You need a library card/u:card to borrow books or media from the open stacks or from the closed stacks of the special library for use at home. This page provides further information about the library card/u:card, the borrowing conditions and borrowing and returning books.
The u:card serves as library card for employees and students of the University of Vienna. People who are not members of the University of Vienna can also obtain a library card if they have a place of residence in Austria. Further information about the library card.
If you have any further questions about the library card, please contact E-Mail or the employees at the information desk at the Main Library.
You can also use all the holdings kept in the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Studies Library on site without a library card.
With a few exceptions, books and media kept at the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Studies Library may be borrowed for at least 7 days. However, if no other user has reserved the book/item, you may keep it for much longer. Loans on borrowed items are automatically renewed.
| Your user group | Items that may be borrowed |
Renewal* | Reservation possible? | Items that may not be borrowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly card | 7 days20 items | up to 1 month automatically* | yes | Use within the Library |
| Students of the University of ViennaStudents (Austrian school) / apprentices Members of affiliated institutionsStudents of other Austrian educational institutionsMembers of the Alumni AssociationAnnual card holders | 7 days 20 items |
up to 1 year automatically* | yes | Use within the Library |
| diploma candidate, doctoral candidate University of Vienna generals staff University of Vienna associated staff University of Vienna |
7 days 50 items |
up to 1 year automatically* | yes | Use within the Library |
| Academic staff University of Vienna | 7 days 100 items |
up to 1 year automatically* | yes | Use within the Library |
*) Loans are automatically renewed only if no other user has reserved the item and/or only if this item or other books that you have borrowed are not already overdue and you have not been sent an overdue reminder.
Loans on books and media reserved by other users can neither be manually extended nor automatically extended beyond the remaining loan period. You also have to return books that you have borrowed for one year. If no other library user has reserved the book and you do not have any outstanding library charges, you may usually borrow the item again at the information desk.
Please check your personal library account and/or your e-mail inbox regularly to ensure that you do not miss any the due dates of books and media. You will receive an automatic e-mail*) notifying you that the books you borrowed are due for return. You can find answers to frequently asked questions about loan periods, books, renewals and returning books in the FAQs.
Via u:search, you can place a reservation on books and items that are currently borrowed by somebody else. As soon as we receive the item you requested, we prepare it for you to collect and will inform you by e-mail*).
We keep books you reserved ready to collect at the information desk for 5 working days after notifying you. You can collect the books during the library opening hours.
If the "Status" section in u:search indicates that the book you wish to borrow is currently being acquired (“in Erwerbung”) or being processed (“Sach- oder Formalschließung”) and if there is no order button, you can send us an e-mail at fbg.ub@univie.ac.at to reserve the book. This applies to books that have just been ordered from the bookshop or have been recently acquired and may be borrowed soon.
If possible, please return books and media from the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Studies Library directly at the information desk during the opening hours of the special library. This is the quickest way of making the books or media available again to your colleagues or other library users.
You will receive a confirmation e-mail*) after you have returned the item. If you do not receive this confirmation e-mail, please send an e-mail to fbg.ub@univie.ac.at.
Outside the opening hours of the special library, you can also return books at the Main Library or using one of the two book return boxes in the Main Building of the University of Vienna.
You cannot return books that you borrowed from other special libraries and from the Main Library at the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Studies Library.
If you return books late, the lending service will be restricted for you and you will have to pay a reminder fee.
For details please see the Fees regulation (in German) of the University of Vienna Library.
You receive an e-mail reminder*) or (if you did not provide an e-mail address) a reminder by post as soon as the loan period has passed. 9 days after the due date, you receive a second reminder by post. Another 9 days later we send you the third reminder in the form of a registered letter.
If overdue fees have been incurred for overdue items from the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Studies Library or other libraries of the University of Vienna, you can pay these directly at the book return counter of the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Studies Library by debit card or EC card. If you wish to pay in cash, you can find a cash machine in the foyer of the Main Library on the second floor of the Main Building.
The following holdings are for reference use only and may not be borrowed:
These books may only be read on site on the premises of the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Studies Library. You can check in u:search whether specific copies may be borrowed. Most of the reference holdings are also labelled separately on the shelf marks in our overview plan and in the open-shelf area.
Books and media that may not be borrowed can usually be copied or scanned in room 40.
Alternatives for borrowing university theses: There is almost always a second copy that may be borrowed at the Main Library of the University Library. These copies are displayed in u:search together with the copy kept at the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Studies Library and may be borrowed for 28 days.
In the case of more recent university theses, there is usually also an electronic copy on the u:theses server, which is displayed in u:search together with the print copy. Here you can usually directly access the full text.
Alternatives for borrowing books from the Schmidt-Dengler Library: These books are unique holdings from the estate of Professor Schmidt-Dengler. If you are not explicitly looking for a copy from the Schmidt-Dengler Library, we recommend to use other copies of the same work that may be borrowed, if available. In many cases, you can find at least one equivalent copy that may be borrowed either in the open-shelf area of the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Studies Library itself or at another location of the University Library. You could also try searching for other/more recent editions of the same work.
The reserve collections for current semesters contain books and media that have been temporarily compiled as course material for specific courses. You can find the reserve collections for the current semester in the open-shelf area in room 38 on the gallery on the left. You can obtain reserve collections for the current semester, which contain special materials such as master copies, directly at the information desk in the entrance hall by presenting a photo ID.
The books and media may generally not be borrowed as long as they are kept in the reserve collection for the current semester. However, you can scan and copy from the books in room 40.
The books kept in the reserve collection for the current semester have a temporary shelf mark that begins with "HA" and contains the last name of the lecturer and the semester and possibly a keyword of the course title (e.g. "HA Stocker SoSe 2023"). You can also find this shelf mark in u:search after the location information "Freihand: Semesterhandapparate Raum 38” (open-shelf area: reserve collection for the current semester room 38).
Reserve collections for the current semesters are usually closed a few weeks after the end of the relevant semester. The books are then returned to their usual location and receive their regular borrowing status.
Special borrowing conditions apply to academic research collections and research projects at the University of Vienna with loan periods of up to two years. These works must be kept on the premises of the relevant subunit of the University of Vienna. The person borrowing the item and/or the location (office + name of the person borrowing the item or designation of the academic project + name of the office) is displayed in u:search to ensure that other users can access the literature.
If you encounter problems accessing these items, please contact the information desk of the special library or send an e-mail to fbg.ub@univie.ac.at.
*) This only applies if a valid e-mail address is entered in your library account. For students and employees, the personal e-mail address of the University of Vienna is automatically stored. If you do not regularly check the inbox of your university e-mail address, we recommend that you set up an e-mail forwarder e-mail forwarder. Library users holding an annual or monthly card should regularly check whether the e-mail address stored in their library account is correct and up-to-date.
