New Building of the University Library

The new building will be constructed where the old building from 1976 currently stands. The Central Library will be vacated from August 2023 and deconstructed from spring 2024. Construction of the new building will begin in spring 2025 and is scheduled for completion in 2028/29.

In spring 2024, Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb NRW (building and real estate management North Rhine-Westphalia; BLB NRW) plans to begin demolition work on the existing building. Set-up for the construction site is scheduled to start in March 2024. Prior to this, some trees will have to be removed in accordance with the Environmental Agency by the end of February in order to ensure the protection of birds. Numerous trees are going to be preserved. As part of the new construction, a variety of new trees will be planted, including trees resilient to climate change.

First, the existing building will be gutted and any materials possibly containing harmful substances will be professionally removed from the building structure before exterior demolition is scheduled to begin in summer 2024. BLB NRW and TU Dortmund University will provide further information about the planned demolition process at an event open to the university public.

The University Library (Universitätsbibliothek, UB) has four locations since fall 2023. It has moved into alternative quarters in the neighboring Technology Park at the addresses Sebrathweg 7 (media, study area) and 9 (administration). Also, the three Departmental Libraries on campus will remain open. Since August 2023, the Emil Figge Library is the UB’s central service point on the North Campus. To accommodate this, opening hours have been extended until 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. On the South Campus, the libraries of the Department of Spatial Planning and the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering will continue to operate as usual. The Hybrid Learning Center (HyLeC) is now located in the co-learning space on the North Campus next to the Seminar Room Building.

Some of the books, learning workstations, and offices have been moved to the alternate location at Sebrathweg 7 and 9 in the neighboring Technology Park. The majority of the more than 1 million books has been moved to a not accessible library stack for storage and can be pre-ordered overnight. Central services are offered in the Emil Figge Library on the North Campus (Emil-Figge-Straße 50), including book pickup. The textbook collection, current journal issues, and newer books in the humanities and social sciences are located here. Substitutes for learning workstations have been created in various locations, including co-learning spaces on the North and South Campuses, and in the gallery of the Main Cafeteria.

First, all of the equipment in the old Central Library will be removed. Then, the building fabric will be removed starting in spring 2024. This process is rather a “deconstruction” than a demolition. The material will be sorted so that it can be recycled. For sustainability reasons, there will also be a material cadastre to enable recycling of certain building materials. Measures will be taken to keep noise and dust to a minimum. For the duration of the construction period, one of the two bus stops under the Mensa Bridge will have to be relocated. The path from the S-Bahn stop to the campus will also be rerouted.

The new nine-story building is to become a central learning and meeting place on campus. The library area covers 13,000 m² and is intended to integrate all current university library locations. The new building will offer approximately 1,500 learning workstations that support forms of individual as well as collaborative learning. In addition to the continuously expanding offer of digital media, there is space for up to 1 million books. The building will also house a central service point for students and guests, and will include a cafeteria as well as the university bookstore. The upper floors will house administrative offices. The building will be constructed according to energy efficiency standard 40 and can be supplied with renewable energy. It thus meets the  climate protection targets of the state (in German).

The old building is highly inefficient in terms of energy. However, refurbishing the old building is uneconomical, so the decision was made to construct a new building. The new building concept also takes into account the changing functions of a library, which is becoming increasingly important as a place for learning and meeting others, while the shelf meters used for books are continuously shrinking. For this function, a central location on campus is essential, so the new building will be erected on the same site.

Catalog plus indicates where the books are located. Books housed at one of the four library locations can be borrowed directly on site, provided they do not belong to the reference holdings. Books located at Sebrathweg can be delivered to the Emil Figge Library.

Books and periodical volumes from the library stack can be ordered to the Emil Figge Library: Orders placed in Catalog plus until 11 a.m. Mondays through Fridays will usually be available the next working day (excluding Saturday) from 11 a.m. onwards on the collection shelf in the Emil Figge Library. Ordered books can then be checked out at the lending machines. Once books have been delivered to Emil Figge Library, a notification is sent by email. Periodical articles that have been ordered are scanned and sent as an email attachment.

