The ERSTE Foundation Library collections have been developed since 2007 to support the research requirements of the foundation’s staff and project partners as well as the public in general. ERSTE Foundation Library presently holds about 14,000 items. On average, about 500 items are added to the collections per year through purchases, private donations, book exchange and contributions by ERSTE Foundation community members and project partners

The library’s holdings cover a wide range of subjects, focusing on the development of open societies, on contemporary socio-economic and cultural changes, and on political conditions and situations in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The library houses comprehensive collections of research and information material on the following topics:

– Contemporary art and media theory
– Conceptual art since the 1960s
– Cultural theory and policy
– Feminism and Queer theories
– Minorities and migration issues
– Postcolonial studies
– European discourses and integration
– Political developments and wars
– Societal change and care economics
– Human ecology and climate change
– Information literacy and artificial intelligence
– New and social media and journalism
– Developments in economics
– Financial literacy and personal finance
– Social finance, entrepreneurship, start-ups
– NGO and project management
– Management and marketing

We use a number of criteria to decide on new acquisitions, including specialisations, formats, languages, geographical guidelines and policies on collecting fictional texts.

Our main focus is on collecting recent material to support our primary goal as well as on providing access to information through online catalogues and search services. We therefore also collect appropriate indices to provide access to information about off-foundation collections, supporting knowledge development and information related to ERSTE Foundation’s mission, projects and goals.

The main collection consists of monographic and serial publications. It includes monographs, exhibition catalogues, artist books, graphic novels, studies, surveys, journals, magazines, newspapers, back files and annuals. Other formats collected include digital resources, maps, motion pictures, sound recordings and video recordings.

The library’s major collection is in English and German, with materials in other languages collected from the publication activities of the foundation’s projects and communities.

Based on our focus, the library mainly collects information resources on Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European countries. In particular, we cover the whole region of the so-called post-socialist countries, since historical and contemporary developments in these countries cannot be understood without shedding light on their international relationships – be it in social, demographic, financial, cultural terms or any other dimensions of political or everyday life.

We consider fictional texts not just a resource for entertainment but a tool for better understanding cultural differences und developments within the scope of language, national and gender performativity, and identity. The library collects and maintains an assortment consisting of reading materials translated from their respective languages into German or English.

ERSTE Foundation Library
Am Belvedere 1
1100 Vienna

Erste Campus, Building Section F
Monday – Thursday
10.00 am – 5.00 pm
Opening hours apply year round, except on statutory holidays and during Christmas break.

Drop us a line OR book a library tour OR ask our librarian for assistance or recommendations:
+43 50100 15461
library@erstestiftung.org