Hamburg University library forced to close after students hide books

Students at Hamburg University have been causing such “book chaos” that the central law library has had to close its doors for two and a half days.

Students wreak havoc at Hamburg library

According to a report by Hamburger Abendblatt, the central university law library in Hamburg has been forced to close its doors for two and a half days.

A sign hanging outside the library said that too many students had been hiding books in the library. Hiding books means students know they will have access to a book whenever they are in the library, because nobody else knows where it is, but they don’t have to borrow it from the library and carry it around or remember to return it.

Hamburg University press representative Alexander Lemonakis, told the local newspaper that students hiding books is an ongoing problem, but particularly prevalent during the deadline and exam season.

Only this term, the “Bücherchaos” (book chaos) was at such a scale that employees needed to close the doors for two and a half days to locate hidden books and put them back in the right place. 

Library staff appeal to students

In response to the “Bücherchaos” library staff reminded students that hiding books for their exclusive personal use was anti-social and against the principles of fairness and equal access. “The UHH firmly appeals to all students to use shared learning materials in a respectful and responsible manner,” Lemonakis said. 

Library staff explained that several measures would also be taken to minimise the problem in future. For example, students will have access to more digitised texts, excerpts of which they can copy and print.