In April 1965, a year and a half before classes began at the newly created School of Social and Economic Sciences, work began on the Main Campus Library.
The new library's basic collection consisted of the academic and scientific part of the Linz Amerika-Haus' book collection, which had been dissolved shortly before. In the fall of 1967, the library was provisionally housed in the upper level over the university cafeteria building. The reading hall had the capacity to hold 100 library users.
In May 1984, the new library building, planned by the architectural group Perotti/Eisendle/Treml, opened its doors. The new building is home to over 500,000 volumes, much of it freely accessible to library users, and provides 260 jobs.
The automated loan (GRIBS) system was introduced shortly after the new library was open. In the spring of 1999, it was replaced by ALEPH 500. Monograph processing was carried out between1991 to 1998 using BIBOS, and ALEPH 500 has been in use since January 1999. Journal administration has been supported by Aleph since 2000; interlibrary loan services followed in 2003, rounding out the library's services.
These numbers speak volumes:
Inventory:
Over 1 million volumes
Library Users:
266,380
Loans and Extensions:
580,393
Licensed eJournals:
Approx. 28,000
eBooks in the Catalog:
Approx. 68,000
Since 2018, library employees have been using the new library system, ALMA.
Since 2014, library users have been using LISSS (LIterature Search Support Service) to find books and materials. LISSS supplements the conventional inventory of the popular JKU online catalog (ePUB) but provides access to a wider range of e-Books, articles in e-Journals and databases, specializedt databases, JKU (ePUB) online publications, and other sources under a single search interface.
LISSS uses modern search technology to help you access e-Books and numerous licensed full-text materials quickly and effectively.
The JKU Main Campus Library consists of the main library and the archives, two faculty libraries, the specialized libraries and institute locations.
The majority of the library's inventory is freely accessible in the reading area. WiFi is available in the reading and work areas which are located among the library's collection, giving library users an ideal place to concentrate and focus.
The library's collection focuses mainly on the majors offered at the JKU: Social Sciences, Economics & Business, Law, Natural Sciences and Engineering, and, since 2016, Human Medicine has been added.
Library users can go online any time day or night to access to databases and e-media. In many cases, you can access full texts from books you are looking for right at the comfort of your own desk.
In addition to borrowing from local libraries, literature can also be ordered from other libraries via interlibrary loan.
The Main Campus Library holds regularly scheduled information sessions during the semester to train participants in literature research and efficient use of library resources.
The library offers publication support and is particularly committed to providing supportive conditions for academic/scientific authors at the JKU to enable open access publications and their financing. Bibliometric services help evaluate and optimize research achievements and performance. The library also deals with the handling of research data in a structured way and offers JKU researchers assistance in finding suitable data repositories and filling out data management plans.
Johannes Kepler University Linz
Altenberger Straße 69
4040 Linz, Austria
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