Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg

What Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg does

Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg (UB Freiburg) is the central library of Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, a public university in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Operated as a central institution (zentrale Einrichtung) of the university under §28 of the State Higher Education Act of Baden-Württemberg, the library provides comprehensive information supply, study infrastructure, and research support services to university students, researchers, faculty, and external users. Its collection spans approximately 5.3 million physical volumes, supplemented by extensive licensed digital resources (e-books, e-journals, databases) and digitized historical holdings including manuscripts, incunabula, rare books, maps, and historical newspapers. The library operates a main building open 7:00-24:00 daily and more than 50 subject-specific branch libraries across the university campus, providing 1,250 individual and 500 group study workspaces.

The library's service portfolio centers on the Katalog plus integrated catalog, the FreiDok plus institutional repository for Open Access publishing, a Digital Library portal aggregating databases and e-books, a DOI contact point for persistent identifiers, a Media Centre offering equipment loans and production studios, a digitization service, interlibrary loan, and a student journalism platform (uniCROSS). The library operates Matomo-based privacy-compliant web analytics and participates in the Konsortium Baden-Württemberg for joint electronic-resource licensing, alongside partnerships with the BSZ for technical infrastructure and the Badische Landesbibliothek and Württembergische Landesbibliothek for cooperative service provision.

The business model is non-commercial public sector: the library is funded primarily through state higher education appropriations from the Ministry for Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg, with no private shareholders, no venture funding, and no commercial revenue generation. Transactional fees (external user registrations, interlibrary loan charges, digitization services, fines) constitute only a minor supplementary stream. The library is directed by Dr. Antje Kellersohn, who reports to the university rectorate. Customer segments are entirely institutional: students and researchers of Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg are the primary users, with secondary segments including external regional users and school groups. Distribution is through on-campus physical locations plus digital service delivery via the ub.uni-freiburg.de website.

Name

Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg

Legal name

Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg

Website

https://ub.uni-freiburg.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg is the central public library of Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, providing 5.3 million volumes, 50+ branch libraries, digital resources, Open Access publishing support, and study infrastructure to university students, researchers, and faculty under state funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries) (EDAEAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Library User Services & Information Support (Reference, Research Help, Instruction Support) (EDAEAGAL), Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Resource Sharing Operations (EDAEAGAK), Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ)

Keywords

• Academic library services
• Scientific information supply
• Open access publishing
• Research support services
• Digital library resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Freiburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Institutional Funding: As a central facility of Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, the library is primarily funded through public higher education funding from the state of Baden-Württemberg. No commercial revenue generation.
2. Library Fees and Fines: Fees collected according to the Bibliotheksgebührenordnung (library fee regulations) for services including borrowing privileges for external users, overdue fines, replacement fees for lost materials, and digitization services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg is a public academic library providing physical and digital collections (approximately 5.3 million volumes, databases, E-Books, E-Journals), research support services (Open Access publishing via FreiDok plus, DOI services, subject librarian consultations), media production and equipment loans via the Medienzentrum, study workspaces, interlibrary loan, digitization services, and guided educational courses to members of Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and external users.

Product overview

Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg is a large academic library system serving the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. Its product portfolio centers on the Katalog plus catalog system as the primary discovery interface, supported by the FreiDok plus institutional repository for Open Access publishing. The Digital Library encompasses licensed databases, e-books, and e-journals. A major distinguishing component is the Freiburger historische Bestände – digital program, which digitizes and provides online access to extensive special collections including manuscripts, incunabula, maps, and historical newspapers. The Medienzentrum (Media Centre) is a distinct operational unit offering equipment lending, recording studios, editing suites, and event livestreaming, alongside the uniCROSS student journalism platform. Additional core services include a digitisation service, interlibrary loan and document delivery, subject-specific portals across all disciplines, Open Science/Open Access support, guided educational courses, diverse study spaces, and a Special Collections Reading Room for rare materials. Together these form a unified library service that integrates physical collection management, digital resource delivery, scholarly communication infrastructure, and media production capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Katalog plus
• FreiDok plus
• Digitale Bibliothek (Digital Library)
• Freiburger historische Bestände – digital (Digital Collections Freiburg)
• Medienzentrum (Media Centre)
• uniCROSS
• Digitalisierungsservice (Digitisation Service)
• Geräteausleihe (Equipment Loan / Tech Loan)
• Campus-Scandienst (Campus Scan Service)
• Einführungen und Kurse (Guided Tours and Courses)
• Fachportale (Subject Portals)
• Open Science / Open Access Services
• Fernleihe und Dokumentlieferdienste (Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery)
• Arbeitsplätze (Workstations and Study Spaces)
• Sonderlesesaal (Special Collections Reading Room)

