General

You may order an inter-library loan if a publication you need is not available in the Göttingen State and University Library.

The items you require can also be ordered with the International inter-library loan from libraries outside Germany.

Inter-library loan requests within Germany can be placed directly in the GBV Union Catalogue or Online Contents Database (OLC). The time for processing an inter-library loan order and delivery of the requested item usually amounts to 1 to 3 weeks.

You will be notified by email once the requested item is ready to be collected.
Please contact our staff at Information and Service Desk if you have any questions or need further help.

Requirements

You need:

a valid library card of the Göttingen State and University Library. The inter-library loan account is either already activated or needs to be activated at our Service Desks where you also pay fees for inter-library loans.

Please contact one of the Service Desks during our service hours (Mon – Fri 9:00 – 16:00) or write an email, quoting your user number.

Exempt from supply are:

• Books and journals available in Göttingen (at the Göttingen State and University Library, at a seminar library, an institutional library, a library of the Max-Planck-Institutes, the University of Applied Science and Arts or the Göttingen Public Library). We advise you to check carefully before in these catalogues: GöDiscovery, Göttingen University Catalogue (GUK) and Union Catalogue of Göttingen
• Rare books and books published before 1800
• Complete journal volumes
• Works which are available from book traders at a price of up to EUR 15.00
• Entertainment or hobby literature, travel guides, textbooks and non-fiction books
• Loose-leaf editions and reference works (copies of single articles can be made)
• Diploma, bachelor of arts, master of arts theses, exam works and other theses for different types of degrees

This video (in German only) explains how to order an inter-library loan.

Inter-library loans are subject to charges. Ordering an inter-library loan costs EUR 1.50. Please note that this fee must be paid also in case it is impossible to make the ordered item available to you.

Please pay the inter-library loan fees into your inter-library loan account at one of our service desks. You may also pay the fees via bank transfer. When transferring money, please state your library card number and ‘inter-library loan fees’ as the intended purpose. Please note that it may take several days until we receive the amount.

The EUR 1.50 fee equals 1 credit unit that will be deduced from your inter-library loan account per each online order.

The current account balance is shown together with the order number on the order form of the GBV Union Catalogue or you check your inter-library loan account directly, where you can also check the current balance of the account.

If you find the title in the GBV Union Catalogue you may order it – please check local availability beforehand in the respective catalogues indicated.

Your user number (e. g. 00071234567, please refer to backside of your library card) is the same as for GöDiscovery and the Göttingen University Catalogue (GUK).

The password for the inter-library loan account are issued at the service desks in our libraries. Please change the password in the GBV Union Catalogue once you have logged into the system for the first time.

A number for your order is shown after you placed your request. This so-called A-number helps to identify orders in the GUK user account as titles or authors are not listed there.

Please do not hesitate to contact our staff at the Information and Service Desk if you have trouble finding a title or ordering an item.

You will be notified by email as soon as the ordered book or the ordered copy has arrived and is available for collection. In case an order cannot be processed or when there are questions concerning your order, you will also be notified by email.

Your local user account also shows you, whether an inter-library loan item is ready for collection, check for the A-number.

The media ordered via inter-library loan can be collected within 14 days against production of your reader pass at the service desk stated in the notification.

Additional costs may arise for more than 20 copies, prior to that we will give you a price quote. Please return books to one of the service counters no later than the due date, article copies remain with you.

The loan period for books is usually 4 weeks. Please note that the Göttingen State and University Library must comply with the requirements and loan conditions of the libraries owning the items on loan (e. g. Reading Room only, or supervised use only or no copies allowed).

In the event of late return, corresponding fees shall be payable.

Our staff at the Information and Service Desk will give you individual advice for inter-library loans from outside Germany. Please note that additional fees are incurred in different amounts when items are ordered from abroad.

Much needed literature can be ordered via subito, a document delivery service subject to charges.

Here the Göttingen State and University Library is not involved, via subito you order directly from the delivering library.

The subito delivering libraries have committed themselves to processing orders within 72 hours (Standard service) or 24 hours (Express service). Price lists for the subito-service can be found here.

Please do not hesitate to contact our staff at Information and Service, if you have further questions.