Borrow and return items
Borrowing
In order to borrow items from the library you need a library card. Once you have found an item that you would like to borrow in the University Library catalogues, you need to find out whether this item can be borrowed and how you can obtain it.
Media that are marked as available for loan are located in the open stacks and can simply be taken from the shelf at the location and presented for loan. If you need to order or reserve media via the online catalogue HEIDI, they will be made available in the self-collection shelves of the lending department Altstadt on the 2nd floor of the stacks or on the 3rd floor of the branch library Neuenheim.
If the item is available and the request is made by noon (Monday - Friday) it is usually ready for collection at the lending area after 2:30 pm, otherwise it will be available on the next opening day. Media ordered after 12 pm on Fridays will be made available from 10:30 am on Monday at the earliest.
Requested items will be held for 5 days (Monday - Friday).
Please present your library card when you wish to borrow an item. The original library card must be presented. We do not accept copies or scans. Upon borrowing an item, you will be given a slip with the return date of the item you are taking out. You may check the status of your account and the return dates of borrowed items via HEIDI.
It is not possible to borrow items without your card or if borrowing rights have been suspended!
In the event that your article is not available in a library of Heidelberg, you can order it via the conventional interlibrary loan system or via commercial electronic document delivery services.
For more information on our holdings, such as the textbook collection and the reference collection, as well as on ordering from the closed stacks, please see ‘media locations’.
Returns
If you no longer need the media you have borrowed, please return them to the lending desk so they can be removed from your account. You will receive a written receipt for items that you have returned. In the main library it is also possible to return items that are not overdue without having them checked in individually. This means that you do not have to wait in line.
Outside of the opening hours of the lending desk media can be returned in the reading rooms.
If you are unable to return books to us in person, you can also send them to the following address:
Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg
Ausleihe
Plöck 107–109
69117 Heidelberg
Please note that in the case of uninsured shipping, you must bear the shipping risk, i.e. you are liable in the event of postal loss. The item must reach us no later than the day of the loan deadline so that no overdue fees are incurred.