Premises

In Bonn, from the time of its establishment in 1949, the Library of the German Bundestag was always housed in temporary premises and in varying locations.

With its move to Berlin in spring 2004, the Library is now housed with the Archives and the Parliamentary and Press Documentation Divisions in a building which, for the first time, meets its specific requirements and allows it to offer a full range of services.

The area of the Library which is accessible to users is located in the rotunda – sited by architect Stephan Braunfels in a prominent position within the building. The galleried reading room has a stock of around 20,000 volumes as well as more than 50 places for readers. On the floor below, there is a periodicals reading room with more than 1000 individual titles. On the entrance level of the rotunda, there are the loans and returns desks and a central information desk as the first point of contact for users. More detailed advice is provided to users on the floor below. The research area, with spaces for more than 20 users, all equipped with PCs with intranet and internet access, and the catalogue of persons and subject catalogue are also located here.

The Library has modern and well-equipped bookstacks on the lower storeys of the building, and also has a small bookbinding workshop.