Regional Library Work Office

In the administrative districts of Cologne and Düsseldorf, a large number of smaller, non-governmental and non-professional libraries guard important historical book treasures.

Our task:

We help to make these holdings accessible. In our "Rheinlandbib" you can search the holdings of 20 libraries with one search query. For each of these libraries, we also offer a separate search portal that you can link to as an online catalogue on your website.

We will be happy to assist you with any questions you may have about preservation, restoration and use, as well as with difficult cataloguing tasks! We are pleased that through the search portals of the "Rheinlandbib" your holdings will continue to be searchable for all interested parties in the future and thus will not be forgotten.

You would like to participate?

Are you in charge of a small library with historical holdings? Would you like to make these holdings searchable worldwide? And is your library located in the administrative districts of Cologne or Düsseldorf? Then please send us an email. We will contact you and together we will consider how we can achieve this goal.

Regional Library Work Office "Historical holdings in the Rhineland"

Virtual catalogue of the "Historical Holdings in the Rhineland" research centre

The joint virtual catalogue of the "Arbeitsstelle Historische Bestände im Rheinland", the "RheinlandBib", collects the holdings of the smaller historical libraries of the Rhineland and the holdings of the Rhenish Department of the USB Cologne, so that you can search the entire collection with just one request.

Library holdings that are not yet searchable in the "RheinlandBib":

However, we also want to ensure that libraries whose holdings could not be migrated for various reasons are made accessible to a wider public. Therefore, they are also listed here.

These libraries have their own online catalogues:

Regional Library Work Office - an overview

Libraries served

From the large number of other libraries that the Centre has supported since 1991, we would like to highlight:

Aachen - Lehrerbibliothek des Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasiums
Alsdorf - Bergbau-Bibliothek
Bergisch Gladbach - Altenberger Dom-Verein
Düsseldorf - Lehrerbibliothek des Görres-Gymnasiums
Goch - Bibliotheca domus presbyterorum Gaesdonck
Xanten - StiftsBibliothek

As a source of scientific research we provide:

Hennef-Geistingen - Bibliothek der ehemaligen Philosophisch-Theologischen Hochschule der Redemptoristen

Development projects

The holdings of the following institutions are recorded and processed:

Brühl - Bibliothek des Max-Ernst-Gymnasiums (MEG)
Grevenbroich-Neu-Elfgen - Alte Pfarrbibliothek in St. Georg
Hennef - Stadtarchiv
Herzogenrath - Pfarrbibliothek St. Gertrud
Hürth-Gleuel - Alte Pfarrbibliothek St. Dionysius
Jüchen - Gemeindearchiv
Kempen - Klassiker-Sammlung in der Stadtbibliothek
Kevelaer - Bibliothek des Oratorium Kevelaeriense
Köln - Bibliothek des Oberlandesgerichts
Köln - Poetica-Sammlung in der USB Köln
Königswinter - Bibliothek des Heimatvereins Siebengebirge e.V.
Mönchengladbach - Franziskanerbibliothek in der Stadtbibliothek
Mönchengladbach - Kreuzherrenbibliothek Wickrath im Stadtarchiv
Zülpich - Kapuziner-Bibliothek (Depositum des Propsteimuseums Zülpich)

Founding of the Regional Library Work Office

In 1985, the compilation of the "Handbuchs der historischen Buchbestände in Deutschland" for North Rhine-Westphalia began. The editorial team, based at the University and City Library of Cologne, noticed that the historical holdings in this federal state were spread across many libraries - including many smaller collections from public and private institutions. These holdings, comprising some 250 valuable collections, were for the most part not recorded in the North Rhine-Westphalian Union Catalogue and were often in poor condition, making their use almost impossible.

As a result of this work, two working centres were set up in the winter of 1990/1991 to improve the situation of these older, valuable literature holdings, which are worthy of protection. One of these working places is the "Landesbibliothekarische Arbeitsstelle Historische Bestände im Rheinland", which is based at the USB Cologne. There, work is being done to make these important treasures accessible and accessible so that they do not lose their historical significance.

Libraries of the Regional Library Work Office