With HfG Offenbach having been founded in 1970, work began in 1971 on systematically assembling the library. It currently has a collection of artistic and academic works totaling more 55,000 media units. The collection is based on the university’s classes, research areas, and artistic themes. The collections main emphases, art/history of art, architecture, visual communication, product design and theater studies are complemented by basic literature from the fields of philosophy, sociology, media theory and cultural history.

The library is located on the 3^rd floor of the main building at Schlossstrasse 31. During opening hours it serves as a reference library to all those with an interest in the subject. Only members of the university can take material out on loan. For further details please refer to the rules governing the use of the library.

The HfG-library/media library has individual work stations and group stations. Catalog and Internet research is possible at three stations.

There are also a scanner and a photocopier available for use.

The library team consists of Charlotte Jakob, MA (Head) and Clara Weisel (librarian, B.A.) as well as four student assistants.

We provide a service that includes providing information about the library’s own collection and help with researching and procuring literature not available at HfG, as well as basic help with academic works. In the process we aim to correspond as little as possible to the negative model of a library created by Umberto Eco in his lecture “The Library”. 

The collection of monographs is openly accessible and arranged in line with a proprietary numerical system based on the main emphases of the library’s collecting activities. It can be researched in full via the Online-Catalogue and can for the most part be taken out on loan.

On a regular basis the library acquires more than 60 German and foreign magazines. The current issues for the year of all the magazines acquired can be perused in the reading room. They cannot be taken out on loan. Due to a lack of space, issues from previous years are stored elsewhere and must be ordered in order to be taken out on loan. The magazines can be researched via the web OPAC as well as on the list below.

In addition to the classic print media, the HfG library also has a growing number of e-books as well as an extensive collection of DVDs. These can also be researched in full via the web OPAC.

HfG’s own Video Talks series of DVDs featuring selected recorded lectures given at the university embraces in excess of 100 titles and can be taken out on loan from the library.

The library also has a collection of all the degree theses written at the university since 1974. Now numbering more than 2,000, these theses from both departments can be viewed during opening hours. Copyrights prevent them from being taken out on loan.

With the Online-Catalogue of the Südwestdeutscher Bibliotheksverbund (SWB) you can search for and get access to license free online resources such as e-books, e-journals and other databases.

You need books or other media (journals, DVDs) that you were not able to find within our Online-Catalogue? Please send us your suggestions via e-mail (bibliothek@hfg-offenbach.de), inform us by telephone (069.80059-295) or print out and submit the form linked here. We will contact you immediately to tell you whether we can acquire your suggestion or if not where you can find what you need for example at the German National Library, one of the Frankfurt Museum Libraries, the Offenbach City Library or the document delivery service »Subito«.

During opening hours the library is open to all those with an interest in the subject. Only HfG members can take material out on loan. The loan periods are:

• for monographs: 4 weeks
• for magazines: 2 weeks
• for CDs + DVDs: 1 week

The loan period can be extended in person, by telephone, or by e-mail. Media already out on loan can be reserved.

Basic literature and media on the respective courses are made available as a semester apparatus in the library, which is usually available for the duration of one semester during opening hours. DVDs and CDs of the semester apparatuses are available at the lending desk. The literature is offered for this period as loan stock with reduced loan times.

In addition to the print media, you can also use e-books via the library. You can access the provider we have selected via this link.

If you do not yet have an account on the site, you can register by entering your name and e-mail address under "Request Account". As soon as you have been activated by the HfG library team, you can search for e-books in the database if we already have them, read them online, download them, etc. If we do not yet have the title in stock, you can suggest it to us for purchase by clicking on the "Request" button.

If you want to know which titles we already have as e-books (there are currently almost 800), you have to navigate to "Advanced Search" after logging in. If you then check the box "Book Status: Owned and subscribed to by my library" and complete this request with "Search", you will be shown a list of results. As this is already very extensive, you are offered various options for narrowing down the list to the left of the results. You can sort the entire list, which is initially sorted by "Relevance", but also by "Title", "Contributers" or "Publishers".