TUM University Library

What TUM University Library does

TUM University Library (Universitätsbibliothek der Technischen Universität München) is the central service institution of the Technical University of Munich, operating nine branch libraries across Munich, Garching, Weihenstephan, and Straubing. Founded in 1868, it serves TUM students, researchers, teaching staff, and research-support staff with literature and information services free of charge, supplemented by external researchers, companies, and private individuals on a licensing and fee basis. The library manages 2.3 million printed and electronic media items, 150,000 journal titles including 76,000 licensed e-journals, 2,700 database platforms, and 290,000 e-books, and records approximately 2 million visits and 7.8 million full-text downloads per year.

The library's technology stack centers on the open-source FOLIO library management system, supplemented by proprietary and in-house-developed components including mediaTUM (institutional repository), TUMFIS (research information system), eAccess (e-media authentication), TUM DataTagger (research data annotation), and TUM eLabFTW (electronic lab notebook), with underlying infrastructure operated by the Leibniz-Rechenzentrum (LRZ). Service offerings include systematic review support, reference management training for Citavi, EndNote, and Zotero, bibliometrics and DORA-compliant research evaluation, Open Access publishing through TUM.University Press, information literacy courses (679 hours per year), interlibrary loan and document delivery, digitization on demand, and access to 1,978 study desks. The Open Access program is underpinned by Publish & Read agreements with Elsevier, Nature, Springer, OUP, and ACS, and a DFG-funded Publishing Fund of up to €1,000 per article.

As a public institution, the library is funded by the Technical University of Munich and the Free State of Bavaria; commercial revenue is limited to cost-recovery fees such as media reclaim charges (€7.50–€35.50 per request), digitization on demand (€0.06–€0.16 per page), and equipment replacement. The library is co-led by Dr. Caroline Leiß and Dr. Christoph Mitscherling, employs approximately 124 staff as of December 2025, and operates 358 days per year across 106 weekly opening hours.

Name

TUM University Library

Legal name

Universitätsbibliothek der Technischen Universität München

Website

https://ub.tum.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1868

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TUM University Library is the central service institution of the Technical University of Munich, operating nine branch libraries across four campuses and serving TUM students, researchers, teaching staff, and external users with literature, research data management, and Open Access publishing services.

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)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAEAGAB

Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Library, Media Center & Learning Space Operations

SECONDARYEDAEAGAF

Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Library, Media Center & Learning Space Operations

SECONDARYEDAEAGAE

Library Collections & Cataloging Services (Acquisitions, Metadata, Circulation)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Library, Media Center & Learning Space Operations

Keywords

• Academic library services
• Research information services
• Library management systems
• Open access publishing
• Information literacy training

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Library Services (Public Institution): As a central service unit of a public university (Technische Universität München), the University Library provides literature and information services free of charge to TUM members. The library is funded by the university and the Free State of Bavaria. Fees are charged only for specific services such as media reclaim, locker usage (when exceeding loan periods), equipment replacement, and international interlibrary loans.
2. Fee-based Services (Media Reclaim, Equipment Replacement, ILL): The library generates minor fee revenue from overdue media recovery charges, equipment loss/damage replacement, international interlibrary loan costs, digitization on demand, and copying/printing services. These are cost-recovery mechanisms rather than profit-generating activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

TUM University Library is the central academic library of the Technical University of Munich, providing access to approximately 2.3 million printed and electronic media, operating nine branch libraries across Munich, Garching, Weihenstephan, and Straubing. It offers research support services, information literacy training, interlibrary loans, document delivery, digitization, and open access publishing services to TUM students, researchers, and teaching staff. The library also develops and operates specialized digital tools including FOLIO (library management system), TUM DataTagger, eLabFTW, and mediaTUM.

Product overview

TUM University Library is a central service unit of the Technical University of Munich operating nine branch libraries with approximately 120 staff. The library offers a unified platform of services built around its core systems: FOLIO (open-source library management system), mediaTUM (institutional repository), TUMFIS (research information system), and TUM.University Press (open-access publishing). The ecosystem includes specialized tools like TUM DataTagger and TUM eLabFTW for research data management, eAccess for electronic resource authentication, and TUM OPAC for catalog search. Services encompass systematic review support, reference management training (Citavi, EndNote, Zotero), interlibrary loan, study spaces, information literacy courses, bibliometrics support, and open access publishing guidance—all supporting students, researchers, teaching staff, and administrative personnel across TUM's academic profile.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TUM.University Press: TUM's independent open-access publisher for monographs, edited volumes, and academic journals.
• mediaTUM
• TUMFIS
• TUM.University Press

