Library Use

No the Library use is free of charge. We only charge for special services such as preparing reproductions of the materials. Our price list  for these services is available on our website.

No, you do not need a confirmation from a university or similar. The holdings are also open to the public for private research.

You can find out in which Reading Room a Library copy can be viewed by looking at the holdings  display in the electronic library catalogue (OPAC). Media from the Library are  usually made available in the Reading Room at Pariser Platz. Part of the stock is also delivered to the Main Reading Room on request. Library holdings in the Bertolt Brecht Archive, Walter Benjamin Archive or in the Art Collection can generally only be consulted on site. A separate appointment must be made in each of the Reading Rooms. The contactdetails of the various Reading Rooms and locations are available on our website.

You can take your writing pads and laptop with you. Bringing jackets and bags as well as food and drinks is not permitted. Mobile phones are permitted to a limited extent in the Reading Room Pariser Platz. To protect the originals, ballpoint pens, fountain pens, fineliners, etc. are not permitted. Only pencils are permitted for taking notes.

At the Reading Room Pariser Platz no appointment is necessary for library use. For all other locations, please contact the staff of the Reading Room that applies to you by phone or email and make an appointment.

If you wish to consult Library media in our Reading Rooms, we ask you to register in the electronic library catalogue (OPAC). When you firstly visit our Reading Rooms you will also be asked to present some form of photo identification, such as a government-issued photo ID or passport, or an equivalent.

No, registration is not necessary for a search. In the electronic library catalogue (OPAC) the search function is available directly when you call up the catalogue.

If you wish to order media from the Library stock or borrow media for the use at home , you must register in the electronic library catalogue (OPAC). Click on the "Log on" button to go to the self-registration page.

In the electronic library catalogue you can have a new password sent to your email address by clicking on the „Forgot your password?“

With your electronic Library account you can order or reserve media from the Library stock online, view your loan account with the current deadlines for your loans and orders, renew your loans, view your stored data and change your password.

You can order media from the Library stock at any time via the electronic library catalogue (OPAC). To do so, you need a Library account, which you create in the electronic catalogue by self-registration. You can then place up to ten orders.

Please note the retrieval times. These are on opening days at 10 am and at 1 pm. Media requested later will be made available on the following opening day, provided they are not kept in an external storage.

The order process shows which Reading Room you can select for provision. Media located at Robert-Koch-Platz, Bertolt Brecht Archive, Walter Benjamin Archive or Anna Seghers Museum can only be viewed at the locations indicated.

Media from bequest libraries can only be ordered in the Reading Room at Pariser Platz.

If you live in Berlin or Brandenburg, you can borrow media with the status "available for request".

A copy or scan request is required for ordering reproductions. According to our reading room regulations, the amount of copies is limited to 50 pages per person per year. Individual arrangements are possible on request. It may happen that a reproduction request has to be rejected for copyright or conservation reasons. You will be informed by the responsible member of staff. The processing of the order can take up to 14 days, provided that no permission from rights holders has to be obtained. Please collect your reproduction requests on the corresponding request forms and hand them in at the end of your research, at the latest half an hour before the Reading Room closes.

Yes, it's possible. In this case, you have to complete electronic Library account registration and submit a copy/scan request by post or email. Please make sure that the application form is completely filled out and signed.

You can register directly in the electronic library catalogue (OPAC). All other forms are available on our website.

In principle, users are not allowed to copy or scan library media for legal and conservation reasons. In the Reading Room Pariser Platz, however, users have the option of using a scan-tent to make scans from certain library media. Please ask the reading room staff for more information. The use of the scan-tent is free of charge.

The central research tool for books and other media from the holdings of the Akademie der Künste‘s Library is the electronic library catalogue (OPAC)

In addition, card catalogues not yet included in the electronic library catalogue are available in digitised form (IPAC) for online browsing.

In the Reading Rooms it is also possible to search in licensed databases for the Library of the Akademie der Künste.

By calling up the electronic library catalogue (OPAC) you will be taken directly to the search function.

A "basic search" is possible as well as the (combined) search via selectable fields, such as title, person, keyword, etc. Under "Help" you will find further general search instructions.

A list of the bequest libraries is available on our website. If a collection has already been recorded electronically, it can be accessed via a link directly in the electronic catalogue.

Select the search field „Annotation“. Search with the term "Widmung". To narrow down your search, you can combine names or truncated beginnings of signatures (supplemented by an asterisk).

You can save your search results in „my list“, print them out, download them or have them sent to you by email. You can call up lists saved in the Library account at a later date.