Current information
- You can find detailed instructions regarding the current regulations for using the university’s libraries here:
General conditions of use
The Library of East Asian Studies is an open access library. This means that most publications are freely available to students. All printed works are separately stored according to the three departments comprising the Department of East Asian Studies: Japanese Studies, Chinese Studies, Korean Studies and general Eastern Asia. If you want to use the library, you need to leave your bag and coat at the wardrobe. You can receive locker keys after showing your u:card to the person at the entrance desk. The Library of East Asian Studies mainly provides resources to studends at the Institute of East Asian Studies. But as a public-scientific library all resources and rooms can also be used by the public. In this sense a u:card is not mandatory.
Searchability of our holdings
Not all Asian-languge books are registered online in u:search. Older Japanese-, Chinese- or Korean-language books may only be searched directly on the shelves or by using the card-catalogue.
Notes on the transliterations used
The original titles of older texts may not be recorded. Some e-resources may not be available with transliterations. Therefore, it is recommended to search for both!
- Japanese holdings: A modified Hepburn is used for transliteration. When researching on u:search, regular vowels can be used instead of using macrons (ā, ī, ū, ē, ō). Long vowels transcribed with “h” or “ou” are not recognized. Example: 東京 = Tōkyō: Searching for „Tokyo“ works, while „Toukyou“ or „Tohkyoh” wont deliver reliable results. Further information can be found in the transliteration guidelines (PDF in German) .
- Chinese holdings: Hanyu Pinyin is used for transliteration, according to the „Guidelines for Pinyin transliteration“ or applicable dictionaries. A search using syllables won’t deliver reliable results. The card-catalouge dates back to 1990.
- Korean holdings: McCune-Reischauer as well as the revised romanization are used for transliterations. In Europe, the McCune-Reischaer system is used in the majority of scientific contexts. For online resoures, as well as personal-, corporate- and place names, the revised romanization has also been used since the year 2000. We always use the version used in the source at hand (i.e. the imprint). Therefore, both versions should be searched on u:search.
Further notes on using the library
- For an overview map of the library, as well as an explanation of all areas, please refer to the Overview section. There you will also find an overview of our shelf-sorting-system (signature codes for all departments).
- For Information about or technical services, please see Services and Equipment.
- For information about borrowing of printed books, as well as the process of borrowing, please refer to Borrowing.
- Our opening hours can be found here.
