Largest specialist library at LMU opens its doors

As of immediately, students and researchers will have access to some 430,000 media items such as monographs, journals, and audiovisual media at the new specialist library. There are also 740 workstations and the same number of lockers for storing personal items.

Whereas a quiet working atmosphere prevails in the northern wing of the building – the Silentium – discussions and exchange are not only allowed in the southern wing – the Forum – but encouraged. In the Forum, furniture can be moved around to facilitate conversations. Between the Silentium and the Forum, we find the reading area, where the large holdings of literature and media are housed over six stories. Further workstations and rooms for group and individual study are available here. The latter can be reserved free of charge for up to four weeks – to work on a thesis, say, or a doctoral dissertation. In addition, the Philologicum has a parent-child study room and a workstation for visually impaired users.

“A library today remains first and foremost a site of study and learning, but it’s also a place for encounters, interactions, and exchange,” says Director of the University Library, Dr. Klaus-Rainer Brintzinger, outlining the concept of the largest open access library in Munich.

The interior is fitted out to the latest technical standards. Micro-perforations in the cladding minimize noise, for example, and a modern ventilation system keeps temperatures at a pleasant level even when the weather is very hot. Users borrow items from the textbook collection on the ground floor, for instance, via high-tech RFID self-checkout systems. Naturally, photocopiers, printers, and scanners are also available.

The location of the Philologicum could not be better: It is situated at the heart of Munich in direct proximity to the buildings of the Faculty of Languages and Literatures, the Main Library at LMU, and the Bavarian State Library.