In fall 2020, the University Library entered into an exchange with the Library & University Collections (L&UC) of the University of Edinburgh.

In order to promote the international exchange of knowledge and experience in academic libraries, the Vice President for International Affairs of Freie Universität Berlin, Prof. Dr. Verena Blechinger-Talcott, and the Vice Principal International of the University of Edinburgh, Prof. Dr. James Smith, as well as the library directors Dr. Andreas Brandtner (no longer working for us) and Jeremy Upton signed a Memorandum of Understanding on September 17, 2020. The aim of this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is, among other things, to jointly focus on new innovative library services, staff training and the transformation of organizational structures. It is the first strategic international partnership for the Freie Universität Berlin's University Library locations.

In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of online meetings were held at the beginning so that employees from both library systems could get to know each other. A first virtual kick-off event took place at the end of October 2020. Annual on-site visits are also planned later on. The focus will be on sharing practical experiences and discussing new services. How can media be better presented and made easier for users to find? How can cooperation between libraries and departments be further intensified? A team of several people from both library systems has now been appointed to organize the cooperation and activities.

Founded in 1582, the University of Edinburgh is one of Scotland's four venerable universities, alongside St Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The University's Library & University Collections (L&UC) work in partnership and are responsible for all physical and digital resources and collections. L&UC has an annual budget of £10 million and 150 staff. The library and collections provide 3.5 million books, 1.4 million e-books and over 185,000 e-journals. The collection is supplemented by more than 60 shelf kilometers of special collections as well as museum and art collections for the university community and the public.