The library of the former industrial union Mining and Energy (IGBE)

The library had its roots in the late 19th Century. As library from the 1889/90 founded free Union "Association of German miners" (old association) it had first primarily the task to provide the union officials with literature and thus to support the interest policy the union. After the library worked without catalouges and without the continuous support by own staff in the first three decades, at the end of World War the gathered stocks were library indexes and systematically expanded since 1919. The collection activities focused on the fields of mining, trade union movement, employment protection, social policy, economics and law. Of course there were also all the books, the "Old Association" published itself in its library. The development of the library was abruptly interrupted when the SA occupied and devastated the headquarters of the Union in the spring of 1933. In doing so the library was completely destroyed. With the reestablishment of the miners union in 1946 also continued the rebuilding of a library. Calls to the union members and the acquisition of estates have contributed to compensate the loss of the old stock. Labor, labor movement in the past and present were once again a priority acquisition focus. Furthermore the development of the mining industry over and above its social dimension were documented.

With regard to mining literature the collections of the Library of the IGBE constitute an important supplement to the collections of the Bergbau-Bücherei. The social historical and social scientistic collections of the library find a parallel in the profile of the Library of the Institute of Social Movements. So the stocks of all three libraries join into an organic whole.