Until July 25, the library will continue to be open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

After that, the holiday opening hours will apply: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Opening hours:
During the semester and the first week after lectures end: Mon–Fri 9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
During lecture-free periods: Mon–Fri 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

• Contact persons in Catholic Theology

  Building Johannisstraße 8-10, Room 018

  Monika Aumüller
  Silvia Klaes
  Bernard Nonte
  Tel. 0251 / 83-22649
  bibjoh@uni-muenster.de

• Contact person for Art History + Philosophy

  Building Domplatz 23, Room 11

  Norbert Mertens
  Tel. 0251 / 83-24470
  mertenn@uni-muenster.de

  ----

  Mareike Theis
  Tel. 0251 / 83-24479
  mthei_03@uni-muenster.de

General information

• All floors and rooms of the libraries are accessible via an elevator.
• Toilets are located outside the libraries in the basement.
• Please store bags, backpacks, etc. in the lockers in the entrance area. Baskets are available on loan for transporting necessary materials.
• Outerwear may be taken into the library rooms.
• Drinks may be brought in resealable and shatterproof containers. Food is not permitted.
•     Please return used books to their location on the shelves yourself.

Use of desks

•  All 98 desks in the libraries are available for use. A distinction is made between reservable and free spaces.
• Six numbered spaces in each of the three reading rooms can be booked three days in advance via the ULB's space reservation service.
• Unnumbered spaces in the reading rooms and all spaces in the open access area are generally available for free use.
• Please clear the six research work tables on the ground floor if users without their own devices need to use the computers located there.

The sub-libraries and their collections

• The libraries' total holdings amount to approximately 165,000 volumes, most of which are located in the open-access area on four floors.
• Institute of Art History (ground floor + first floor)
• Philosophical Seminary (first and second floor)
• Catholic Theology Faculty, Domplatz 23 (second + third floor)

The libraries in the Philosophy Building are reference libraries with limited lending options. Borrowing and returning items takes place at the central desk on the ground floor (entrance area). Please present your ULB or student ID card for each transaction. 

You can use the University and State Library (ULB)  CatalogPlus to check whether the media are currently available or not. You can also access your own ULB account there.

If the item is available in the Philosophikum, you can identify it under ---> Standort Exemplare by the entry ---> Philosophikum, Bibiotheken.

Lending

• Students and guests

  A maximum of five books may be borrowed.
  The loan period finishes at the end of the opening hours of the following working day (= overnight or weekend loan).

• Exam candidates + doctoral candidates

  Upon request, longer loan periods may be granted (5 books for up to 4 weeks).
  The request must be confirmed by the thesis supervisor.

• Lecturers of Muenster University

  4 weeks + automatic loan extensions up to a maximum of 12 months.
  No quantity restrictions.

• Non-circulating collections

  Catholic theology

  Rare books, journals, encyclopedias, semester apparatus, dictionaries, source editions, loose-leaf collections, and commentaries.

  Art history

  Call numbers: BK, L, Q, Z, as well as rare books, journals, digital holdings, reference books, and semester apparatus.

  Philosophy

  Rare books, reference books, semester apparatus, encyclopedias, journals, digital media for which licenses have only been purchased within the library.

Infrastructure

The three reading rooms with reservable desks are located on the right-hand side of floors 1 to 3.

Six PC workstations are available on the ground floor. You will need your personal university ID to log in.

Copiers and multifunction devices are located on each floor. You will need your student ID card or a mensa card to use them. There is also an overhead scanner on the ground floor for handling large-format books.

Room 11 (the library administration office) stores book supplements, current issues of journals, microfiches, CD-ROMs, and DVD-ROMs. Please report your needs directly there or to the supervisor.

The rare book collection is separate and will be made available upon request. Please contact the supervisor or the library administration directly.

Further information and overviews

Philo_Sachgruppen-Uebersicht_Tabellarisch Subject group overview / tabular

Philo_Grundriss und Etagenplan_teilbenannt Subject group overview / floor plans

Philo_Benutzungsordnung_Stand_2025_02_24 Terms of use for the libraries in the Philosophikum