Products and services

• Central and Branch Library Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 7.8 million full-text downloads per year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Leibniz-Rechenzentrum (LRZ) der Bayerischen Akademie der WissenschaftencoreTechnology or IntegrationLRZ operates the web servers and technical infrastructure for TUM University Library's website (ub.tum.de) and data processing systems. The library's data is processed electronically on LRZ-operated systems at Boltzmannstraße 1, 85748 Garching bei München. This is a critical infrastructure partnership ensuring the digital availability of library services.
• TU9 (Alliance of Leading German Technical Universities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTUM University Library participates in several TU9 library working groups covering open access, research data, and information literacy. TU9 libraries also benefit from the 'BibHop' nationwide exchange program enabling library staff visits for sharing workflows, experiences, and challenges.
• German Library Association (Deutscher Bibliotheksverband, DBV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe library supports nationwide projects of the DBV and participates in internal working groups addressing current and forward-looking issues for academic university libraries.
• Bavarian Library Network (Bibliotheksverbund Bayern, BVB)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe library contributes to commissions and working groups focused on advancing central infrastructure, synergies, efficiency, and innovation within the Bavarian Library Network.
• Verein Deutscher Bibliothekarinnen und Bibliothekare (VDB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStaff members are active in various commissions within the VDB professional association, fostering professional exchange and advancing library services.
• Berufsverband Information Bibliothek e.V. (BIB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStaff members are active in various commissions within the BIB professional association, fostering professional exchange and advancing library services.
• TUM Research Data HubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University Library is a co-founder of the TUM Research Data Hub, and together with MDSI serves as the central contact point for all research data management-related matters at TUM. This partnership provides research data infrastructure, consulting, and tools for TUM researchers.
• IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational library association membership for professional exchange and global library community engagement.
• LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean research library association membership for international professional exchange and collaboration.
• IATUL (International Association University Libraries)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational university library association membership for professional exchange.
• FOLIO CommunitycoreTechnology or IntegrationThe library operates the FOLIO open-source library management system and participates in the FOLIO Community for ongoing development and best practice sharing.
• Major Academic Publishers (Elsevier, Nature, Springer, OUP, ACS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTUM has numerous Open Access agreements (Publish & Read agreements) with major publishers providing both unrestricted reading access and Open Access publishing options for TUM researchers. These agreements are coordinated through the library's Open Access service.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Universitätsbibliothek der TU Berlin: TU Berlin University Library, a TU9 partner institution. Comparable on technical collection profile, Berlin/Bavarian library network participation, and academic library service portfolio.
• ETH Zürich Library: Library of ETH Zurich, a leading European technical university. Highly comparable as a multi-branch research university library serving engineering and science, with a similar portfolio of research data management, Open Access, and digital repository services.
• Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg (Frankfurt): Frankfurt University Library, a major German research library. Comparable as a large multi-site academic library providing Open Access, RDM, and digital services, though broader in disciplinary scope than TUM.
• Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Library, one of Germany's largest traditional academic libraries. Comparable as a multi-site German research library providing digital services, Open Access support, and historical collections, though broader in disciplinary scope than TUM.
• KIT-Bibliothek (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology): Library of KIT, another major German technical university and TU9 member. Directly comparable as a multi-branch STEM-focused research library with comparable service scope and consortium affiliations.
• Universitätsbibliothek RWTH Aachen: RWTH Aachen University Library, a fellow TU9 member and German technical university library. Closely comparable on collection profile (STEM), TU9 consortium participation, and use of FOLIO/open-source infrastructure.
• SLUB Dresden: Saxon State and University Library Dresden, a combined state/university library. Comparable as a large German research library with strong digital infrastructure, Open Access publishing, and software development capabilities.

Others

• Ex Libris Group: Major library technology vendor whose Alma/Primo/Rosetta systems compete with open-source alternatives like FOLIO used by TUM. Relevant as a competing technology stack in the academic library systems market rather than as a direct institutional peer.

Regional players

• Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (BSB): Bavarian State Library, also located in Munich and part of the BVB network alongside TUM. Comparable on regional German library services, digital collection scale, and Open Access infrastructure, though it serves a broader statewide rather than single-university audience.

Broad incumbents

• TIB – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Technik und Naturwissenschaften: German national information centre for science and technology and a key document-delivery partner for TUM (TIB-Dokumentlieferung). Comparable on STEM information services, research data infrastructure, and Open Access publishing support, but operates at a national rather than single-institution scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/TUMLibraryChannel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tum-library
• Instagraminstagram.com/tum.library

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TUM University Library