FAQ – Library Services during the Corona Pandemic

Borrowing, Returning, Media Reclaims

Can I apply for a library card or have it renewed?

You can apply for a library card or have your existing one renewed in all our branch libraries during the service hours of the circulation desks. Please bring all necessary documents with you. Prior appointments are no longer necessary.

Service hours of the circulation desks

StudentCard and PersonalCard as your library card
TUM members do not have to come to library. TUM students can self-activate their StudentCard in TUMonline, TUM employees can contact our First Level Hotline.

Further information
All about the library card
Library number & password

Can I order books via the online catalogue OPAC?

You can order literature via our online catalogue OPAC to the branch library of your choice and pick them up at the circulation desk during service hours as soon as your orders are ready for collection.

Ordered items are usually ready for check-out after 3 working days. Orders from or to the Branch Library Straubing can only be picked up after 5 working days due to the geographical distance. You have 10 calendar days for collection. Please plan your visit to the library accordingly. Prior appointments are no longer necessary.

Service hours of the circulation desks

Reading Room and Textbook Collections
Please also order in advance via OPAC books from textbook collections as well as items usually accessible in the reading rooms. Currently, you cannot pick up library items from the shelves yourself. For media that cannot be ordered (e.g. reference literature or materials that can only be used in the reading room) TUM members can use our scan service dokumenTUM.

Reservations not possible
Currently, you cannot reserve library items borrowed by other users.

Further Information
Online Catalogue OPAC
Ordering & Reserving
Textbook Collections

How can I borrow books?

Our loan services are available again: You must order literature via our online catalogue OPAC to the branch library of your choice and pick them up at the circulation desk during service hours as soon as your orders are ready for collection.

Service hours of the circulation desks

E-Media
Please make use of our wide range of online media with priority: TUM members have access to more than 160,00 e-books, 45,000 e-journals and 2,400 databases.

Further Information
Borrowing & Checking-out
Textbook Collections
Remote Access via eAccess

How can I pick up preordered books?

Library items that you have ordered via OPAC to the branch library of your choice are usually ready for check-out after 3 working days. Orders from or to the Branch Library Straubing can only be picked up after 5 working days due to the geographical distance.

You have 10 calendar days for collection. Please plan your visit to the library accordingly. Prior appointments are no longer necessary.

Service hours at the circulation desks

How can I return borrowed books?

Returning borrowed items is possible in all branch libraries – regardless of where you originally checked them out them. Our courier service takes care of the transport. You are also welcome to return books by mail.

Prior appointments for returning books are no longer necessary. Please note the service hours at the circulation desks.

Fee-based Media Reclaims
On 13 July 2020, we resumed fee-based media reclaims for overdue items. Please inform yourself about your return deadlines in your library account on the OPAC.

Reservations and Renewals
For reasons of hygiene, returned media will be kept safe for three days ("book quarantine").Therefore, reservations on checked out items are currently not possible. Existing reservations will be cancelled.

After a loan period of four weeks, it is possible to renew the loan period. Our library system automatically extends your loan period for books – provided that your library account is not blocked and the maximum number of renewals has not yet been reached.

Further Information
Renewing & Returning
Returns by Mail

When will fee-based media reclaims be resumed?

On 13 July 2020, we resumed fee-based media reclaims for overdue items.

Returning Books
Returning borrowed items is possible in all branch libraries – regardless of where you originally checked them out them. You are also welcome to return books by mail. Prior appointments for returning books are no longer necessary. Please note the service hours at the circulation desks.

Outstanding Fees
Media reclaim procedures already underway before 14 March 2020 will remain valid. Fees can be paid via bank transfer using the billing code (BKZ). You will find the BKZ and bank details on your reclaim letter.

Cash payment is only possible in the Branch Libraries Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Main Campus, Straubing and Weihenstephan during special services hours for cash payment.

If you have any questions, please contact our Media Reclaim Team: media.reclaim@ub.tum.de

Further Information
Renewing & Returning
Media Reclaim Fees

How can I pay charges now?

Fees can be paid via bank transfer indicating the billing code (BKZ) on the transfer form. You can find the BKZ and bank details on your reclaim letter.

Cash payment is only possible in the Branch Libraries Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Main Campus, Straubing and Weihenstephan during special services hours for cash payment.

If you have any questions, please contact our Media Reclaim Team: media.reclaim@ub.tum.de

Further Information
Renewing & Returning
Media Reclaim Fees

Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery, Scan Service, Poster Prints

Can I use interlibrary loan?

Our interlibrary loan service is available again in the scope you are accustomed. You can order books and journal articles from other libraries that are not available locally.

Check-out and Prices
Borrowing books via interlibrary loan is free of charge. For copies of articles you pay an expense allowance of € 1.50. Electronic delivery by e-mail is no longer possible since the special agreement with VG Wort has not been extended.

Prior appointments for checking out interlibrary loans are no longer necessary. Please note the special service hours at the circulation desks.

Previous Orders
Interlibrary loans ordered before the Corona Pandemic can no longer be picked up. Previous orders were cancelled and books not checked out were returned to the owning library. Please order literature again if necessary.

