Research Information

The Online Catalog is the main information source on the IfZ Library.

 Please first have a look  at the IfZ classification system. Information on the availability of electronic journals and databases at IfZ can also be found via EZB or DBIS.

The online catalogue provides information on:

• the complete library collection: Monographs, journals, articles (from journals and edited collections), databases, electronic journals and books
• source documents from the archive collection: official, party, and association printed materials (German Empire, German states, occupied areas, Nazi Party, SS, police, parties, etc. 1871-1945;  Allied institutions, German authorities above the regional level through 1955); official documents of the Federal Republic of Germany (youth and women’s organizations from May 1945, academic and cultural organizations from May 1945)
• newspapers from the archive press collection
• contemporary history collection (short publications, leaflets, party and advertising materials through 1945)

The sophisticated IfZ classification system provides the best way to find content from within the collection.
You should therefore use this research tool to search for literature on most topics, as a keyword search via the online catalog alone will often yield incomplete results!  Due to its size, this system is maintained in a separate database in which you can ascertain the correct notation and begin a search in the online catalog with just one click the click of a mouse.

You can find information on catalog use and the system database, search strategies, etc. in our notes on online catalog searches. Help texts are available for older titles (through 1995) and geographic searches.

Independent sources are available for electronic journals and online databases in the Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek (Electronic Journals Library – EZB) and Datenbank-Infosystem (Database Infosystem – DBIS), respectively. Both offer a wealth of information on freely available as well as restricted information resources, so that it is well worth searching these directories as well.