Bibliotheke in Wien
November 2, 2007
Don’t bother looking for a Bibliothek in Wien. You won’t find one.
If, however, you are in the know, you will realize that in Austria, a Bibliothek is called a Bücherei.
What a language.
Anyway, as Thomas Jefferson was reported to have said (in Civilization IV), “I cannot live without books.” As such, I was excited to discover that Vienna has quite a well-equipped Bücherei at the public’s disposal. Soon, I will get a library card (which costs a hefty 18€/year), and the world will be my oyster.
July 15, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Dear William, that’s only true as far as public libraries are concerned – you’ll find Universitaetsbibliotheken, Landesbibliotheken, Nationalbibliothek, Spezialbibliotheken, Museumsbibliotheken… plus, there is a certain tendency to call Büchereien “öffentliche Bibliotheken”.