Short Description
The libraries of the Natural History Museum Vienna are based on the 18th century Habsburg collections and currently comprise around 500,000 items, of which roughly 50,000 pre-date the year 1900. The works are kept in centralized specialist libraries and in decentralized reference libraries within the museum collections.
Contact Person
Mag. Sarah Magdalena Fiedler, M.A. LIS
Research Services
Researchers, students and guests are supported with scientific research, literature search and digitization requests. Furthermore, and with the help of appropriate information material, the basics of general library use are taught to school students. As part of the preparation of pre-scientific papers, library pedagogical support can take place.
Expert reports on various valuable books are created for both internal and external book lovers and collectors.
The digitization of monographs and journals that are in the library's holdings can be requested, taking into account the applicable copyright laws. Requests have to be made in written form.
Methods & Expertise for Research Infrastructure
The libraries of the Natural History Museum Vienna are a valuable and essential source of information, both for the specialists working at the Natural History Museum Vienna as well as for experts from other institutions, students, and members of the public. Within the collections there are specific areas of focus reflecting the research fields of the individual departments at the Natural History Museum Vienna: anthropology, botany, geology and paleontology, mineralogy and petrology, prehistory, speleology, and zoology. The catalogue of monographs and journals is available online (https://bibliothek.nhm-wien.ac.at/).
Inquiries concerning research and interlibrary loan as well as reproduction requests will be accepted in written form and will be accomplished with the best possible assistance.
The Natural History Museum Vienna exchanges publications with more than 1,000 scientific institutions around the world. This means that publications made by the Natural History Museum Vienna are sent to these institutions and in return they send their own publications to the Natural History Museum Vienna.
Equipment
- Library of the Department of Anthropology
- Library of the Pathologic-Anatomic Collections
- Library of the Department Archive for the History of Science
- Library of the Department of Botany
- Library of the Department of Geology and Paleontology
- Library of the Karst and Caves Working Group
- Library of the Department of Mineralogy and Petrography
- Library of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Education
- Library of the Department of Prehistory
- Main Zoological Library
The opening times differ in the individual specialist libraries. Please contact the library staff for information about opening times and the location of the libraries within the Natural History Museum Vienna.
Biologiezentrum der OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH
GEOUM - Arbeitskreis der Geo- und Umweltbibliotheken
Virtuellen Fachbibliothek Biologie der Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main