Questions About the Main Library Renovation

The Main Library was last renovated in the 1960s. With the renovation, it will be able to much better meet today's demands for reading, learning, and working spaces, communication facilities, accessibility, sustainability, and security.

After the renovation, there will be twice as many learning and working spaces for users, designed in a mixture of study and break areas, group and individual workspaces. The library will be accessible via the Arkadenhof, additional entrances on various floors, and a separate entrance at the rear of the building.

The Large Reading Room will not be altered in its historical appearance.

Yes, the lending department and the interlibrary loans office will remain open, and the book return boxes will also remain in place.

These will, however, move to the site of the former textbook collection (stairs #5, upper ground floor) as of early 2025. Exact dates will be announced.

You can find the lending department on the upper ground floor behind stairs #1, or via stars #3 or #5. Wheelchair access is possible via the lift in courtyard 3; go to level HP.

Access maps for the lending department

From 23 September 2024 until approx. spring 2027.

The Large Reading Room and the catalog room will close from 23 September 2024 due to preparatory work for the book relocation.

The Large Reading Room will not be altered in its historical appearance.

The reading room in Teinfaltstraße (57 seats) will still be available.

In the main building, the Atrium Hof 7 will be expanded to accommodate 120 people. There are also Student Spaces  that are not directly affected by the construction work. In addition, several departmental libraries will extend their opening hours.

From October 2024, a lecture room in the former University of Economics ("Alte WU") will be provided as a reading room with 160 seats. This can be reached directly from the main university building with tramway line D (station Liechtenwerder Platz).

We have compiled a list of alternative study locations on our website.

From October 28th, 2024 to late January 2025 (relocation of collections to the depot), materials from the stacks or the depot of the main library are not borrowable.

You are, however, able to reserve borrowed books, which you will receive as soon as they are returned. Therefore we advise you to order proactively and as many books as possible, and not to return them sooner than necessary. The last day on which you can place orders before the relocation phase is October 27th, 2024.

From February 2025 to March 2027 (renovation of the main library), materials from the main library can be borrowed as usual. The lending service will be located in the rooms of the textbook collection (ground floor, staircase 5) during this phase.

Both during and after the construction works, books are to be collected in the lending department of the main library.

This will move to the site of the former textbook collection (stairs #5, upper ground floor) as of early 2025. Exact dates will be announced.

Borrowed items can be returned throughout the closure period at the lending service of the main library or in the return boxes.

Lending department and interlibrary loans office will move to the site of the former textbook collection (stairs #5, upper ground floor) as of early 2025. A book retur box will also be placed there. The book return box in the Audimax/BIG corridor will remain there.

Loans for borrowed books will automatically be extended as usual as long as no one places a reservation on them. You can also extend them manually.

You only have to return books if the loan period cannot be extended further.

If you return a book that has not been reserved by anyone, it can no longer be ordered by anyone else until the end of the relocation period (January 2025).

Payment of overdue fines is still possible at the lending service of the main library or at the departmental libraries.

You are welcome to contact the information desks at the departmental libraries (FBs). Research questions can be asked there or through the help desk.

The open research consultation "Ask a Librarian" will also continue to take place weekly during the renovation in the main building next to the Atrium Hof 7.

Yes, during the closure of the main library, the opening hours of several departmental libraries (FBs) will be extended. You can find these in our list of alternative study areas.

Use the time until the end of October to borrow important books. There are also numerous e-books and online journals available to you. Our library team will be happy to help you find suitable materials.

Our digital holdings are very extensive; we also offer advice on literature research and procurement, e.g. the weekly research consultation "Ask a Librarian" and the individual research training course.

Plan ahead and borrow the books you need by the end of October. Discuss the topic and literature with your supervisor as early as possible. Use our digital resources, the open research consultation hour "Ask a Librarian" and the individual research advice.

In urgent cases, the Vienna University Library may be able to provide you with scans of individual selected chapters (no digitisation of entire books, copyright). All information: https://bibliothek.univie.ac.at/en/digitalisierung.html

Specialised literature in particular is also (or even predominantly) available at the special libraries. These collections can be borrowed without restriction at the normal conditions.

We recommend that you borrow the books you need from the Main Library collection in good time before mid-October. Take appropriate measures to ensure that the literature required for your course/examination is available and make any necessary adjustments in u:find.

Our digital resources, such as e-books and academic articles, are also available to you. Our library team will be happy to advise you on the selection of alternative materials.

The majority of the University Library's holdings are located in the special libraries. Literature can still be used and borrowed from these libraries without restriction. The Vienna University Library also offers its members unrestricted access to all digital holdings.

In addition to the weekly open research consultation hour "Ask a Librarian" and the extensive training programme, the Vienna University Library also offers individual research advice to help you in your search for digital resources.

In addition to the digital resources, we can also provide you with scans of selected individual chapters from books as part of the digitisation service (no digitisation of entire books, copyright).

In this case, please contact the helpdesk. We will look for a solution together, e.g. through interlibrary loan or digital alternatives.