ZB MED Medicine. Health. | Cologne site

To take books out on loan, you will need borrowing privileges.

Issue/returns

Textbook collection (located in the ground floor reading room):

• These items are issued at the self-service issue machines on the ground floor, which read in the number of your library card  and then require you to enter your password (six-digit date of birth).
• Please return items to the lending desk on the ground floor.
• Books from the textbook collection cannot be reserved, renewed or taken out on loan for an entire semester.

Books acquired since 2005 (located in the ground floor reading room):

• The issue and return of these items takes place at the lending desk on the ground floor.

Books acquired up to 2004, dissertations, CD-ROMs and other media (shelved in the closed stack):

• These items must be ordered from the catalogue 
• They will be kept available for collection for a maximum of 10 days (not counting days when the library is closed).
• These items are issued, returned and collected at the lending desk on the ground floor.

Items cannot be taken out on loan if your user account has accumulated fines of 20 Euros or more or if you have reached the limit of 50 loaned items, orders and reservations.

To take items out on loan you will need to present your library card, ideally in person. You can only send someone else to pick up items on your behalf if you have previously visited the library in person to provide a written statement confirming that the person is authorised to act on your behalf. The library is authorised, though not obliged, to hand over borrowed media to any person who presents a library membership card.

More information: Books and other media

Reservations

• Reservations can only be made for items that are out on loan (except   for textbooks).
• When the reserved item is available for collection, we will notify you by email (free of charge) or by post (charge of 0.58 euros for postage).
• Items must be collected from the lending desk on the ground floor. 
• It is not possible to reserve items if your user account has accumulated fines of 20 euros or more.

Loan period

• As a general rule, the loan period for all items is four weeks.
• The loan period may be shortened for service-related reasons or if another user has made a reservation.
• If you return items by post, you will be liable for the risk and costs involved.
• Items must be received by the library no later than the last day of the loan period.
• Overdue fines shall be charged for any items that are returned late in accordance with § 1 of the ZB MED regulations relating to fees and charges.

If you have provided us with an e-mail address, we will send you a reminder three days before the loan period is due to expire.

Please note that this service does not entitle you to any form of legal redress since e-mails may be affected by delivery failures due to technical problems that are beyond ZB MED’s control.

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Renewals (extension of the loan period)

You can renew items in various ways:

• using the online catalogue
• by fax: 0221 478-7062 (the date of receipt shall apply);
• by E-mail: ausleihe@zbmed.de 
• in person at the lending desk (in exceptional cases).

Conditions for renewals: 

• You can only renew items if there are five days or fewer remaining before the loan period expires.  
• You need to submit your request no later than 9 p.m. on the final day of the loan period (overdue charges will become due after this time).  
• You can also request a renewal after the loan period has ended, though overdue charges will be payable for the interim period.
• Items can only be renewed twice (provided that the item has not been reserved by another user). 
• The library is entitled to shorten loan periods and will send you a message if this becomes necessary.

Renewals cannot be requested:

• by phone
•  for books from the textbook collection; 
•  if your user account has accumulated charges of 20 euros or more

Overdue charge rates

as per § 1 of the ZB MED regulations relating to fees and charges

As a discretionary service, we will inform you by e-mail when one of your items enters the first overdue period and we will inform you by post once it reaches the third and fifth overdue periods. However, please note that the ZB MED has no obligation whatsoever to remind you that loaned media are due to be returned.

Exceeding the end of the loan period by more than 40 calendar days (or by more than 10 calendar days in the case of short-term loans) shall be deemed as a failure to return the item at all.

Items not available for borrowing include:

• newspapers, journals;
• books from the reference stacks;
• unbound works issued in instalments and booklets;
• typewritten theses;
• loose-leaf editions, maps, special formats;
• manuscripts and autographs;
• works of particular value or age, or those in a poor state of preservation;
• other information materials, which are not suitable for borrowing;
• and books required for in-house or service-related purposes. 

In exceptional cases, the library may permit a non-circulating item to be taken out on loan if its use outside the library is clearly required for research purposes.

Important note

Maintenance of the ZB MED's computer systems takes place on the first Friday of every month between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. The library's lending system and catalogue functions will not be available during this time.

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ZB MED Nutrition. Environment. Agriculture. | Bonn site

On-site access to the library's holdings is available to everyone.

Due to the physical links with the Branch Library of Bonn University and State Library, the general rules of conduct – as well as the obligations and rights that exist between users and the library – are regulated by the Library Regulations of ULB Bonn which apply in the ZB MED’s Bonn site in a correspondingly modified form.

Borrowing privileges

If you wish to use the library's services and take books out on loan, you will need a library card. You can apply for a card at the lending desk between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Friday. Please note that you will be required to present the following documents. As a general rule, library cards are valid for a period of one year.

Library borrowing privileges are generally subject to an annual fee of 20 euros, though some groups of people are entitled to use the library for free.

Please inform the lending desk immediately if you lose your library card or change your address. If you lose your library card and fail to report the loss immediately, you will be personally liable for the consequences of any fraudulent use.

Please consult your user account in the catalogue to view the personal data we have on file for you (address, date of birth, any e-mail address you may have provided, etc.) and to check your library card's expiry date.

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Lending

To find the item you are looking for, please consult the catalogue to check its location and shelf mark.

Journals cannot be taken out on loan. All journal issues from 1980 onwards are available from open access shelving. If you wish to browse older journals on the library premises, you can submit a request for the items you need by handing in an order slip.

Loan period, renewals, maximum number of items

The loan period for books is 28 days (only counting days on which the library is open). Books can be renewed on two occasions as long as they have not been reserved by another user. The loan period for textbooks is also 28 days, but these cannot be renewed. There is a limit to the number of media that a user can have out on loan at the same time.

Returns, lost items

Books must be returned during the opening hours of the library's lending desk. If you lose or damage an item you have out on loan, you will be liable for the cost of replacing the item.

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