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Leipzig: Wednesday, 30.04.2025

The reading rooms in the main building of the German National Library in Leipzig will close at 14:00 due to an event. The museum reading room, the music reading room and the service area are open until 18.00. The exhibitions of the German Museum of Books and Writing will open from 10:00 to 18:00.

Frankfurt am Main: Repair work telephone system

On 2 May, the Frankfurt site of the German National Library will be unavailable by telephone from 9.30 - 11.30 due to repair work.

DNB Glossary

Have you ever been asking yourself what “Germanica” is? Or what is meant when we talk about “online publications”? With our glossary, we offer you the possibility to look up these and many other terms commonly used at the German National Library. Please note that the terminology collection is under construction and does not claim to be complete.

Are you missing a term? Then feel free to contact us at webredaktion@dnb.de.

Uniform Resource Name (URN)

German: Uniform Resource Name
Abbreviation: URN

In the internet, this is an identifier with which – unlike URLs – online resources can be permanently and uniquely identified and retrieved regardless of where they are stored. The URN of a resource can only exist once in each namespace; the German National Library manages and assigns URNs from the namespace “urn:nbn:de”.

More about Uniform Resource Name (URN) on our website

URN namespace

German: URN-Namensraum
We also say: namespace

In the internet, this is a collection of unique identifiers (Uniform Resource Names, URNs) that show the context in which a resource (e.g. an e-book) is embedded. The German National Library manages and assigns URNs from the namespace “urn:nbn:de”; “nbn” stands for National Bibliography Number and is a namespace specifically intended for national bibliographies and managed cooperatively by the national libraries.

More about URN namespace on our website

Contact: webredaktion@dnb.de

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