Register a library account
General
The university library is open to anybody as a rule. If you'd like to borrow items or request them from the closed stacks, you need a library account. Your thoska serves as your library card.
To log in to your library account, you will need your library number and your password. You can find the library number on the back of your thoska right below the barcode. Your initial password is your date of birth in DDMMYY format. We recommend setting your own password; this option is available after logging into BibSearch
Students
University Staff
Please fill in our registration form first. During our service hours, you can then complete registration by presenting your thoska at the service desk.
Für Externe
Anybody who is at least 14 years old and resides in Germany may register a library account.
Please fill in our registration form first. During our service hours, you can then complete registration by presenting your thoska at the service desk. We require your identity card (Personalausweis) or, alternatively, your residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) or proof of residence (Meldebestätigung). If you're under 18, please also bring our declaration of agreement to registration signed by a parent or legal guardian, as well as that person's ID as above (copies or photos are fine).
thoska cards are issued by all Thuringia university libraries and the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek in Weimar. You can use any other institution's thoska to register an account with us, or buy one directly at the service desk for a one-time 10 Euro fee.
Borrow and return items
Borrowing
Books and DVDs from the library's public areas and requested items from the closed stacks may be checked out at our self-service terminals. You will require your thoska.
Requested periodicals and inter-library loans will be held for you at the service desk.
If you notice any damage to items you're borrowing, please let us know immediately at the service desk, or as soon as possible by phone or e-mail.
Returns
You do not need your thoska to return items and can easily return items borrowed by somebody else.
Books and DVDs may be returned either at the self-service terminals or the return slot in the entrance area. Please place items returned at the terminals on the returns shelf by the service desk. Receipts for returns can be requested at the self-service terminals and will be sent by e-mail automatically when using the return slot.
Please return periodicals and inter-library loans at the service desk.
If necessary, you can also return items by mail to our address on this page. When opting for this, please be aware that the return date will be the day your shipment arrives, and that we must hold you responsible if an item is damaged or lost during shipping.
Closed stack requests and reservations
Closed stack requests
Items listed with the location »Magazin« are kept in the non-public closed stacks. Please request them in BibSearch. A library account is required.
Requested items will be delivered from the closed stacks at fixed times: Monday to Friday at 9am, 11am, 1pm und 3pm. Your requests will usually be made available from the next delivery time. If you request an item less than 15 minutes before the next delivery time, we may not be able to make it available until the following delivery time.
Reserve items
Reserving a borrowed item in the BibSearch guarantees you'll be next to receive this item. A library account is required.
When you reserve an item, the person currently borrowing it will no longer be able to renew it and will be messaged. However, they do not have to return the item immediately and are free to keep it until the listed due date.
As soon as a reserved item is returned, you will be notified by e-mail.
Pickup
Requested and reserved items can be found in the holds shelf in the library entrance area, sorted by the last three digits of users' library numbers, and will be held for five days. Please remember to check these items at the self-service terminals. You may pick up items any time during opening hours.
Some items from the closed stacks may only be viewed in the library, such as periodicals or items from the special collection. These items will be handed out at the service desk or the Limona building info desk during service hours only.
Loan periods and renewals
Loan periods
Renewals
You may renew any items you borrowed up to ten times. The new loan period will be the same as the original one, and will begin on the day you renew.
When you renew an item, please make sure the new due date is displayed correctly in your account. If you're unable to renew an item, someone else may have reserved it. Feel free to contact us for assistance at any time.
You cannot renew inter-library loan items yourself. Please contact us directly.
Inter-library loans
General
The inter-library loan (ILL) system enables you to request items from other libraries to be delivered to us. A separate inter-library loan account is required. There is a 1.50 Euro fee for each request in accordance with our fee schedule.
The following items cannot be requested by inter-library loan:
- any items from our own collection, even if they're out on loan (you're welcome to reserve these items)
- any items from libraries in Weimar
- any items available in bookshops for unter 10 Euro
- Theses and dissertations
- looseleaf formats
- e-books
Inter-library loan account and fees
We'll be happy to set up your ILL account at the service desk as long as your thoska was issued by Bauhaus-Universität Weimar; these thoskas are numbered beginning with 3401. If you received your thoska from another institution, your ILL account must be set up there.
Inter-library loan credits must be bought in advance at the service desk. Each credit costs 1.50 Euro and is good for one request. Teaching staff at Bauhaus-Universität may apply for up to 50 credits per year either online or at the service desk.
Finding and requesting items
The GBV Library Network's catalogue lists the collections of many libraries in Germany. You may »loan request« books and other physical media and »copy request« individual articles from books or periodicals.
Please note that delivery time is usually two to three weeks, independent of where an item is being delivered from. If your item is available in a nearby library, you may therefore want to visit that library and borrow it directly for quicker results.
If an item is unavailable in the GBV catalogue, you will be redirected to Verbundübergreifende Fernleihe to search a broader range of libraries. If an item is unavailable in any German library, please contact us. We can make international loan requests; please note that international ILL fees may be higher.
Delivery and pickup
As soon as your requested item is ready for pickup at the service desk, you will receive a notification by e-mail as well as find the item listed in your library account.
For articles from periodicals and books, you will usually receive a download link by e-mail. In some cases copyright regulations may force libraries to deliver a paper copy instead, which will be held at the service desk as above.
Loan periods and renewals
The usual loan period is four weeks. However, libraries are free to set different loan periods or other special conditions (such as restrictions on taking an item home).
Please contact us directly for any renewals, as inter-library loan renewals require us to consult with the library that owns the item.
Campus delivery service
General
General
The campus delivery service allows members of Bauhaus-Universität Weimar to request electronic copies of articles and book chapters from our collection free of charge. We are legally limited to providing no more than 10 percent of any one published work or only individual articles from periodicals in this way (UrhWissG, § 60e Abs. 5).
Our discovery system BibSearch provides the campus delivery option directly in the detailed view of any valid catalogue entry. If this method does not work for some reason, please feel free to use our request form.
Once we have processed your request, you will receive a link to the document and an automatically generated access code by e-mail. You'll be able to retrieve the document for 30 days, after which it will be deleted automatically.
Requests are processed in the order we receive them. Some requests may be fast-tracked according to Bauhaus-Universität Weimar teaching and research priorities.
Reminders and fees
General
In accordance with our fee schedule the following fees will be raised for late returns:
- 1st reminder: 1.50 Euro
- 2nd reminder: 2.50 Euro (in addition to 1st)
- 3rd reminder: 4.00 Euro (in addition to 1st and 2nd)
We will issue the first reminder on the first day after the loan period ends, the second one week after the first, and the third one week after the second.
Once the 3rd reminder is issued, your library account will be locked automatically until the respective items are returned. While your account is locked you cannot borrow or renew any items; please note that this can easily result in further fees down the line.
A library account will also be locked automatically while its unpaid fees are 50 Euro or more.
If you do not return a due item after the third reminder within the time set, we are empowered to bill you for a replacement or employ other administrative measures. Either outcome will result in further fees.
Paying fees
You may pay fees with your thoska either at the self-service terminals in the library service area or at the terminal in the entrance area.
If there are unpaid fees of more than ten Euro in your account for three months or more, we will bill you for the total.
Damaged or lost library items
General
If you damage or lose a library item, please let us know immediately. If irreparably damaged, you will have to replace the item in accordance with library regulations. Additional fees will be raised during the replacement process. The final decision whether or not an item needs to be replaced lies with the subject librarian.
If you notice existing damage to an item you're checking out, you should let us know immediately to avoid being held responsible.