The alternative location at Sebrathweg 7  is about 2 km away from the old Central Library. It houses 60,000 science and engineering books and 20,000 humanities and social science journal volumes. The location can easily be reached by bicycle and has a Metropolrad Ruhr parking station. There is also a stop for bus line 465 there. Generally, books from Sebrathweg can also be delivered overnight to the Emil Figge Library.

The Sebrathweg 9 building houses offices of the University Library administration.

There are replacements for the learning workstations of the Central Library at various locations: 240 workstations in the Sebrath Library. The new co-learning space on the North Campus offers 310 workstations; the Hybrid Learning Center (HyLeC) is also located here. On the South Campus, another co-learning space with 65 workstations in containers has opened. From 3 p.m. and on weekends, the gallery in the main cafeteria is available as a learning space with 450 workstations. The International Meeting Center (IBZ) will also be available as a learning space at times and offers 30 workstations. In addition, the City Learning Space in Dortmund’s city center (Westenhellweg 127), which is easy to reach by public transport provides 160 workstations. The 1,255 learning workstations will be added to the usual overview:

To the overview

In addition, learning workstations will of course continue to be available in the Emil Figge Library (287 workstations), in the Seminar Room Building (500 workstations), and in the faculty buildings and departmental libraries. Further details on the existing learning workplaces are also listed in the study area overview.

The Sebrath Library is currently open until 8 p.m. every day. Students can also use the co-learning space on the South Campus Mondays through Fridays until 8 p.m. to learn. On average, about 100 students use University Library locations for late-night learning. Learning workstations that can be used during evening hours are also available during the transition period. On Mondays through Saturdays, students can study in the Emil Figge Library (287 workstations) until 10 p.m. The Gallery in the Mensa building (450 workstations) is open until 10 p.m. all week. The City Learning Space in Dortmund's city center is also open daily until 10 p.m. In the co-learning space on the North Campus, 310 workstations are available until 1 a.m. every day. During the evening and night hours, students can ask the security guards at campus to accompany them to the S-Bahn stop or to the parking lot.

It has long been a wish of the student body that the university might also offer a place to study in Dortmund’s city center. In particular, this is because there are no catering facilities on campus in the evenings and on weekends, and the lower frequency of public transport also makes the commute less convenient. TU Dortmund University has therefore rented an office building in the city center that can be used by students as a space to study. The City Learning Space in the former telecommunications building at Westentor (Westenhellweg 127) is within easy walking distance of Dortmund's main train station and offers 160 workstations.

Staff members can be found at all four UB locations as well as in the HyLeC (co-learning space, North Campus). Counseling services are offered in the Emil Figge Library and in the Sebrath Library (Sebrathweg 7). Offices of about 80 employees are located at Sebrathweg 7 and 9. Many services can also be accessed via video consultation.

The new building is intended to become a central service, learning, and meeting place on campus. The library space will integrate all current University Library locations. The building will include approximately 1,500 learning workstations that support forms of both individual and collaborative learning. In addition to the continued strong trend towards digital media, there will be space for up to 1 million books. If the number of print media kept on site decreases in the future, the space can be converted. The building will also house a central service point for students and guests, as well as a cafeteria and the university bookstore. Administrative offices will be located on the upper floors. A large seminar and event room will be situated in the basement, where the Senate of TU Dortmund University can also meet.

The new building is designed as an energy efficiency standard 40 building , which means that the facility consumes only 40 percent of the legally defined standard. Its heating sources include a heat pump, which is powered by electricity from a photovoltaic system and also uses geothermal energy. The floor heights and window fronts are designed to make optimal use of daylight. This allows the building to operate in a climate-friendly manner. In addition, the roof is covered in vegetation (green roof) and rainwater is collected.

• University Library: Contact
• Corporate Center Construction and Facility Management: Frank Appelt

• Website of the University Library
• Blog of the University Library (in German)