Libraries not only collect, preserve, and catalogue media, but also provide access to it using state-of-the-art technology. Shaped by history, Potsdam is home to a diverse range of libraries under various forms of ownership and institutional support. They are places of learning, research, exchange, and communication. Anyone who enters them will leave enriched.
Municipal and State Library (SLB)
The Municipal and State Library (SLB) at Bildungsforum Potsdam is the largest public library in the federal state of Brandenburg and ranks among the most visited cultural and educational institutions in the heart of the city.
The library sees itself as a place of information and communication, open to people of all ages and backgrounds – from schoolchildren to researchers, from toddlers to seniors
Users have access to a wide range of up-to-date media as well as special collections, with the Brandenburgica – the largest regional studies collection – at its core. A diverse range of services is part of the library's standard offering – from in-person media consultation to online services. One of the library’s main goals is to promote reading and information literacy.
Administrative Libraries
Due to the high concentration of ministerial authorities in the state capital Potsdam, the city is also home to a wide range of government libraries. These include, for example, the Administrative Library of the City of Potsdam (Verwaltungsbibliothek der Landeshauptstadt Potsdam), as well as libraries of the State Office for Data Processing and Statistics, the Office for Geosciences and Natural Resources, and the State Environmental Agency. The ministries for Labor, Social Affairs, Health and Women, as well as for Urban Development, Housing and Transport, also maintain their own libraries.
Particular mention should be made of the State Agency for Public Libraries in Brandenburg (Staatliche Fachstelle für öffentliche Bibliotheken), a service institution that advises municipally funded libraries across Brandenburg on all aspects of library management.
Specialized Libraries
Potsdam is a city of science, and therefore the selection of specialized libraries is, of course, extensive. A total of 17 specialized libraries are available to researchers. The spectrum ranges from relatively small libraries, such as the library of the Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies with around 10,000 volumes, to larger ones with extensive holdings, such as the Library of the Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr, which houses approximately 250,000 volumes.
What they all have in common is the fact that access to these rich collections is easily granted to any researcher.
Academic and Research Libraries
The University Library boasts the largest academic media collection in the state of Brandenburg. The Film and Television Library at the Babelsberg Film University "Konrad Wolf" is one of the most modern libraries in Europe in terms of its structure and design.
The library at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences is a highly integrated service facility.
Integrated into the research and teaching focuses of their respective universities, the libraries are spread across the city. In addition to specialized literature, they offer access to online journals, databases, and media archives, all of which can be used on-site. These libraries are open to all users.
