Study and Research - what we can offer
Research needs content, research needs context
The German National Library provides an extensive range of services for science and research. The Scientific Service provides support at all stages of the research process for researchers whose projects involve DNB holdings. DNBLab with its multitude of tools, open access data and resources, is the main infrastructural access point for anyone interested in text and data mining. The DH call and DH fellowships support innovative research ideas in the digital humanities. Our aim with these is to secure Germany's archived cultural heritage a dynamic place in society.
CommunityHub: Scientific Service
The Scientific Service supports research projects based on the German National Library's holdings, collections and metadata. We act as a reliable partner and an advisory and organisational interface with the German National Library which will accompany you all the way from the initial idea through the application process to the organisational realisation of your research project. In this context, we supervise all kinds of research projects, especially in the fields of the digital humanities and citizen science. We look forward to receiving your enquiries about possible projects and discussing them with you at wd@dnb.de
Access to digital collections
With regard to availability, a distinction is made between publications with no access restrictions, publications with access restrictions, metadata and authority data. Please visit our website for more information about how they differ and what the differences mean in practice.
Open Access: Access to digital collections
DNBLab
We can offer the German National Library's entire holdings of bibliographic and authority data, metadata on individual, freely available content collections and the use, with certain provisos, of our collection of digital objects. Information about how to access our free data, object files and full texts by download and through various interfaces is available in DNBLab.
DNBLab: Access to data sets and digital objects
If you would like to conduct research using other data holdings from the German National Library, please contact us at: lab@dnb.de.
Support programmes
The German National Library supports academia and research, and offers various text and data mining services for this purpose. Since 2020, we have been publishing an annual digital humanities call (DH call), requesting applications from researchers who wish to work with our data and digital objects.
2022 we expanded our offer in support of DH research to include fellowships for the first time. Our objective is to encourage young researchers with a first academic degree and experience in digital humanities to carry out research using the German National Library’s data and collections.
HERMES research study programme
Are you keen to work with innovative methods, and do you need the German National Library's data to do so? The research study programme, which is part of the HERMES project, supports studies of selected collections of open-access and protected data in order to promote data competence. Every year, financing is awarded for up to four studies lasting three months each.
Current call for HERMES research study programme
DH Call
Are you planning or already working on a DH research project and need access to metadata or digital content from the German National Library? We support research projects as part of our DH Call and provide the necessary data and infrastructure. The DH call also offers the opportunity to work with copyright-protected material in accordance with the provisions of property rights (Urheberrechtsgesetz) § 60d.
DH fellowships
Are you interested in working with our data and already have some experience with digital humanities methods? Our DH fellowships offer the opportunity to conduct research on our metadata and our free digital content. For this purpose, we grant fellowships for a period of 3 to 6 months including a monthly living allowance.
Text and Data Mining
Besides its collection of physical media (35.7 million objects), the German National Library has also established an extensive digital collection of 17.4 million objects including e-books, e-journals, e-papers and other digital objects. In accordance with property rights (Urheberrechtsgesetz) § 60d rights holder legislation, these are available for automated analysis (Text and Data Mining) for research purposes.
Automated analysis is however permitted solely on infrastructure and in rooms belonging to the German National Library.
If you are interested in this service, please send us a short description of your project or contact us in advance at: DH-Call@dnb.de.
Services
The DNB is happy to support your research by offering standardised data copies free of charge. You can also use our metadata services for Data selection according to your own criteria. There is a charge for this service.
In accordance with German law on copyright and intellectual property rights (Urheberrechtsgesetz) § 60d, you may digitise printed media for the purpose of academic research. There is also a charge for this service.
If your research requires German National Library metadata that is not yet freely available, please contact metadatendienste@dnb.de.
Spheres of activity and findings
The German National Library is increasing its co-operation with the Digital Humanities in the form of workshops and research collaborations, with the aim of exchanging expertise with experts in the field, finding new ways of working together and mining the potential of its own digital data holdings. Initial publications and applications have highlighted the possibilities the German National Library’s digital collection can offer.
Contact
Scientific Service: wd@dnb.de
Stephanie Nitsche: s.nitsche@dnb.de
Last changes:
30.04.2025
Short-URL:
https://www.dnb.de/dhe
