Austrian Libraries

The Österreich-Bibliothek, which has been established since 1989 at 65 locations in 28 countries, mainly in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, offers the opportunity to shape Austrian international cultural policy in an innovative and flexible manner. Each of these libraries exists in partnership with local institutions (libraries and universities) in the host country and offers information on Austrian culture tailored to the respective location.

The libraries are to make Austrian literature as well as information on the history and present of Austria accessible to a wider public. For this reason, most Austrian Libraries organize, in addition to their library work – the holdings comprise about 400,000 books – events in the cultural sector (readings, lectures, music and film evenings, exhibitions, video evenings, conversation hours and library tours as well as symposia) and, through these activities, also represent a cultural contact point for those interested in Austria and its culture in those cities in which Austria is not represented by an embassy or other official institutions.

Cultural exchange takes place directly in these flexible “culture and media centres” run by local partners, which are used by around 250,000 people every year. This success has now led to the opening of libraries outside the original target regions – for example in Israel, Turkey, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The purchase of books for the Austrian Libraries is carried out by the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs in Austria. The foreign supporting organisation bears the infrastructure and the costs for library staff.

The Web-Portal

The web portal www.oesterreich-bibliotheken.at provides detailed information on the holdings, activities and current developments of the individual libraries. However, it also fulfils a networking function to bundle information, exchange ideas and it is intended to facilitate the work of visitors to the Austrian Libraries, librarians and staff of the Austrian cooperation partners.