Information on the library

The University and State Library Saxony-Anhalt (ULB) is the biggest scientific general library in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. It has around 5 million holdings, distributed over the main library and the 12 branch libraries. This includes more than 22.000 ongoing journals in print or electronic form, as well as 285.000 micro materials.

The lending desks (including extensions) of the more than 28.500 library patrons amount to 1.1 million media.

The interlibrary loan of the ULB handles more than 55.700 orders for its readers (7.400 of which are subito).

In its more than 300 years of ongoing history, the library was able to assemble a rich and historically interesting collection. Special collections at the ULB include:

• Ponickau library: prints, manuscripts a.o., testimonies of history and geography of the former Prussian province Saxony and the Anhalt areas, the kingdom of Saxony and Thuringia.
• Hungarian library: about 2000 books of research literature from the 16th and 17th century, donated by the Hungarian exulant Georgius Michaelis (1640-1725), who acted as dean for the philosophical faculty of Wittenberg university from 1712 on. After the university's disbanding, the complete collection was transferred to Halle.
• Observatory library: holdings of the university's observatory (disbanded 1923)
• library of the German Oriental Society: founded in 1845, this is a special subject library for Oriental languages and cultures, which is under ULB administration since 1925.
• library of the German Union for Quaternary Research (DEUQUA).

The employees of the library currently work on the following collection focui and projects:

• DFG funded Special Information Service Near Eastern, North African and Islamic Studies (1998-2015: Special Subject Collection Near East incl. North Africa)
• regional studies and history of Saxony-Anhalt

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