Catalogs
The library catalog and the archive database, together with the German database of journals, constitute the most important instruments for research in our holdings. Just a few clicks will lead you to the display of matches, showing all the relevant information regarding availability. In addition, a special database informs you about the publications by BBF staff members. In further databases you will find (electronic) journals and databases, some of which are licensed by the BBF but not all. These services are freely accessible via the internet.
Library Catalog
The library catalog comprises our entire library holdings, the oldest work being published in 1494. You will find monographs, collective works, journals, “grey literature“ (i.e. literature that was not for sale), digitized literature and other materials.
Amongst others, our catalog also indexes educational historical essays. Owing to our in-depth cataloging system, the advanced search mode will enable you to search for a combination of keywords and thus receive precise results. You can also exclusively search for electronic resources. The display of records will indicate whether a title is currently available.
You can access our catalogs for your research even if you do not yet possess our library card, which is free of charge.
However, the library card offers several advantages: By logging onto the catalog with your individual library ID, you can reserve a title, request an extention of your loan period or inform us about titles you would like us to acquire. Furthermore, you will then be able to compile your own lists of retrieved records pursuant to your interests, save them and send them to us to pre-order media or download them for further use in a reference management programme.
Archive Database
In the archive database you will find all archival holdings of the BBF which have been electronically recorded. The database is continually updated and pursuant to varying degrees of depth, it indexes information on administrative records, personal papers (legacies) photographs and special collections. You can use a free text search mode and search across particular fields (e.g. persons, institutions, duration or signature) to refine your research results. Furthermore, you can browse the archive structure (i.e. the archive tectonics), thereby getting an overview of the archival holdings, its structure and the related documents. The hierarchical structure of the archive reflects the history of the holdings.
The archive tectonics also reflects the history of the BBF, which since its establishment in 1876 has experienced various changes. In each case, the responsible authorities pursued their own archival interests. The database holds therefore four main groups.
- Historical stock of the German Teachers Library from 1876 until 1950
- Archive of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences in the GDR for the period from 1949 until 1990
- Newly acquired holdings since 1992
- Archive of the DIPF since 1950
You may also limit your search to digitized documents, e.g. pictures the personal files of Prussion teachers. These documents are linked to the records and can be accessed directly from there.
Database of Publications of BBF Staff Members
The database of publications is an excerpt from the DIPF database of publications, listing publications from the BBF staff members since 1999. The database indexes monographs, contributions to collective works, journal articles and other publications. Open Access publications that are available online are linked, and you can immediately access them from the database.
German Database of Journals (ZDB)
You will find our journals also in the German database of journals, ZDB. 3,700 German and Austrian libraries participate in this alliance, which currently indexes ca. 25,000 titles from the BBF. The ZDB indexes titles of journals, newspapers, databases, series and other periodical publications and indexes the stocks of participating libraries. Here, you can run reliable searches for individual years of publication and volumes of particular periodicals.
In some cases, publications are available as online full texts, while some publishers only offer online access to abstracts (summaries) or indexes of contents. Openly accessible electronic journals are immediately accessible via the ZDB, via a link. In the case of electronic journals for which you will need to pay a fee, the ZDB displays libraries with a subscription. The periodicals of our free digital archive Scripta Paedagogica and our licensed digital resources are also displayed.
For individual journal articles you can search in our library catalog or subject-specific databases.
Electronic Database of Journals (EZB)
The Electronic Database of Journals (Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek, EZB) offers a well-structured and uniform means of accessing scientific journals with articles that are available as full texts on the internet. A growing number of publishing houses are offering this kind of service.
The journals are sorted by subject categories. The enhanced search functionalities enable quick retrieval of the desired journal titles.
A traffic light system provides easily interpretable information concerning the status of availability. A green light indicates that a journal is freely accessible on the web, and you can immediately access the articles after following the link to the journal. A yellow traffic light indicates that owing to license agreements, the journal can only be viewed on our premises, either via computer workstations or by using our WLAN, which is free of charge. A yellow-red light indicates that only some of the years of publication, generally older ones, have been licenced. Please read the terms and conditions of the publishing houses.
Database Information System (DBIS)
The Database Information System (DBIS) is a system that records general and subject scientific databases, openly accessible databases on the web as well as databases we have licensed for you, which you can only access from the BBF premises.
In the databases, you will find further references to literature but in some cases also the full texts of the recorded literature.
Similar to the Electronic Database of Journal (EZB), the databases are sorted by academic disciplines and the type of access is indicated by the traffic light system. It is also possible to search for a name, type of database or possible type of usage. Please read the descriptions of the respective databases to check for specific conditions of use.