The central headquarters of the SLUB library have been in intensive daily use for the last 25 years and are now set for refurbishment, with some sections also to be modified as a result of shifting requirements driven by changes in user behaviour. With an initial three-year process of stocktaking and planning close to completion and the scope of planned refurbishment and modification measures already finalised, construction is currently scheduled to begin in 2028.
What makes the project unique is the balancing of the smoothness and efficiency of the construction process against the careful handling of the library’s valuable holdings. In particular, 11 million media will need to be removed, put in temporary storage and then returned to either their original location or a new home. In order to facilitate this, interim storage facilities with a total area of approx. 15,000 m² will be built for the storage of two thirds of the library’s media, 80 kilometres of which will be placed in stacks and 15 kilometres of which will be in open access.
