Profile

Roles and responsibilities

The State and University Library Bremen (SuUB) provides students, researchers, and academic staff of the university and colleges in Bremen and Bremerhaven with literature and specialist information in both print and electronic formats. The SuUB is also the State Library of the City of Bremen, and its holdings are freely accessible to interested citizens.
Our competent staff and the application of cutting edge technologies ensure that the library will deliver outstanding user-oriented services, now and in the future.
The SuUB is comprised of the Central Library and eight decentral hubs located at the University of Bremen and at colleges in Bremen and Bremerhaven. All of the library's holdings are indexed in a common catalog. The SuUB network also provides easy access to databases, eBooks, and eJournals both at the university and at the city's various colleges.

The library delivers its services at the following sites:

Our services

Catalogs and databases

All of the services provided by the SuUB can be accessed through our homepage. In addition to the local holdings catalog, featuring reservation, account inquiries and inter-library lending functions, a range of electronic resources are accessible through the homepage, including specialized databases and electronic full-text editions.
Circa 95% of all media acquired since 1966 are indexed in our online catalog. Stock acquired prior to 1965 is indexed in the library's card catalog. Retrospective cataloging projects currently underway will see this data gradually transferred to our online catalog. This work is being conducted in cooperation with six other federal states under the leadership of the Common Library Network (GBV), which also manages the inter-library loan system. The library's catalog, circulation system and resource management are all based on the integrated library system PICA/OCLC, which is also used to manage the procurement of articles and journals.
The Electronic Library (E-LIB) portal provides a single access point for the library's entire holdings and any electronic resources available through the SuUB.

Electronic Library (E-LIB)

The SuUB developed its innovative "E-LIB" search engine to provide users with an integrated access point to both print and electronic media. Utilizing cutting edge search engine technologies, the catalog has been developed continuously since 1999. E-LIB provides a single, searchable access point to all kinds of local holdings and external resources, enabling users to access information in a timely and direct manner and overcoming the limitations of previous reference systems. E-LIB currently provides access to approximately 130 million media, 95% of which are electronic media with direct access to full-text versions. E-LIB is both an application development environment and a production system, and processes 10-18,000 search queries every day.
The system's searchability is enhanced by the utilization of new technologies, including search engine assistants and recommendation features. Analyzing the search term's semantic environment, the search engine displays any related terms in a tag cloud, allowing users to refine their search by keywords. (further information on E-LIB)

Institutional Repository / Open Access Publishing

The SuUB also provides a document server (repository) on the E-Lib platform, enabling staff and students of the University of Bremen and various colleges in Bremen and Bremerhaven to publish electronic documents online free of charge. The SuUB utilizes standardized metadata to index documents published through the repository, and provides a long-term archival service.

Special activities

State Library

Alongside the State Archive and Bremen State Museum (Focke-Museum), the State and University Library plays a leading role in the preservation of Bremen's historical and cultural heritage. In its role as the State Library of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, the SuUB collects and catalogs literature published in or relating to Bremen. The SuUB archives, preserves and provides public access to these cultural artefacts. The library's internal restoration laboratory contributes significantly to the preservation of Bremen's print heritage.

Collections

The SuUB Bremen holds a remarkable collection of old stock, dating back to its origins in 1660, including precious medieval and Early Modern manuscripts, valuable early imprints, unique rare books, over 4,000 historical maps, numerous documents and a vast collection of autographs.
The collection of humanist Melchior Goldast von Haiminsfeld, purchased from his heirs by the Bremen City Council in 1646, is the jewel in the crown of the library's historical holdings. The library's most valuable holdings include the famous Evangeliary of Emperor Henry III and a lavishly illustrated edition of the Sächsischen Weltchronik (Saxon World Chronicle).
(...The History of the Library)