Library of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
On these pages you will find basic information about our library and the options you have to use our services. Please contact us via email or using the contact form in case you have any further question.
And if you plan to visit us: We are looking forward to welcoming you in our premises in Bonn.
We would like to inform you that due to our Christmas break both archive and library of the FES will close between December 23rd 2019 and January 3rd 2020!
Please switch to the German language version of this page to see more current news and information.
- Using the LibraryImage: Reading room of FES
As a reference library the FES Library is open to the general public. All library holdings can be used in the reading room, there are no access charges for using the general library services.
A small selection of reference works is available in the reading room on open shelves, though our main collection is stored in closed stacks. Items from this collection have to be ordered at the information desk. Books and other items can be deposited at the information desk for you if you wish to work with these titles for a longer period of time. This will enable you to access theses titles directly without having to re-order them form the library stacks.
As we only have a limited number of workplaces available we recommend to contact us (, bibliothek(at)fes.de) prior to your visit to reserve a workplace for your stay in our library. You certainly can also ask for specific items from the library stacks so that these are directly available at the information desk when you visit us.
Please read the following brief chapters for more information as well as the general regulations of the FES Library (in German language).
Reading Room Loan Requests
Times for reading room loan requests
The following list shows all times for ordering items from the library stacks:
- 9:30 am
- 11:00 am
- 1:00 pm
- 2:30 pm
- 4:00 pm (not on Friday)
- 5:00 pm (only Tuesday and Thursday)
Approx. after 30 minutes the requested items will be available for use at the information desk.
Reservations / pre-ordering
You can reserve books and other items prior to your visit via telephone () or email.
Workplace reservation
Our library is a non-lending library, so all library items have to be consulted within our premises. Books, periodicals or other items you wish to work with for a longer period of time can be deposited at the information desk for you.
If you wish to work in our library for a longer period of time please also ask for a workplace reservation due to the limited number of workplaces in our reading room.Interlibrary Loan and Direct Ordering
Interlibrary loan
The FES Library participates in the national and international interlibrary loan system. Our Library's holdings can be requested by your local library using this system. If you want to do this, please inform your local library about the specific titles you wish to receive from us, indicating the unique identifier for our library (ISIL): DE-Bo133. The ordered volumes will then be lent to your local library.
Direct order of articles and publication copies
You can order copies of articles and other publications that do not exceed the number of 60 pages per copy. More information about this service (including charges) on the following page.
Services
Internet
In our reading room you will find laptop sockets and free WIFI access for your own devices.
Copies
We provide a copier and a "book2net" scanner (storage on flash drive). Additionally, a reader printer (for microforms) for scanning directly to your flash drive is available at no charge.
The following charges apply for any copy or printout:- DIN A4: 0,10 €
- DIN A3: 0,15 €
- Printout reader printer, DIN A4: 0,15 €
- Printout reader printer, DIN A3: 0,20 €
Cafeteria
You can visit the FES Cafeteria at lunchtime. in addition, vending machines for soft drinks, coffee and snacks are available.
Reading room contact
Information / Reading room
bibliothek(at)fes.deFES Internal Services (in German language)
of geralt licensed under Creative Commons CC0Als Mitarbeiter_in der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung erhalten Sie hier, teils passwortgeschützt, Zugang zu:
Aufsatzdatenbank (Recherche, Bestellung, Volltexte)
Bestellformular für Scans und Kopien (Blanko-Formular)
Info-Modul zur "Digitalen Bibliothek" für FES-Mitarbeiter_innen
Liste der im Zeitschrifteninhaltsdienst verfügbaren Zeitschriften (zugleich RSS-Feeds)
Entdecken Sie weitere Angebote und Hinweise im Intranet unter Abteilungen besuchen/Bibliothek:- Benutzerkonto, Ausleihe, Fernleihe, Anschaffungswünsche, Zeitschriften-Umläufe etc.
- Kurzinfo zum Zeitschrifteninhaltsdienst (ZID)
- Literaturlisten zu Ländern, Regionen und Themen sowie Literaurtipps zur Vorbereitung für den Auslandsaufenthalt und für Auslandsrückkehrer
- Organigramm und Vorstellung des Bibliotheksteams
- About the Library
About the Library
of FES Ownership mark ("Lilienstempel") of the historic SPD LibraryThe special collection of the Library of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung mainly comprises titles on the following subjects:
- History and present developments of German and international labour movement with main focus on German social democracy,
- German and international social and contemporary history,
- publications of political parties and trade unions from Germany and selected European countries,
- all publications of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung from Germany and abroad.
Of particular significance is the library's historic collection thoroughly documenting the history of the German social democratic movement. With this collection the FES Library maintains the printed memory of German social democracy, of its associated organisations and, of course, of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
The following page provides further information on our library
- Topics and projects
- Blog
- Help Desk
Use our electronic information desk for any question concerning our library and our services. You will receive an answer as soon as possible.
- Contact
Opening Hours
Monday + Wednesday:
9am - 5pm
Tuesday + Thursday:
9am - 7pm
Friday:
9am - 4pm
Our opening hours will change at the beginning of 2020. Our reading room will then be open from 9am to 5am Mondays to Thursdays. The opening hours on Fridays remain unchanged.
The information desk is closed between 11:45 am and 12:15 pm (Monday - Thursday) and between 11:30 am and 12:00 pm (Friday)!
Libraries in Bonn
Search the Bonn regional catalogue (holdings of Bonn based libraries, German page)
Since 1998 the FES Library amends its collection of conventional material with digital publications. Today, a huge number of digital publications from different political parties and trade unions can be retrieved from our general catalogue.
Another important focus of our digital collection are born-digital FES publications that are thoroughly collected from all FES divisions in Germany and abroad. With this part of its Digital Library the FES Library maintains the general repository for all digital FES publications.
Besides this, other digital collections like retrospective digitized journals, magazines or press services complement the Library's stock development within its specialised subject collection. You will find more information on this collections in the following project listing.
Digitized Magazines and Newspapers
The FES Library organized different digitization projects for titles belonging to the cultural and political environment of German social democracy, with the digitization of the historic "Vorwärts" as the most recent and most important project.
Here you can find a selection of our projects of digitized periodicals.
SPD Press Services until 1998
The historic SPD press services that have been published with alternating titles between the years 1928 - 1933 and 1946 - 1998 are important sources for authentic social democratic thoughts and positions on different aspects of contemporary history.
As an information centre for political and historical research the FES Library focusses especially on the history and development of German social democracy. One of the important collections in this context is this compilation of programmatic SPD documents issued between 1949 and the present.
Learn more about SPD policy statements, government programmes and election manifestos (Only in German language)
As part of a project that aims at making available basic sources of the German social democratic movement the FES Library has published the minutes of SPD party conventions from 1890 to 1959.
Project pages (German)
Online Gallery
DBIS and EZB
The database information portal (DBIS) gives access to a comprehensive collection of databases available without futher access restrictions on the Internet. The collection comprises databases of different types and for different subjects.
The electronic library of periodicals (EZB) gathers Internet periodicals for many different subjects. Some of these titles are licensed by the FES Library and can be accessed directly. You will find access information within the respective title description.
Please note that both collections are presented in German language:
Online portal DBIS
Electronic periodicals library EZB
FES publications in our Digital Library
Learn about new born-digital FES publications, scan the listing of new publications and search our database of all digital FES titles on this page.