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves all members of Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg plus external users, operating 7:00-24:00 daily

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Konsortium Baden-WürttembergcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe library participates in the Baden-Württemberg Library Consortium (Konsortium Baden-Württemberg), a joint operating unit funded by the Ministry of Science. The consortium negotiates site licenses for electronic resources on behalf of all universities in Baden-Württemberg, providing significant cost efficiencies and coordinated access to digital resources.
• Eucor BibliominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-border library cooperation within the Eucor - The European Campus trinational network, enabling library resource sharing among partner universities in the Upper Rhine region.
• Badische Landesbibliothek KarlsruhecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative service relationship as specified in Baden-Württemberg Higher Education Act §28, forming a cooperative service association for shared information provision and resource sharing.
• Württembergische Landesbibliothek StuttgartcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative service relationship as specified in Baden-Württemberg Higher Education Act §28, forming a cooperative service association for shared information provision and resource sharing.
• Bibliotheksservicezentrum (BSZ)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe library uses services from the Bibliotheksservicezentrum Baden-Württemberg, which provides library management systems and technical infrastructure for bibliographic data and metadata management.
• FreiDok plus / University of FreiburgcoreTechnology or IntegrationInternal institutional repository system for Open Access publication and research data management, integrated with university research infrastructure.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Niedersächsische SUB Göttingen: Göttingen State and University Library is one of Germany's largest academic libraries with extensive historical collections, institutional repository (Goescholar), and a national role in research data management. Comparable in scale, scholarly scope, and digital infrastructure.
• Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg: Central university library of Heidelberg University, a large German research university with similar scale of historical collections, Open Access infrastructure, and Konsortium Baden-Württemberg membership. Highly comparable in mandate, user base, and digital service offering.
• Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen: Tübingen University library is a peer-sized academic library serving another major Baden-Württemberg research university and is a direct consortium partner. It offers a closely comparable portfolio of discovery, repository, and Open Access services.
• TIB – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Technik und Naturwissenschaften Universitätsbibliothek: TIB Hannover is the German National Library of Science and Technology and a university library. It operates a national research data infrastructure and a major Open Science platform, representing a peer in the move from traditional library toward digital research infrastructure provider.
• SLUB Dresden: Saxon State and University Library Dresden combines a state library mandate with university library services, similar to how Freiburg serves both university and regional reference needs. Strong digital collections and Open Access program make it a directly comparable peer.
• Bodleian Libraries (University of Oxford): The Bodleian Libraries form the main library system of the University of Oxford, with comparable historical collections, federated branch structure, and digital scholarship services. A peer comparison at the top end of European academic library scale.
• ETH-Bibliothek Zürich: The main library of ETH Zurich serves a major European research university with strong science and engineering faculties. Comparable in scale, digital infrastructure (e-rara, ETH Library's platforms), and Open Science services, although based in Switzerland.

Regional players

• Cambridge University Library: Cambridge University Library serves a major UK research university with a comparable portfolio of historical collections, digital infrastructure, and research support services. Comparable in service scope though geographically separate.

Broad incumbents

• Bayerische Staatsbibliothek: Munich's Bavarian State Library is a much larger state-level institution with a national role in collecting and preserving cultural heritage. Comparable in terms of historical collections and digital services, but with a broader mandate than a single university library.
• Deutsche Nationalbibliothek: Germany's national library collects and catalogs all German-language publications and operates the national authority file. Comparable in metadata infrastructure and digital curation mandate, but operates at a national rather than university level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/ubfreiburg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/universit%C3%A4tsbibliothek-freiburg

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg