Press release no. 96, July 6th 2010

High distinctions for the University of Konstanz Library: „Library of the Year 2010“ award and also no. 1 in the Germany library index BIX for the third consecutive year

This year again, the Konstanz Library takes the top position among the scientific libraries in Germany

The University of Konstanz Library has attained double success in 2010. As the foundation ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius reported today, „Library of the Year 2010” was awarded to the Library of the University of Konstanz. The sole German library prize will be awarded with 30.000 Euro on October 24 in Konstanz. The decision is supported by the figures of the BIX: Even in the most important library ranking system in Germany, the library in Konstanz received an excellent placement at the very top. The ranking of the German Library Association as well as the ZEIT-Stiftung attest the consistent service and customer orientation of university library of the University of Konstanz.

The most obvious quality was the service orientation of the opening times, according to the reason of the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius, which was founded in 1971 and is one of the large private charitable foundations established in Germany. The Library of the University of Konstanz is since 2001 the first German library to be open 24 hours a day for its users. Decisive factors include, among others, the systematic open-shelf concept, custom-tailored advice to support science and studies, the active commitment to the open access concept, the pioneering role in conveying information literacy, quality assurance through customer surveys and the teaching system, that has one of the highest rates among German academic libraries according to the BIX index.

The German library index BIX has placed the University of Konstanz at the very top for the third consecutive time. This success was also due to the strategic orientation of its services and the expansion of its electronic resources. At the same time, the high quality at Konstanz is extremely broadly spread, as the high value of eight top placements in 18 indicators shows. Despite the development of digital assets and focus on electronic resources, the open-shelf book areas as learning and working areas are also an important component in the ranking of the library's overall concept.

„Our task is to provide the most optimal conditions for science and studies. As it looks, we are on the best path with our services“, commented library director Petra Hätscher on the double award. The award jury for the „Library of the Year“ prize, comprised of representatives of the federal government, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs and the German States, selected from seven libraries of different sizes and concepts that had been nominated due to their special performance. In the BIX ranking, the Konstanz University Library was able to prevail against 35 competitors in its category of “single university libraries” that do not have any separate sub-libraries. A total of 94 university and (technical) university libraries in Germany and Austria provide data on supply, use, efficiency and development potential for this purpose.