemplary institution corresponding with other scholars' writings from abroad like French, English, American, Arabic, and Oriental literature. At his death he had enlarged the university's library to 200,000 volumes, making it one of the largest libraries inventory in Germany. In the 18th century the library was extended by additions and extensions, as well as the restoration of the library hall in the Pauliner Church, where the brothers Grimm, Goethe, and Heinrich Heine once worked. In the 19th century the development of the library had stagnated due to insufficient funds. Throughout the 20th century new buildings have been inaugurated and special collection area have been created in addition to other subjects and special collections.
An impressive collection
Famous for Gutenberg Bible (one of the four vellum copies known to exists), the library holds today more than 8 million media units, 1.6 million microforms, 35,000 subscriptions, 14,000 manuscripts, and many other scholarly collections. Visit this impressive library and be fascinated by the wide variety of documents, scholars' literature, and texts available that have been acquired throughout the years.
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