Returning Interlibrary Loans
You can return interlibrary loan books during the service hours at the circulation desks. A prior appointment is no longer necessary. From 13 July onwards, we will reclaim overdue interlibrary loans at a charge.

Can I use dokumenTUM, the scan service of TUM?

For TUM members (students and staff), we offer our internal electronic document delivery service dokumenTUM.

You can order journal articles and parts from books that are available in our library collections. We will take care of the scanning and send you PDF files by e-mail. This service is free of charge.

E-Tutorial: How to use dokumenTUM – the TUM internal document delivery service

Does the University Library scan library materials for digital course reserves?

Yes, to support online teaching we offer all lecturers at TUM a scanning service for book chapters and journal articles from our library stocks. We provide the scans automatically in the digital course reserve of your Moodle course.

In addition, you can include yourself electronic media (e-books, articles from e-journals, or databases) from the University Library directly into your course reserve. Please make primary use of this option.

... and this is how you set up your digital semester catalogue: www.ub.tum.de/en/digisem

Can I pick up poster prints ordered from the LRZ to the Main Campus?

Unfortunately, this is not possible at the moment. The Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) has not yet resumed its poster printing service. It is closed to the public until further notice.

Further information:
LRZ Poster Print Service

Studying Areas, Carrels, Lockers, Equipment

Are study areas in the library accessible?

With the beginning of the examination period, we are expanding our services: There will be more study desks for TUM members available again in all branch libraries.

Online booking is possible until 12:00 midnight the day before. You may reserve a maximum of two time slots per week. In case of overbooking we reserve the right to cancel all of your reservations.

Before you make your reservation, please note our new regulations starting 3 August regarding reservation, seat allocation and admission control: https://www.ub.tum.de/arbeitsplatz-reservieren

Reserve a study desk

Allocation of Free Places
Study desks not taken or reserved will be re-allocated on the reservation day 30 minutes after the start of the reservation period. Please ask for free places at the circulation desk. If a place is available, you must identify yourself with your TUM StudentCard / PersonalCard and provide your contact details.

Currently not yet available again:

Group study rooms, carrels and the TUM Speaker's Corner are not accessible until further notice.
Library computers, book scanners and lockers are also not available.
Access to reading room shelves and textbook collections is not possible. Please order required literature in advance via OPAC.

Can I reserve a carrel?

Unfortunately not, our carrels are not available until further notice.

Should you have used a carrel before the Corona Pandemic, please return the transponder as soon as possible. It is no longer necessary to make an appointment in advance. Please note the service hours at the circulation desks.

We have resume reclaiming overdue carrel transponders at a charge starting 13 July 2020.

Are lockers currently available?

No, unfortunately, you cannot book library lockers until further notice.

If you used a locker before the Corona Pandemic, please clear it as soon as possible and return the locker key to us. It is no longer necessary to make a prior appointment. Please note the service hours at the circulation desks.

Since 13 July 2020, we have been reclaiming borrowed locker keys at a charge.

E-Media, E-Learning, Remote Access

How can I use e-books from home?

We have more than 160,000 e-books online available for TUM members. You can find our entire collection in the OPAC. You can see whether a title is available as an e-book by the blue "Read online" button.

To access e-books for free of charge, you must first authenticate yourself via eAccess. Log in with your TUM ID and then search in the OPAC.

Further information
Terms of use and alternative access options
Bibs vs. virus – extended access to electronic resources

How can I use e-journals from home?

We make over 45,000 scientific journals available online to TUM members. To access full texts free of charge from home, you must first authenticate yourself with your TUM ID.

The easiest way to do this is via eAccess: Log in with your TUM ID, then search for journal titles in the Electronic Journals Library (EZB).

Further information
Terms of use and alternative access options
Bibs vs. virus – extended access to electronic resources

Can I access specialist databases and research portals from home?

The University Library offers TUM members over 2,400 online databases and search portals in which you can find references, scientific papers, statistics, company data, facts, articles from journals, newspapers, conference proceedings and much more.

To access these resources free of charge from home, you have to authenticate yourself as a TUM member. Depending on the database this can be done with your TUM ID via eAccess or institutional login (Shibboleth). Other databases require a personal registration.

Access information for each database and an overview of our portfolio can be found at: www.ub.tum.de/en/databases

Further information
Bibs vs. virus – extended access to electronic resources

Is there extended access to e-media available?

Many publishers are offering temporary access to their e-books, e-journals and databases due to the corona crisis. Some make their complete program freely available, others offer expanded access with an existing license or make parts of their publications related to Covid-19 accessible.

Since these are time-limited access options, you will not find these e-media via our OPAC, but on the page bibs vs. virus. Please log in via eAccess with your TUM ID.

Can I still attend courses at the university library?

Unfortunately, classroom courses are currently not available. However, the University Library offers you the possibility to attend all courses as webinars, some of them are also available as e-courses on Moodle. If you have sucessfully passed the corresponding e-tests, we will gladly send you a certificate of participation.

You can find our complete courses programme at: https://www.ub.tum.de/en/courses

If you have any questions, please contact workshop@ub.tum.de