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Information Services

German Studies

Library Services Update

The web link below takes you to the up-to-date information about access to the Library collections, facilities and services, and how to get further help.

Overview

The information below provides a general introduction to the physical collections. Information on electronic resources for German Studies is available in the Databases section of this guide.
 

Collections

Main collections

Most printed books and journals (also called periodicals) in support of German Studies are located in the Main Library, George Square. As of September 2020, there are about 121,542 items (85,841 physical books, 10,890 e-books and 5,425 journals) in German in the Library's resource discovery system DiscoverEd. and many more in English on all aspects of the subject area. Books on German related subjects are interfiled according to subject classification instead of being grouped by language. All the materials are listed in DiscoverEd.

Books classified in the Library of Congress scheme (e.g. DD for German history, PF for German language and PT for German literature) are located on 2nd floor (shelfmark A-PB) and the 3rd floor (shelfmark PC-Z). Older books that are classified in the Dewey decimal scheme (e.g. .8304 Wie.) are on the 4th floor.

Manuscripts, rare books and archives are held in the Centre for Research Collections (CRC). See information about CRC below.

Printed exam papers up to academic year 2004/2005 are stored in the University Collections Facility and can be requested from there. Information on how to request material from UCF can be found in the list of useful links below. However, the majority of degree examination papers from the following academic years are available online:

Other useful links:

HUB Collection

Undergraduate course books for German Studies are located in the HUB Collection on the ground floor of the Main Library.

The High Use Books (HUB) collection, located on the ground floor of the Main Library, consists of HUB Reserve (3 hour loan) and HUB Short Loan (7 day loan) books as well as offprints (photo copies of course reading material).

Centre for Research Collections

The Centre for Research Collections (CRC) houses the University Library’s Special Collections which include historical books, manuscripts, archives and microfilms that German Studies researchers and students may find useful. The main CRC facilities are on the 6th floor of the Main Library.

Karin McPherson Collection 

This collection of about 1,300 titles published in, and primarily acquired from, the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) is held in Special Collections.  The collection was donated by Dr Karin McPherson who described the collection as ‘a substantial and near-comprehensive collection of works directly related to the development of GDR literature and literary criticism over the 40 years between the foundation of the GDR as a separate entity in 1949, to its dissolution and incorporation into the Federal Republic of Germany in 1989/1990’. Two thirds of the titles are primary resources, mainly prose, and the rest are of critical literature.  All the titles are searchable in the online Catalogue, with the shelfmark KMP.

German Language and Literature Collections

How to find items in your reading list

Use DiscoverEd to search for books, journals, journal articles, DVDs and other physical and electronic items. Use your University Login to sign into your account and manage loans and requests.

DiscoverEd_Logo
 

Use Resource Lists to find your course reading lists. Lookup reading lists by list title, course title, course code, course instructors. Use the 'Subject' dropdown selection list to browse all the Resource Lists in your subject area such as 'English Literature' (displaying only the first 100 matching lists).

     Resource lists

     Information for Students

Please note that not all the courses at the University use Resource Lists.

Accessing material beyond the Library collections

If the library does not have what you want then there are several ways of getting access to the material:

The National Library of Scotland

Conveniently located within ten minutes' walk of the University's Main Library, the National Library of Scotland (NLS) holds huge collections of primary and secondary source matierials on all subject areas.

The Inter-Library Loan (ILL) Service

This allows you to request material either held at distant university library sites including the  University Collections Facility, or material not held by the university. 

Book Recommendations

If you are unable to find the book that you need for your studies then use the Student Request a Book (RaB) service to recommend a purchase.

Visit another library

It may be possible (and sometimes quicker) to visit another library in the UK to get access to the item you require. Some reciprocal schemes and agreements allow our staff and students access to some other libraries.

Academic Support Librarian

Exam Papers

 

Exam Papers Online provides access to the collected degree examination papers of the University from 2004 onwards. They may be used by students as a study aid only.

The Library Subject Guide for Exams and Revision provides advice on how to get the most out of the Library and other University support for revising for and taking exams: