The Library
What do future officers read? In the reference library of the Military Academy, there are over 35,000 titles available for loan. The topics are extensive: e.g. technology, medicine, politics, law, psychology, sociology and many more.
National and foreign students of the University of Applied Sciences Bachelor's Programme Military Leadership as well as its teaching and research staff, members of the Military Academy and persons from outside the department, in particular from the university sector, are entitled to borrow books with the permission of the Head of the Library of the Military Academy.
Opening Hours
- Monday - Thursday: 08.00 am - 03.00 pm
- Friday: 08.00 am - 11.00 am
Researches
The OPAC system (Online Public Access Catalogue) is available for research. This enables simple and time-saving online research. Due to the network with the Austrian Military Library (ÖMB), there is also access to its book collection.
Contact
Links
- Österreichische Militärische Zeitschrift (ÖMZ) - The specialist periodical of the Austrian Armed Forces for security policy, sociology of war, military science and military science.
- Truppendienst - The official journal of the Austrian Armed Forces for training, command and operations
- Armis et litteris - The military science series of the University of Applied Sciences Bachelor's degree programme Military Leadership
History of the library
Timeline
Foundation
The history of the library goes back to the time of the founding of the academy in 1752. Major Anton von Zadubsky von Schönthal created the basis for the Academy Library with works and manuals from his own collection.
Field Marshal Anton Count Colloredo (1766) and Major General Franz Joseph Count Kinsky (1805) expanded the holdings with duplicates from the Court Library. Colonel Laurenz Ritter von Zaremba, Academy Commander 1878-1880, assigned new rooms to the "rich and precious house library" and introduced a modern cataloguing system. At that time, the library possessed 20,000 volumes.
First Republic
After the fall of the monarchy, the library was to be divided for the purposes of the new army of the 1st Republic. This was prevented by the great commitment of Colonel Rudolf Ritter von Schlachta, the then director of the library. By 1937, the library's holdings had grown to approximately 37,000 volumes.
Destruction and reconstruction
During the Second World War, only a single truckload of books, packed in 16 crates, could be protected and rescued. The greater part of the collection fell victim to looting and fires.
On November 6, 1959, the rebuilt library of the Military Academy on the 3rd floor of the northeast wing of the castle was re-opened. The rooms were stylishly furnished and offer students plenty of space and, above all, peace and quiet for their studies or for conducting research.
Modern knowledge centre
In 50 years, the book stock has grown from 897 to about 35,000 copies. It should be noted that from 1959 until the beginning of the University of Applied Sciences Course in 1998, about 17,000 volumes were available. Only in recent years have the remaining 18,000 been procured. On an annual average, about 500 new books are currently procured.
Since 1994, a computer program has been used to record the titles, borrow and return the books. In 2004, the computer system was expanded and the library of the military academy was networked with the ÖMB, Austrian Military Library. Thus, the book stock of the ÖMB is also available to the students. In May 2008, a new library program was put into operation, which meets today's requirements. This means that, except for collection and return, everything is done electronically.
Painting- & Sculpture-Collection
The library also manages the collection of paintings and sculptures of the Military Academy. This comprises 425 paintings, 12 sculptures and around 2.500 pieces of archival material from various estates and guest gifts.
Event location
Various events have taken place in the library, such as the awarding of prizes. The library has also been the location for several film and television productions.