Unlike typical public libraries, the KIT university library is primarily meant to support specific study and research being conducted on campus. The library maintains a wide array of materials and services with the objective of assisting researchers and students in their academic work. At present, the library’s collection includes some 410,000 books and well over 5,500 kinds of periodicals. Of these, approximately 280,000 books can be freely used in the library’s reading room. The materials remaining in the library’s closed stacks are available on request.
In addition, the library has a number of special features to help support users’ needs. As the library participates in an academic information network, searches of other university libraries and research facility collections throughout the nation can be carried out using the database. Loans of books from other university libraries and the copying of desired materials make it possible to obtain virtually any resource.