The Johannes Guthmann Collection of Historic School Books

The Johannes Guthmann  Collection of Historic School Books in the University Library of Erlangen-Nuremberg is a collection of textbooks used through history. Together with the collection of school materials in the Schulmuseum Nürnberg, it forms part of the Schulgeschichtliche Sammlung, i.e. the collection of materials relating to school history, of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Serving as the central documentation centre for the historical development of schools and teaching methods in Southern Germany from the 18th to the 21st century, the collection is an important platform for research, academic teaching, and educational work.

The collection of historic school books is named after its founder, Honorary Professor Dr. Johannes Guthmann (1892-1976). In 1952 it came under the responsibility of Max Liedtke, Professor of Education. Funded by his Chair, the Bavarian State, Erlangen University, and the Erlangen Universitätsbund, the textbook collection was expanded systematically during subsequent years. By the late 1970s, it had established itself as the third significant academic facility along with the Bibliothek des Georg Eckert Instituts and the Bibliothek für Bildungsgeschichtliche Forschung des Deutschen Instituts für Internationale Pädagogische Forschung (DIPF) and it still holds this position.

The Johannes Guthmann Collection of Historic School Books includes 20,000 books, most of them donated privately. The collection gives witness to the development of textbooks from the early 19thcentury onwards and is systematically arranged by period and school subjects. Currently about 8,000 not-yet-catalogued textbooks are being added.

Access can be gained via the Educational Studies Branch Library, after prior arrangement.