Universitätsbibliotheken in Österreich als "Teaching Libraries"

Austrian libraries have begun to take part in the international development that has turned libraries into „teaching libraries“, i.e. libraries that support the development of information and media literacies rather than merely provide traditional library instruction. In the course of the Bologna process, teaching information competency as a key qualification has gained in significance and has been and is still being integrated into the curricula of new courses. In this article the principles and the conditions of the development of libraries into „teaching libraries“ are presented. The „teaching library“ practices of Austrian university libraries are portrayed, their activities and deficiencies are described and examples of good practice and innovation are given. Finally, the challenges libraries face are discussed and areas where future actions are needed are pointed out