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Opening hours:
During the semester and the first week after the end of lectures: Mon-Fri 8:00-20:00
During semester break: Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00
Contents:
General Information
The libraries in the Fürstenberghaus mainly consist of the libraries of the Department of History, the Institute of Classical Archaeology and Christian Archaeology/Archaeological Museum and the Institute of Classical Philology - a total of well over 420,000 volumes are available. (For details on the collections and their classifications please refer to the websites of the respective institutes.)
In addition to numerous individual workstations, the library offers several group study rooms in the basement and upper floor of the old building, as well as on the upper floor of the new building. The group study rooms in the new building are equipped with Smartboards and can be reserved via the Seat Reservation Service.
All floors and rooms of the library are accessible via an elevator in the new building. A wheelchair-accessible toilet is located in the foyer of the Fürstenberghaus.
Terms of Use
- Jackets and bags may be taken into the library or deposited in lockers. A 2-euro coin is required to use the lockers. Baskets for the transportation of study materials are available on loan.
- Beverages may only be taken into the library in securely sealable and shatterproof containers. The consumption of food is not permitted in the library.
- A student ID card or a MensaCard is required to use the copy machines (these can also be used as scanners and printers). The cards may be topped up in the KaBu in the basement of the Fürstenberghaus. If required, a MensaCard can be borrowed for inhouse use at the Information Desk.
- Items in closed stacks (Magazin, Sonderstandort) can be ordered at the Information Desk (on site or via e-mail).
- Books must always be returned to their correct location or be handed in at the Information Desk after use.
- The library is to be left 15 minutes before the end of opening hours.
Study Space Ticker and Seat Reservation Service
The Study Space Ticker serves as an indicator of how many work spaces are currently occupied (red):
For further information on how the underlying data is collected and to check if there are free work spaces in other participating libraries please refer to the overview page of all tickers.
You may book work spaces in the libraries in the Fürstenberghaus and in other libraries of the University of Münster via the Seat Reservation Service. In the FBH you can choose between individual workstations and group study rooms with Smartboards.
Locating the book
All library holdings of the University of Münster are listed in KatalogPlus. This includes printed and electronic media, but also database content such as articles. First determine the location of the desired book or journal there:
Please note the location information given in KatalogPlus. In case of the libraries in the Fürstenberghaus, you will also always be shown in which "sub-library" the item you have selected is to be found. First locate this library in the FBH, then look for the call number (Signatur).
The collections of the libraries in the Fürstenberghaus are arranged according to a systematic order. This means that thematically similar books are gathered in the same place. The individual libraries each use their own classification system - an overview is available at the Information Desk and on the websites of the individual libraries.
Further information on search tools and strategies is provided by the Central Library.
Loan conditions
The libraries in the Fürstenberghaus are reference libraries. This means that - in contrast to most collections of the Central Library - the books here are not available for long-term borrowing. However, borrowing is possible for a very limited time for all patrons with a ULB library card.
Borrowing and returning are to be made at the Information Desk.
The loan conditions for your user group can be found in the subcategories below. The conditions that apply to you will also be displayed in the search results in KatalogPlus after you have logged in.
Not available for loan:
◾ Journals
◾ Reference works (encyclopaedias, dictionaries, handbooks)
◾ Sources
◾ Items from course reserves (marked with an orange dot on the spine)
◾ Books from closed stacks (Magazin, Sonderstandort)
◾ Damaged or fragile books
The following loan conditions do not apply to the library of Classical and Christian Archaeology.
Students of the University of Münster
a) Weekend loan
◾ from Friday to Monday
◾ up to 5 books
◾ Borrowing at the Information Desk with your student ID card (information on online activation)
b) Copy loan
◾ weekdays for 1 hour (to take the book(s) to a copy shop)
◾ up to 5 books
◾ media published before 1900, fragile or damaged books must not be copied
◾ borrowing at the Information Desk after depositing your student ID card
c) Exam preparations
◾ requires a special borrowing permit (form available at the Information Desk)
◾ loan period: up to 14 days
◾ up to 5 books
◾ borrowing at the Information Desk with your student ID card after depositing the special borrowing permit
◾ renewal of up to 7 days possible, provided that no request has been made. Books have to be presented at the Information Desk to Ms. Corinna Reich (Mon-Fri 10:00-15:00).
Academic staff of the University of Münster
◾ Borrowing in person or by assistants
◾ Loan period: 4 weeks; renewal possible provided no request has been made and the maximum loan period has not been exceeded
◾ Borrowing and returning are to be made at the Information DeskTo have your assistants borrow media on your library account, please request a transfer of the borrowing authorisation with the Central Library.
Course reserves
Lecturers of the institutes whose libraries are located in the Fürstenberghaus can make a course reserve available here. Lecturers (or their assistants) must fulfil the following tasks in advance:
1. Create a list of the desired books in the form of an Excel list.
→ You can find a template here2. Retrieve the books from the shelves of the libraries in the Fürstenberghaus and insert a placeholder for each book taken (scheme: Semesterapparat [title of the course], semester (e.g. SoSe 2025, WiSe 2025/26)).
3. Present the books at the Information Desk and submit a corrected list via e-mail if necessary
4. Attach the correct marking to the books and set up the shelf label.
The Information Desk staff takes care of the booking, orders books not available in the Fürstenberghaus from other university libraries and monitors the loan periods.
Course reserves are disbanded in consultation with the Information Desk staff.
Non-university patrons
External users (who are not members of the University of Münster) may only borrow items if they have a ULB library card.
Weekend loan
◾ from Friday to Monday
◾ up to 5 books
◾ Borrowing at the Information Desk
Websites of the indiviual libraries
The following "sub-libraries" are jointly located in the Fürstenberghaus:
Department of History:
Library of the Institut für Didaktik der Geschichte
Library of the Seminar für Alte Geschichte and the Institut für Epigraphik
Library of the Historische Seminar
Library of the Abteilung für Osteuropäische Geschichte
Library of the Abteilung für Ur- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie
Library of the Abteilung für Westfälische Landesgeschichte
Library of the Institut für Klassische Philologie
Library of the Institut für Klassische Archäologie und Christliche Archäologie/Archäologisches Museum
Library of the Institut für Frühmittelalterforschung
Library of the Institut für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte
In addition individual holdings of the Seminar für Lateinische Philologie des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit and the journals of the German Society for the Exploration of Palestine are also available in the Fürstenberghaus. The holdings of the former Arbeitsstelle für die Neuere Geschichte Großbritanniens und des Commonwealth are being extended by the Centre for Empire Studies under the working title "Neuere Geschichte Großbritanniens, British Empire & Commonwealth". Furthermore the library of the Historischer Verein is in the charge of the Department of History and may be accessed upon request.
Contact and Information
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at any time during the opening hours at the Information Desk located at the entrance to the library.
We are happy to help you find your way around the building and answer any questions you may have about using the library or borrowing items. If you have more specific enquiries, we will gladly refer you to the respective library's administration.
You can reach the Information Desk staff by telephone on 0251 83-24409. We also welcome your questions, suggestions or criticism by e-mail at fhaus.bib@uni-muenster.de.