Chemistry

Information about the Holdings

The library’s collection on the broad scope of the field of Chemistry covers all areas of chemical research, and consists of contemporary as well as historical literature. It originated in the library of the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität’s first Chemistry Institute, under the lead of its first director August Wilhelm von Hofmann (1818-1892).

Also having founded the German Chemical Society (Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft), he arranged for its library to be established within the University’s Chemistry Institute. After years of being relocated, it eventually returned to its point of origin and is nowadays incorporated into the science branch library of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as the “Hofmann-Library” (“Hofmann-Bibliothek”).

A wide range of the current literature is also available as an electronic resource, and in part exclusively so. Members of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin can access these resources (i.e. e-books, e-journals, and databases) via VPN, regardless of location. For further information on where to find relevant literature on-site, see Subject Holdings.

For information on how to get started on your research, please refer to our "Research Guide Chemistry" (pdf).