Library

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The library at Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, BSH) at Hamburg and Rostock is the central maritime library of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Norddeutsche Seewarte laid the basis for the library stock when it started collecting nautical charts and books in 1868. In 1875 the Deutsche Seewarte (DS) took over this collection, and during the following years, the library stock grew continually. In World War II, parts of it were irretrievably lost, after the end of the war it took five years to merge the different parts of the library stock again. As part of the German reunion the library collections of the BSH and the Seehydrographischer Dienst (SHD) of the GDR were combined. The collections of the SHD are kept at Rostock where they are accessible and lendable.

Over the years, a unique collection of maritime literature including approximately 170,000 media and 50,000 nautical charts has been developed. The collections and the information services are open to all scientists, researchers, historians, students and to the general public.

The library collects literature to the following subjects:

1. oceanography (excluding marine biology)

    - marine physics, marine chemistry, marine geophysics, marine geology

    - marine meteorology

    - marine environmental protection and offshore-projects

2. shipping and hydrographic surveying

    - navigation and nautical science

    - mapping

    - training and education of seafarers

    - yachting