The manuscript collection grew continuously throughout the history of the ULB. Apart from items once acquired for teaching purposes or originating from the same, the collection also includes items of the secularisation from the 19th century, manuscripts from the library of Johann August von Ponickau, holdings of the Thuringian-Saxon History Society as well as the Quedlinburg Abbey and Grammar School Library. After the Second World War, the collection further expanded by the acquisition of library holdings from private or ecclesiastical institutions.
The ULB calls about 320 medieval manuscripts its own. About half of them are already available digitally, including the manuscripts from the Quedlinburg Abbey Library and all of the medieval manuscripts in german.
With around 300 items, the ULB Saxony-Anhalt has one of the largest autograph books collection in Germany. “Alba Amicorum” originated during the Reformation in the university milieu, when students asked their academic teachers for dedicated entries in their (text) books. This tradition developed into a book genre of its own, in which dedication entries from professors, fellow students, friends and relatives were compiled. The books of the ULB usually have a regional background.
A digital copy of the majority of the autograph books is available online.
Catalogues
The autograph books are also researchable via Ha:Lit and OPAC.
Music manuscripts
The ULB’s collection of music manuscripts comprises around 3000 titles. Particularly significant are the items from the “Arno Werner Music Library” (1965-1955), which contains copies of works by well-known composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Hasse and other composers from Central Germany.