The University of Bonn owes the Dahrendorf Library to the donation to the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Bonn (ULB) of Lady Christiane Dahrendorf, the widow of the sociologist, publicist and politician Lord Ralf Dahrendorf, who deceased in 2009.

From 2012 to 2026, it was located in the basement of the Bonn University Forum at Heussallee 18-24, the former state representation office of Rhineland-Palatinate. In early 2026, it moved to Poppelsdorfer Allee 24 and is now housed on the ground floor of the building. It supplies literature to the Institute of Sociology.

The Dahrendorf Library is assigned to the Forum Internationale Wissenschaft, but the collection belongs to the ULB. Further information on the holdings, structure and classification of the Dahrendorf Library can be found on the ULB.

The Dahrendorf Library is a reference library. To protect the collection, books cannot be checked out. On-site use of the collection (Monday–Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.) is possible after prior registration at the Institute of Sociology.

Contact: To use the collection on-site, please register with the IfS Office Secretariat by contacting Kordula Bellinghausen (belling@uni-bonn.de) or the Forum Internationale Wissenschaft by contacting Doris Westhoff. Please direct other usage inquiries to the ULB: leihstelle@ulb.uni-bonn.de. If possible, please specify the desired signature(s) in your email.