1. What is "interlibrary lending"?

"Categorising interlibrary loans in the Federal Republic of Germany", PDF, 43 kB.

2. Are the document supply services SUBITO and TIB Document Delivery an alternative to interlibrary loans?

SUBITO and the supply service provided by TIB Hannover TIB Document Delivery provide permanent copies directly to you. You can place your own orders online without entering your home library and will then receive the documents, in return for payment, by post or fax, or, in some cases, even as electronic image files to your own home address.

An exact list of prices for dispatching books and copies can be found on the SUBITO or TIB Hannover website.

3. Who can place orders?

  • Professors, employees and all students at the Nuremberg Institute of Technology
  • Students from other universities outside of Nuremberg, who are writing their thesis

and have a valid library user ID.

4. What can I order using the interlibrary loans system?

The following can be ordered using the interlibrary loan system:

  • Books for borrowing that are not available in the publicly accessible libraries in Nuremberg 
  • Copies of articles from newspapers and books; these copies can be kept in return for payment of a nominal fee
  • In a few cases, e-books can also be ordered and delivered using the interlibrary loan system. If an e-book is not available via interlibrary loan, a printed copy will be delivered without further enquiry.

The following CANNOT be ordered using the interlibrary loans system:

  • Literature that is accessible to you in electronic form
  • Books available commercially for under EUR 15
  • Hobby and entertainment literature
  • As a general rule, loose-leaf editions, large formats, valuable collections, theses or dissertations, patent specifications, and vinyl records are also not loaned out.

5. How much does an interlibrary loan cost?

Interlibrary loans for books within Germany are free of charge at Nuremberg Tech. If the original cannot be loaned out, photocopies can be ordered for a fee.

A photocopy of an article can be obtained for a nominal fee of EUR 1.50. This fee shall not apply if a direct delivery to the user is permitted under the copyright reform bill (Gesetz zum Urheberrecht für die Wissenschaft - UrhWissG).
In exceptional cases, higher fees may also be charged.

6. How can I place an interlibrary loans order?

OPAC . Detailed instructions can be found under point 7.

Alternatively, an interlibrary loan can also be made in the Bavarian Library Network’s catalogue, Gateway Bayern . It is sometimes easier to order articles using the 'Gateway Bayern' portal.

7. How do I place an interlibrary loan via OPAC?



Ordering books:

  • log in to OPAC
  • search for the desired title in the collection held by "THB Nuremberg" (our library)
  • no hits? Switch to the tab: “Bavarian Library Union”
  • Any hits? On the individual result tab, select ''reservation/interlibrary loan''
  • Select interlibrary loan in the Bavarian Library Network, where ''Title available in the network" appears.
  • Select ''other options'', then ''retrieve order form” if this is not available in Bavaria
  • If you have not received any hits or have been unable to find the correct hit, you can register at "Information" on the right-hand side and then complete a form for an interlibrary loan

Ordering articles:

  • If you already have the article details: Rather than searching for the article, you need to search for the journal in which it appeared (select the ''journal" setting!)
  • If the journal is not available at "THB Nuremberg”, click on “Bavarian Library Union".
  • Search for the appropriate title, click on "further options" at the very bottom and then click "place an interlibrary loan".
  • In the form that opens up, you can add the details of the article and place the interlibrary loan request. Please complete a separate order for each article/chapter/section.
  • Should you need any additional help, please call 0911/5880-4242 and we will be happy to answer any questions.

8. How do I place an interlibrary loan via Gateway Bayern?

  • Searching in OPAC at the Nuremberg Tech library
  • no hits or appropriate hits? Access the Gateway Bayern online portal. In this portal, you will find articles from academic libraries in Bavaria.
  • Once you have called up Gateway Bayern, register immediately as a user of the library of Nuremberg Tech.
  • Detailed information on searching in Gateway Bayern can be found in the "Help" section.
  • If you have found the correct book or the correct periodical, you can initiate an interlibrary loan directly from here.
  • If you have not found what you’re looking for, click on the link No hits found or no correct hits found?
    A new window will pop up, offering you the chance to complete an interlibrary loan request. 

9. What happens once I’ve placed the order?

  • Has the order been successful? The library that has the book will send it to the Nuremberg Tech library. At the same time, the order is placed on your user account at the Nuremberg Tech library. Interlibrary loan requests will appear in your user account with a media number starting with @.
  • Orders for articles from journals and books will not appear in the loans account. You can see all of your orders and their processing statuses when you call up "interlibrary copies/e-media" in OPAC .
  • Should you not be able to place the order online, the staff at the interlibrary lending desk will follow up the matter. The staff will make a booking on your borrowing account in this case too.

10. How long will it take for a book or a replacement copy to be ready for me using the interlibrary loan system?</data>

SUBITO, offer faster delivery.

Overview of services and prices of interlibrary loans and SUBITO

11. How will I know when the book or copy of an article that I’ve ordered is ready for me to collect?

passed on your email address to us. You will also be able to see when an order is "ready to collect" in your OPAC account.

12. Where do I collect the book or copies of the article that I’ve ordered?

The interlibrary loan items that you have ordered will be ready to collect in the pick-up shelf (Abholregal) (located at Keßlerplatz, Prinzregentenufer 37).

13. How long will I have to collect the interlibrary loans?

OPAC. Once this time period has lapsed, the media will be returned to the library that owns them.

14. For how long can I keep the books that have been ordered using the interlibrary loans system?

are subject to cancellation . The yellow strip in the interlibrary loans book shows the return date and the options to extend the loan. You can extend the loan yourself in the usual way using your OPAC account.

If you do not return the interlibrary loans book on time, you will receive a reminder and may be subject to pay a fine – as is also the case with our own collections.

15. How do I cancel an interlibrary loan?

bib-fernleiheatth-nuernbergPunktde .

16. What copyright restrictions will I be subject to?

You must respect the copyright of the documents sent. According to copyright law, users are only permitted to use duplicated copies, in particular also those in paper form, exclusively for their own private or other personal use (cf. Section 53 of the German Copyright Act). Electronically received copies, on the other hand, may be used in a non-private capacity, but only for personal non-commercial use for academic purposes and for personal teaching or examination purposes. The duplicated copies and the electronically received copies are also not permitted to be forwarded to third parties or made accessible to third parties, whether or not in return for payment.

17. Where can I direct any questions I may have?

We are always happy to provide additional assistance at the Service Counter (tel. 0911/5880-4000) or at the interlibrary lending desk (tel. 0911/5880-4483).