eLibrary of the Goethe-Institut

Abstract

The first chapter of this paper presents theoretical terms in the field of eLibraries, which are later further explained using the example of the eLibrary of the Goethe-Institut, called Onleihe. After a short historical overview of eLibraries in general, the final chapter will present the results of the survey conducted among active users of the Onleihe.

The purpose of this survey was to determine users’ habits as well as their impressions considering the offer of the Onleihe. We also tried to determine the causalities between their gender, age, education level, location, knowledge of the German language and previous experiences in traditional and eLibraries, if any, on the one hand and the aforementioned habits and impressions on the other.