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Changed opening hours

From 24 December 2024 to 1 January 2025: The German National Library will be closed at both locations. Media ordered during the closure period will be made available in the course of 2 January 2025.

The permanent exhibition and the temporary exhibitions at the German Museum of Books and Writing in Leipzig will be open from 27 to 29 December from 10:00 am to 18:00.

Using the German National Library

A user pictured with a pile of books and his notebook in the German National Library’s humanities reading room in Leipzig

The German National Library is a reference library. All media are made available for use in the reading rooms. Our locations in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main have a wide range of reading rooms offering optimum work and study conditions. You can browse among 49,7 million media works, 14.9 million of which are online publications including approx. 1,600 digital journals. We also have special collections in the German Museum of Books and Writing, the German Exile Archive 1933–1945 and the German Music Archive.

The German National Library's collection mandate encompasses all texts, images and sound recordings published in Germany or in the German language, translated from German or relating to Germany that have been issued since 1913.

User ID, registration and fees

If you would like to use our library, you will need to register for a user account – ideally online before your first visit.

During registration hours of service at the library your user ID will be given to you when you show your personal ID. If you bring your passport instead of a personal ID card, you will also require official confirmation of your place of residence.

Registration is open to users aged 16 and over. Up to the age of 18, you will need a completed declaration of consent (only available in German) and the personal ID of a parent or guardian, either the original or a copy (front and back).

Use of the German National Library is free of charge.
The Administrative Council has decided to suspend general user fees for a trial phase from 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2025. Fees that have already been paid will not be reimbursed.

Administrative fees and other fees listed in the fee schedule, e.g. for duplications or document deliveries, will still be charged.

Please ask our staff at the media issue.

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You can use our printed and electronic media works, internet PCs and WLAN in our reading rooms in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main.

You can register to use the German National Library free of charge. You will need a valid passport and confirmation of where you are staying.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone in Leipzig on +49 341 2271-453 or in Frankfurt am Main on +49 69 1525-2500; you can also e-mail us at info-l@dnb.de or info-f@dnb.de.

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Searching the catalogue

You can search our catalogue from any location, view the full texts of more than 2.7 million open access publications or display the tables of contents of more than 2.7 million titles.

Simply enter your search term in the adjacent catalogue box or click directly on the magnifying glass.

Ordering and provision of media

Avoid unnecessary waits in the library and order the media you are interested in before you visit. Here you can find out everything you need to know about when and where media are made available, borrowing periods and order restrictions.

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Use on site

One library – two locations. Find out more about what we offer in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main. Here you will find information about getting to each location, barrier-free access, parking, our opening hours and how to contact us. We also give you an overview of the reading rooms with their reference collections and copying, printing and photography facilities.

Using digital media

Here you will find information on searching and using the various electronic publications in our holdings, which include e-books, e-journals, e-papers, electronic publications on data carriers, digitised media and websites.

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Advice, education and online services

Virtually or on site – we offer regular introductory sessions for new library users and individual research advice (Book a Librarian). Our educational services are rounded off by online tutorials on DNBLab. During our coffee lectures, we introduce you to selected collections and invite you to join us on a 20-minute tour of discovery.

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Other user services

Do you want to have a work or parts of a work in our collection copied, scanned or digitised? Lending an item from another library? Or have an individual bibliography compiled? If so, we will help you as best we can.

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User surveys and research

We at the German National Library regularly conduct surveys and ask for feedback in order to find out how satisfied our users are. We then use the results to develop our offers and services further.

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Just ask us!

Do you have any questions about the German National Library and its collections, browsing the catalogue, or searching for literature on specific subjects? If so, please get in touch with us.

Just ask us!

Handling Media

Here you can get information and tips on handling media

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Short-URL: https://www.dnb.de/use

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