Explore the Collections
Our collections include manuscripts, archival materials, personal papers, rare books, maps, and other primary sources. Explore the Library’s unique holdings for research and teaching.
Introduction to Goettingen special collections
The collections of the SUB Göttingen comprise European and Oriental manuscripts, a significant number of incunabula and maps, as well as a wide array of early printed books across all disciplines. As the custodian of Göttingen University's intellectual heritage, the Library also preserves the papers and manuscripts of renowned scholars, including Georg Christoph Lichtenberg and Carl Friedrich Gauss.
Das Universitätsarchiv sichert und erschließt seit der Gründung der Universität die Akten der Zentralverwaltung und der Fakultäten. Es stellt damit einmaliges Quellenmaterial zur Erforschung der Göttinger Universitäts- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte bereit.
Since the University was founded, the University Archive has been safeguarding and indexing the records of the central administration and the faculties. It offers unique source material for studying the history of the University, its academic endeavours, and the history of sciences in general.
- Our Sammlungsblog regularly features news and updates from the world of our historic collections.
- Our digital Sammlungskatalog provides detailed descriptions of many of our collections.
Key collection areas of the Göttingen special collections
Digital Collections
Digitising objects of cultural heritage creates new possibilities for studying historical materials. It enables worldwide access to unique holdings, supports the comparison of sources across institutions, and helps to preserve the original items.
Digital copies of the Library’s collections are accessible through several online portals and platforms, the most important being the Göttinger Digitalisierungszentrum (GDZ), Kulturerbe Niedersachsen, and the University of Göttingen’s Sammlungsportal.
Overview of the digital access options
Digital copies of books, manuscripts, maps, personal papers of SUB Göttingen
Digitised cultural assets of libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions in Lower Saxony
Digitised objects from the academic collections of the University of Göttingen