Interlibrary loan

Interlibrary loan

General information

Interlibrary loan is a service that lets you borrow items from other libraries, including books, journal articles and other media that are not available in Rostock. Before requesting an interlibrary loan, please make sure that the item is not available in Discovery or the Catalogue. For publications from 1851 to 1959, please also check the electronic card index.

Please contact a member of staff at the information desk for help.

The Union Catalogue GVK is the central search and ordering platform for interlibrary loans. To use this service, you first need an interlibrary loan account, which you can set up using the online form “Ersteinrichtung Fernleihkonto” below. (These forms are currently only available in German. Please contact us if you require assistance.) You need a valid Rostock University Library user account in order to open in interlibrary loan account. It usually takes one working day for us to process your account set-up. We will email you confirmation once the account is available for use.

 

 


Online forms

 

 


Interlibrary loan account

You can access your interlibrary loan account via the GVK. Your account contains the following information:

  • order status, for example: "photocopy shipped", "original shipped", "on loan", "not available"
  • account summary ("deposit"), showing available credits (not euros. These are not costs.)
  • address
  • password

 

 


Tips

You can access your interlibrary loan account via the GVK.

  • order status, for example "copy sent by mail", "original sent by mail", "on loan", "not available"
  • account summary, detailing units (not euros)
  • address
  • password
Items you cannot request via interlibrary loan and restrictions

Items you cannot request via interlibrary loan

  • books, journals and other media that are available from Rostock's libraries (even if they are currently on loan or not available for loan)
  • very valuable works from before 1800
  • entire journals or journal collections (you may request a copy of the contents pages of these collections)
  • reference books and loose-leaf editions
  • bachelor's or master's theses and the like

Please ask a member of staff for assistance if an item is not available for loan.

Restrictions

Sometimes the lending library places restrictions on an item; for example, that it may not be copied or that it may only be read in-house. Rostock University Library is subject to these requirements.

Delivery time and delivery notification

Delivery time

Delivery takes 2-4 weeks. Once a book or article has arrived, you will receive a notification email. You can also check your user account for information.

Delivery notification

Once a book or article has arrived, you will receive a notification email. You can also check your user account for information.

You can collect your items from the circulation desk at Campus Library Südstadt. Researchers at Rostock University can also request to have their orders shipped from Südstadt to their business address or closest library using internal mail.

Prices and renewing a loan period

Prices

  • students and members of the University generelly do not pay a fee for interlibrary loans (but see exceptional costs below)
  • private citizens and non-members of the University pay 1,50 Euro per item, payable at collection from Campus Library Südstadt

Exceptional costs

You will need to pay any exceptional costs, such as for articles of more than 20 pages, direct orders from other services, or international loans. We will assume that you are willing to do so, and only confer with you if the fees exceed 8 Euros.

Renewing a loan period

Renewing an interlibrary loan period is generally not possible.

Conventional interlibrary loan and international loans

Conventional interlibrary loan

Interlibrary loan requests that cannot be made online are filed via the traditional „red request form”. You can also use this form: Conventional interlibrary request form.

Please fill in the form on your PC and bring a printout to the Service Desk.

International loans

If an item cannot be found at any German library, you can request an international loan. Please contact a member of staff. Note that international loan can carry high fees.

Legal basis

Interlibrary loans are regulated by the "Ordnung des Leihverkehrs in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Leihverkehrsordnung (LVO)", dated 19.09.2003 and published in: Amtsblatt für Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 2003, Nr. 55 (09.12.2003), S. 1190 - 1199. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the regulations took effect on  01.01.2004 and were published in: Mitteilungsblatt des Ministeriums für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 2004, Nr. 2 (17.02.2004) S. 184-193

Other delivery options

Alternative delivery services to interlibrary loan are listed below. These services carry a cost. You will need to register with the respective services provider.

 

 

Contact

  • Interlibrary loan