Complete the registration form for inter-library loans: this is available at the ZHB or as a registration form in PDF-format.
You need an active libray account to register.

Hand in the form at the information desk of the ZHB. You will receive your password one day later. There is a fee of € 1,50 per unit which must must be paid in advance or when you make the order. You can pay into your account in advance for further orders as required.

For employees and PHD students: When you register, please bring an allowance form (Kostenübernahmebescheinigung) for your library costs (available in the ZHB). Please contact the information desk of the ZHB when you require new units for your account.

The ZHB Lübeck is a member of the GBV Common Library Network. This is a union of a number of libraries in the german federal states of Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thüringen und the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. You can research the collections of these libraries in the Gemeinsamen Verbundkatalog GVK and make orders. In addition to the collections of the member libraries, the GVK catalogue also shows the periodicals of all direct-delivery libraries and other university libraries.

If a book is not shown in the GVK, there is an inter-union loan system. The link to the inter-union loan system is shown when there is no hit the GBV.

If an order is not found in either in the GBV or in the inter-union loan system please ask the information. We will check other ways to fulfill the order.

Book order

Please use the search slot and combine the title and the author for example. The default search [ALL] works fine with this kind of search. You can also switch to specific options like ISBN.

When you get a hit list choose the right title. Only print books can be borrowed, ebooks cannot be borrowed because of their copyrights. You can borrow individual chapters from some ebooks. For this is a new feature you can see this options only by trying it out.
You don't have to choose a certain library, just click on "loan request" (or "copy request" if you want a single chapter from an ebook - appears only when possible). Please check your personal informations before sending the order. The password you have to use is not your library password from the ZHB, after the registration for interlibrary loan you received a password for this service. After sending your order you see an overview and the number of your order. That number is helpful when there are problems with it.

Ordering of journal articles

If you want to order an article from a journal, look for the title of the journal in the GVK catalog. You can choose between different search keys above the search field, e.g. [SER] series, periodical (keywords) or [BJT] Beginning of journal title (phrase) or, if known, [ISS] ISSN (International Standard Serial Number). You enter your suitable terms in the search area.There is also the option of an "advanced" search with advanced options to refine your search, for example by "material selection" for journals or „language".

You can recognize them by the symbols for the material type before each hit, one for "Periodicals / Series (printed)", one for "Periodicals / Series (online)". If the provision does not work with the electronic version, you can switch to the printed version or vice versa.

Select the relevant hit from your hit list and order it by clicking on "Copy request". The next step is to register with your "User ID" (library card number) and your special interlibrary loan "Password". The next screen is the entry of the year and volume of the journal. Then the main screen of the order follows along with your personal data. Here you have to add further detailed information about the desired article such as author, title, issue and page numbers.

The normal fee for one interlibrary loan is € 1.50 as stated. Some libraries may charge additional costs for more than 20 copies.So, in this case, remember to accept or reject additional costs (usually up to € 8) by selecting one of the two options on the order form.

To finally confirm your request, you must mark below that you are using the requested copy only for non-commercial purposes. Repeat your password again and then click on the request button.A confirmation with an order number and the number of interlibrary loan units remaining for you should now follow.

You can get an overview of the status of your orders at GVK in the menu bar under Interlibrary loan account. For each order there is an entry with order number, title and the current status. For example, if the status is "Original / or copy sent", the literature should arrive in our library in about 3 to 4 days. This period can vary. As a rule, you will be informed by email as soon as the literature you have ordered is available.

An order of a print book takes about 7 days or more.

An article is send to you via email as a PDF-document and sometimes takes only 1 day, most times it takes 2-3 days.

But to make sure you can call us in the loan department at  0451 3101 2243.

Email-Adresse: zhb.fernleihe(at)uni-luebeck(dot)de

The copies and books delivered are deposited at the loan department and ready to pick up there during the usual service time. Staff members from the Institutes or Clinics can receive interlibrary loan copies via internal post if requested.

The supplying library defines the loan conditions. As a rule, the loan period is 30 days, sometimes only 14 days can be granted. Our library must respect and comply with the conditions of the supplier libraries, for example the possibility of using a book only in the reading room or a ban on copying.

The end of one or the other loan period is written for you on a note in the book. Please leave it there until you return it.

You will also find it in your library account, where interlibrary loan books are registered along with all other media borrowed from our library.

An extension of your loan period also depends on the standards of the supplying library.  Please request an extension one week before the end of the period (by phone at 0451 3101 2243, by email zhb.fernleihe(at)uni-luebeck(dot)de or personally at the loan department).

The fee of € 1,50 per order is due in accordance with the Leihverkehrsordnung LVO regardless of whether the book is available or not. The ZHB will try to reorder the unit for which there is not an additional charge. New editions are also not always available in other libraries because they are on loan. It is not always possible to reserve a copy. Please ask at the information desk in case of further questions.

This is covered by the Interlibrary loan regulations (Leihverkehrsordnung). Some examples:

- publications available in the own library (exception: copies of employees of the universities. If there is only one copy of employees, interlibrary loan is possible)

- media of particular value, especially published before 1800

- media in poor condition

- reference works, loose-leaf editions, current issues (copies of individual articles are possible here)