With its comprehensive stock of research literature, unprinted, printed and digitised sources, the library of the department BBF | Library for the History of Education offers an excellent research environment for researchers interested in (educational) history.

As research library specialised on the history of education with a stock of about 770,000 items, the BBF in Berlin offers excellent conditions for research on educational, social and cultural history issues, both on-site and virtually.

Collection and Catalogue

The comprehensive historical holdings are constantly being supplemented with additional sources and German and foreign-language literature on the history of education, especially in the German-speaking world: profile and holdings: Profile and holdings.

The library catalogue allows users to search the holdings from the year of publication 1494 onwards. It lists monographs, anthologies, journals, electronic resources as well as articles and reviews in journals and anthologies.

Monthly lists inform you about newly acquired monographs and journals.

Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services

The library participates in the German and international interlibrary loan system and offers its own document delivery service for copies of articles from the BBF's holdings. Within the framework of the Specialised Information Service "Educational Science and Educational Research”, the BBF supplements its collection of printed sources on the history of education and, on request, digitises works from its holdings free of charge for research projects: Public domain works (works by authors who died more than 70 years ago) and out-of-print monographs published in Germany between 1913 and 1965 are elegible for digitising. The digitised works will be placed in the digital text archive of the BBF Scripta Paedagogica, so that they can be used not only by the research project placing the order, but by all interested parties.

Open Access Digital Libraries

The BBF digitises educational historical sources from its holdings on a large scale and provides computer-based online editions. The digital offerings not only enable researchers to access them independent of time and place, but also offer improved forms of use, such as direct annotation in the digitised material, electronic evaluation of large text corpora, and integration into own or shared virtual research environments.
All digitised objects are made available Open Access on the internet:

  • ScriptaPaedagogica – the digital text archive for the history of education in the German-speaking countries. It comprises monographs, journals, reference works, annual school reports, curicula, directories of teachers and children's books
  • EditionenBildungsgeschichte – educational historical editions
  • PicturaPaedagogica – the digital picture archive on the history of education. It contains book illustrations, historical postcards and photographs on the subject of education and upbringing
  • Interlinking Pictura – Wiki on Bertuch's "Bilderbuch für Kinder" (i.e.  „Children's Picture Book")

Scholarly Information Services

The BBF participates in or is responsible for various specialist information services in educational research and the humanities that are freely available on the Internet:

Furthermore, the Library offers individual support to researchers on the history of education via its information desk.

Address and Opening Hours

Warschauer Straße 34-38
10243 Berlin
Tel. +49 (0) 30 29 33 60-612
E-Mail YXVzbGVpaGUtYmJmQGRpcGYuZGU=

How to find the BBF

BBF Website

Department

BBF | Research Library for the History of Education

The department BBF | Research Library for the History of Education (Bibliothek für Bildungsgeschichtliche Forschung) in Berlin is a research library with outstanding library and archive holdings on the history of German education in its international relations and a center for historical educational research in Germany.

Management

Dr. Stefan Cramme

Team

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