The university library's collection is centered around the four faculties Architecture and Urbanism, Civil Engineering, Art and Design and Media, their respective courses of study and current topics in teachin, studying and research. In addition, the library holds historical collections, special collections and donations. The library maintains its collection by selecting study and research literature according to the needs of the user and the subjects.
Historic collections
The university library holds a historic collection of around 8,000 volumes collected since 1860, the majority of which come from the 19th and 20th century. The provenance seals of these books and periodicals were indexed in a project spanning several years. These works are available worldwide in the Digitale Sammlungen following a digitalization and indexing project funded by Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG) that ran from 2009 to 2012.
Special collections
Bauhaus literature
The Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar, founded in 1919, is one of the predecessors of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. The university library, obligated to this heritage, collects literature on the Bauhaus published worldwide. This includes publications by and about members of the Staatliches Bauhaus as well as exhibition catalogues. The Bauhaus literature is available in the respective subject areas of the entire collection, rather than separated in its own department. Materials used by the Bauhaus members themselves during their time in Weimar are part of the university library's historic collection.
Artists' books
Since the foundation of the Art and Design faculty in 1993 the library has acquired around 1,700 artists' books and continually built its artists' books collection. We stick to the tradition of collecting exemplary works by students and instructors that can be traced back to the portfolios of the Radierverein zu Weimar, founded by members of the Großherzoglich Sächsische Kunstschule.
Sources on civil engineering and construction in East Germany
The university library keeps a comprehensive collection on East German technical standards and construction regulations, including TGL standards and Baukataloge. You'll find detailed information on the scope of this collection and how to access it on our technical standards site.
Donations and donated collections
Günter Schauerte donation (2018)
In December 2018, the university library received a generous donation from the private collection of Prof. Dr. Günther Schauerte (*1954), the former vice-president of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin. It contains international publications from the subject areas of art, culture and history, with a special focus on art catalogues on different styles and art forms, from Roman palaces to Japanese ceramics and Berlin architectural blueprints.
Michael Siebenbrodt donation (2017)
Michael Siebenbrodt (*1951), the director of the Bauhaus museum until 2017 and a close associate of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, donated his extensive work library on Bauhaus to the university library in 2018. It contained exhibition catalogues and monographs from multiple countries on Bauhaus, its members and its associations, including his own publications.
Gert Selle donation (2014)
In 2014 Gert Selle (1933-2025) gifted his comprehensive collection on design history to us. Until his retirement in 1999 Selle was Professor of Theory, Didactics and Practice of Aesthetic Education at the University of Oldenburg. His »History of Design in Germany« (1994) is his most well-known standard reference.
Konstanze Noack donation (2013)
The library of Konstanze Noack (1965–2013) was gifted to the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in 2013 and was handed over to the university library in 2014. More than 1,000 items from the donation from the subject areas of architecture, urbanism, sociology, cultural studies, art and history, in both German and English language, were integrated into the library collection. Konstanze Noack was a Berlin-based architect who led the Studio USE (Urban-Space-Exploration), a studio für urban questions, theory and practice.
Max Bächer donation (2012)
In 2012 the university library received the comprehensive private library of German architect and higher education instructor Max Bächer (1925–2011) as a gift. The bulk of it is made up from titles on architecture, including some significant architect monographs as well as so-called »grey« literature, i.e. items not distributed through commercial channels. In addition to his buildings, Max Bächer's frequent appointments as a judge for architecture contests both within and outside of Germany show his status as one of the most renowned architects of his time. The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar gave Max Bächer honorary doctor status in 2014.
Klaus-Dieter Böhm donation (2011)
In 2011 Klaus-Dieter Böhm gifted us around 300 books and periodicals on typography and book design from his private library to make them available to a large number of people.
Heimo Bachstein donation (2009/2010)
Thanks to a generous donation by cinephile, film critic, actor and director Heimo Bachstein (1937–2011) film researchers in Weimar can draw from 1,000 books and 3,500 individual issues of 150 different periodicals. We were able to, for example, complete our collection of the French film journal »Cahiers du Cinéma«. A large gap in the university library's film literature collection is further closed by rare film books by Sergej Eisenstein and Federico Fellini, as well as correspondence, original photographs, film posters and painstakingly assembles themed collections ranging from experimental film to Andy Warhol. The film enthusiast intended to cohesively preserve this collection, liaised by senior fellow of the Internationales Kolleg für Kulturtechnikforschung und Medienphilosophie (IKKM) Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Beilenhoff (1943–2021), and make it available to film researchers in Weimar.
List of this donation in the online catalogue (OPAC)
Our page on the development of the collection
Weblog »Archiv und Cinephilie. Die Schenkung Heimo Bachstein« (German)
Hartmut W. Staats donation (2009)
In 2009 Hartmut W. Staats (1935–2017) decided to donate his valuable collection on graphic design to the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Among the around 350 valuable design books there are, for example, an original graphics portfolio by Bauhaus member Herbert Bayer or a world atlas, also designed by Bayer, of which only 2,000 copies exist worldwide. Hartmut W. Staats was a graphic designer, Art Director and manager at the Europa Carton AG Hamburg and worked for branded goods manufacturers in Europe and North America.
Karljosef Schattner donation (2007)
Architect Karljosef Schattner (1924–2012) donated around 800 books from his private library, predominantly from the areas of architecture and and art. From 1957 until 1992 Schattner was head of the building department of the diocese of Eichstätt in Bavaria, where his buildings remain part of the town's look.
Ulrich Conrads collection (2000)
In 2000 the university library purchased the library of Berlin architecture historian and critic Ulrich Conrads (1923–2013); part of the collection was donated to the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. In total it includes around 1,100 volumes themed mostly around architecture and art. The purchase was funded by donations raised in the »Bücher für das Bauhaus« (»Books for Bauhaus«) campaign. Conrads was the editor in chief of the periodical »Bauwelt« from 1957 to 1988 and founder of periodicals »Bauwelt-Fundamente« and »Daidalos«.
Gerhard Mammel donation (1993)
Around 4,000 artist monograph and exhibition catalogues from the estate of Nürnberg art historian Dr. Gerhard Mammel (1919–1989) were donated to the library by his widow Barbara Mammel in 1993 to make them available to students of the design faculty, which had only just been created at the time. It is a comprehensive collection on European art history, mostly published in the 1960s to 1980s.
List of this donation in the online catalogue (OPAC)