Furthermore, there are W-LAN-areas, photocopiers, CD listening stations, space for private study and meeting rooms for training sessions.

In the entrance area there is an information centre with national and international newspapers, exhibition catalogues and a window projection on cultural events (images on back-projected in-window display).

There are branches in Bocklemünd, Chorweiler, Ehrenfeld, Kalk, Mülheim, Neubrück, Nippes, Porz, Rodenkirchen and Sülz.

The branch in the Südstadt (Haus Balchem) is something special: it is housed in a building, which was reconstructed in 17th century baroque style after the second world war.

The school service offers educational programmes designed for various age groups using methods to encourage pupils to be active, thus promoting media and information literacy.

The public library provides high-speed access to the internet and licensed databases that can be searched by customers.

It was one of four pilot libraries for the introduction of the Onleihe, a download portal for the temporary use of digital items (e-books, electronic audiobooks and music CDs, e-videos, e-papers).

[14] As a multicultural meeting place, the public library of Cologne opens up many opportunities for language acquisition and cooperates with agencies which run integration courses.

In the course of time, several Volksbibliotheken (people's libraries) and Lesehallen (reading halls) were established by donations and municipal funds.

After World War II numerous book donations from abroad helped to restock the Volksbüchereien, as they were called by then.