!!!Bibliotheken

Libraries: Austria has roughly 100 independent scientific libraries 
which are open to the public (figures in 1994). They are operated 
either by the state, the provinces, the Chambers or by religious 
communities. Furthermore, several hundred specialist libraries exist 
in university departments (also open to the public) as departments of 
the University Library. Altogether, the libraries hold approx. 20 
million volumes. The most important libraries are: The  Austrian 
National Library with roughly 3 million volumes and roughly 3 million 
other objects; the University libraries (especially at Vienna 
University with roughly 5 mio., Graz with roughly 2.4 mio. and 
Innsbruck with roughly 2.3 mio. volumes); the library at the 
Hochschule colleges, the library at the Pedagogical Academies, 
libraries at public offices and authorities, scientific departments, 
museums and those owned by the provinces. They employ roughly 1500 
librarians, who are mainly trained in courses organised by the 
Ministry of Science, Research and Art at the National Library and 
certain university libraries. Important initiatives are the 
inter-library loan system on a national and international level, a 
central catalogue system (often computer-organised according to 
uniform, internationally compatible rules) and the Austrian book 
production collection (centrally organised at the National Library, 
which has a claim to one copy of every publication that comes out in 
Austria, regionally at other libraries) containing deposit and library 
copies. Several million volumes are borrowed or used in the libraries 
every year.

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The first volumes were collected by medieval monasteries (the first to 
do so in Austria was Archbishop Arno of Salzburg in the late 
8%%sup th/%  century); later by dukes, sovereigns, universities and 
local authorities. After the dissolution of many monasteries, the 
state libraries created by Maria Theresia (a study library in every 
crownland without a university library) became increasingly important. 
Austria was the first country in the world to introduce a direct 
library-loan system linking the scientific libraries in 1883. In 1898, 
the first printed catalogue of German-speaking magazines was published 
by the library at Vienna University; in 1920, a central book 
registration system was set up at the Austrian National Library. Since 
1975, the specialist libraries at the university departments have been 
open to the public.

!Literature
Mitteilung der Vereinigung oesterreichischer 
Bibliothekarinnen und Bibliothekare, 1948ff.; Biblos, Oesterreichische 
Zeitschrift fuer Buch- und Bibliotheks-Wesen, 1952ff; 
Biblos-Schriften, 1952ff; Handbuch Oesterreichischer Bibliotheken, 3 
vols., 1961ff; Oesterreichischer Bibliotheken-Bau, 2 vols., 1986/92. - 
Associations: Vereinigung oesterreichischer Bibliothekarinnen und 
Bibliothekare, founded in 1946 as the follow-up organization of the 
"Oesterreichischer Verein fuer Bibliothekswesen"; Oesterr. 
Gesellschaft fuer Dokumentation und Information, founded in 1951; 
Gesellschaft der Freunde der Oesterreichischen Nationalbibliothek, 
founded in 1912.


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