On Site

Library Wissenschaftspark Albert Einstein
Telegrafenberg
D-14473 Potsdam
Germany

Help Desk Opening hours

Tuesday - Thursday: 10 am - 3 pm
The virtual Help Desk is staffed Monday to Friday from 10 am - 3pm.

Access to the reading room is possible for staff at all times.

Phone +49 331 288-1673
Mail bib@gfz-potsdam.de

There are terminals for research in every library location.

In addition, the joint library (A17) offers workstations for longer periods and around the clock.

  • quiet workstations
  • room for guests
  • meetings in small groups on bigger workstations
  • unofficial meetings on the blue sofa in the reading hall

24/7 access to the A17

Staff members of AWI, GFZ, RIFS and PIK are permitted to use the library sites in A17 beyond our opening hours, too. Please use the door bell next to the library entrance and provide your user number - the number on your library card.

On site we offer the following technical infrastructure:

WLAN

  • Tickets for temporary access at the help desk
  • Participation in Eduroam (hosting by DFN):
    www.eduroam.org, www.eduroam.de
  • GFZ internal, RIFS internal and PIK internal access possible

Research Terminals

For research in our online resources three terminals are available. 

Printer, photocopier, various scanning options

  • Copy machine: booklet printing and stapling possible
  • Overhead book scanner - Bookeye
  • Map scanner: Colours, high resolution, 1200 dpi, up to 106 cm wide maps (A0+)
  • Flatbed scanner

Additional equipment

  • Poster rolls for map transportation
  • Lockers

Remote Access VPN - Access to online resources outside the Telegrafenberg

If you want to access our licensed resources outside the campus, you can use a VPN client. This is easy to install, simulates an IP number of the Telegrafenberg and provides access to all electronic content offered by the library. A valid login account is required.

Instructions on the GFZ Intranet: http://intranet.gfz-potsdam.de/en/topics/it/my-workplace/network/remote-access-vpn/

For further information please contact the library: bib@gfz-potsdam.de
or the IT support: rz-support@gfz-potsdam.de

Staff members of PIK, AWI and RIFS can contact the respective IT departments.

From Instruments Hall to today's Reading Room

Since 1999 the library is located in the rooms of the former Geodetic Institute. The "Great Instruments Hall" became the reading room, the "Comparator Hall" is the current "Kompaktmagazin" with journals and monographs.

The historic library of the Geodetic Institute

The historic library on the second floor of A17 is used as archive and can be visited upon request or during our on-site library introductions. The rooms are often used as a setting for events and to welcome special guests.

A view into the Pendulum Hall

The famous Reversion Pendulum is located in building A17 and can be visited through the library of the Wissenschaftspark Albert Einstein. The historic Pendulum Hall has been restored until 2011 and is equipped with geodetic instruments and books.

Between 1898 and 1904 the absolute determination of the earth's gravity by means of reversion pendulum measurements was carried out here by Friedrich Jakob Kühnen and Philipp Furtwängler (Geodetic Institute). The determined value became the international reference value in 1909.

The Pendulum Hall can be visited upon request and during our on-site library introductions.

More information on the history of the Telegrafenberg: https://geschichte.telegrafenberg.de/ (German only)

Below you will find helpful overviews of the location information in our catalogue and of the different classification systems that have arisen historically.

Designations in the catalogue

There are different locations named in our library catalogue:

DesignationThese stocks you will find
LesesaalCurrent journals, current monographs, reference books, monograph series, introductions, handbooks
Kompaktmagazin untenBound volumes of journals, publication series
Kompaktmagazin obenMonographs since 1945 (different classification systems), Maps
AWI LesesaalBuilding A 45 S - see Classification AWI library below
Archiv - bitte bestellenStocks marked this way unfortunately are not freely accessible to users. Please contact the information desk and we will make the books available for you.
Magazin - bitte bestellenStocks marked this way unfortunately are not freely accessible to users. Please contact the information desk and we will make the books available for you.
PendelsaalStocks marked this way unfortunately are not freely accessible to users. Please contact the information desk and we will make the books available for you.
A18 - bitte bestellenStocks marked this way unfortunately are not freely accessible to users. Please contact the information desk and we will make the books available for you.
MOP - bitte bestellenStocks marked this way unfortunately are not freely accessible to users. Please contact the information desk and we will make the books available for you.
RZ - bitte bestellenStocks marked this way unfortunately are not freely accessible to users. Please contact the information desk and we will make the books available for you.

Classifications

SignatureOrigin / meaningKompaktmagazin
AMapsoben
HHistoric literature prior to 1945oben
M xx.xxxxGFZ stocks sind 1992 (Bibliothekssigel: B 103)oben
N xx.xxxxAcquisition of the joint libraryoben
Q xxxxGeodesy (Bibliothekssigel: B 103)oben
M xxxGeology (Bibliothekssigel: B 689)oben
O xxxxGeodesy (Bibliothekssigel: B 103)oben
(G) 5xxxffGeology (Bibliothekssigel: B 689)oben
FHD 1-500Research centre for High Pressure Researchoben
1100 ffGeomagnetism (Bibliothekssigel: B 446)oben
F xGeodesy (historical stock) (Bibliothekssigel: B 103)oben
MOPMeteorological Observatory (Bibliothekssigel: Po5)Please order at help desk.

Classification AWI library: