The present bibliography is based on the 'Bibliographic Reports' (Bibliographische Berichte), which were the general authority on bibliographies from 1959 to 1987. The purpose of the International Bibliography of Bibliographies 1959-1988 is to make available the entire records in cumulative form, presented in a consistent classification according to subject. In all there are 82,609 titles and 119,417 bibliographic entries. Comprehensive indexes allow optimal access and readers from specialist fields, librarians, archivists and information managers can all benefit from secondary bibliographies when selecting and evaluating bibliographies.

The 14th edition lists a total of approximately 2,700 German libraries. For academic libraries, only central and main libraries have been entered, whilst the libraries of faculties, departments or institutes are not included in most cases. In the case of disbanded libraries, users are referred to other libraries. In addition to name and institution code, the following details are provided: the library's address (including the postal address where it is different), phone, fax, telex, eMail, URL as well as information on inter-library borrowing. The Sigelverzeichnis is arranged as follows: - Index of place identifiers: alphabetical section of the institution code deciphered - Numeric institution codes: list of libraries with numeric codes, organized by institution code - Institution codes listed by place: list of all libraries with institution codes. Libraries are, initially, listed alphabetically by the library's location; within place names, libraries are organized by institution code - German libraries abroad - Virtual libraries.