Göttingen City Library: Opening hours drastically reduced from July!

Göttingen City Library: Opening hours drastically reduced from July!

The Göttingen City Library is facing a significant change to its opening hours, which will come into force from July 2025. Due to staff shortages and an existing ban on re-staffing, opening hours have to be reduced by a total of nine hours per week. This decision was made by the city administration and will significantly affect access times for library visitors.

The new opening times offer a clear picture: On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday the library opens from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., while Saturday is open to readers from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The city library remains closed on Wednesdays and Sundays. Special attention is also paid to the return containers, which will be available from July and can be used on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. This allows users to return their media easily, even outside of regular opening hours. Further details can be found on the city library website, which also provides users with current information via Telegram and Notify.

Digitalization as an answer to the challenges

In view of these challenges, the city library has developed a clear strategy: the promotion of its online offerings will be increasingly promoted. These digital services are not only convenient, but also extremely popular with users, who often live across the region. Visitors have the opportunity to borrow a variety of digital media via the online.de/goettingen platform. A big advantage of these digital offers is that there are no penalty fees if the loan period is overdrawn, which makes their use more attractive for many.

There are also three practical apps available for smartphone and tablet users: The “Online” app offers a wide selection of e-books and audio books, while “Pressreader” provides access to numerous newspapers and magazines. For little readers under the age of two to ten, there is the “Tigerbooks” app, which contains over 2,000 titles. The digital library is not only open around the clock, but also offers content for different interests and age groups.

There's even more on offer!

The Göttingen City Library, which was founded in 1897 as the Göttingen People's Library and has been a municipal institution since 1934, also has six branches in the region. These branches can be found in Elliehausen, Geismar, Grone, Roringen, Nikolausberg and Weende. The annual adult library card costs 20 euros, with discounts available for certain groups. These measures are intended to ensure that the library remains accessible to less wealthy citizens.

An interesting finding about the library's user structure shows that 56% of those under 20 who know about the library actively use it. In contrast, only 23% of those over 65 years old. This is also confirmed by other studies on library use, which show an age-related gap in use and at the same time emphasize the high level of education of the users. The younger generations are very fond of digital media and naturally use the library's diverse online offerings.

The Göttingen City Library, which has been located on Gotmarstrasse since 1980, remains an important contact point for curiosity and cultural exchange even in a changing world. Despite the necessary reductions in opening hours, those responsible are confident that the digital engagement and diverse offerings will continue to attract users and that the library will remain a lively meeting place.

For more information about the changes and the city library's offerings, please visit the official website: Göttingen.de.

Additional background information on trends in library use can be found at Library portal.

And for news about developments in Göttingen, follow the coverage HNA.