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From book depository to meeting place: LMU's University Library over the course of time
10 Apr 2025
500 years of change: How the university library today is a place of learning, a cultural asset and a meeting place all in one.
Students in the subject library Philologicum. | © LMU
“Today, the LMU University Library (UB) is a social meeting place, a place of exchange, shared learning and culture,” says Dr. Sven Kuttner, Head of the Historical Collections Department at the University Library. In contrast, it used to be more of a kind of “book barracks”: strictly regulated and not very inviting for students and researchers.
From its origins as a textbook collection for less affluent students to a modern facility with over 200,000 registered users and numerous digital services – how has the LMU library changed over the past five centuries? And what social function does a university library fulfill today as a place of encounter?
Our latest multimedia story gives an insight into the Historical Collections Department of the University Library and its unique treasures and shows why LMU students particularly enjoy visiting the University Library:
To the multimedia story History of the University Library – from manuscripts to e-books