Interlibrary Loan - FAQ

The Interlibrary Loan Service, officially the German Interlibrary Loan is an organization of cooperating libraries in the Federal Republic of Germany who mutually borrow and loan library materials. The service is based on mutual exchange, i.e. libraries take part actively by lending their own library materials to other libraries and passively by borrowing library materials from other libraries for their patrons. Interlibrary loan policies, set up in the Interlibrary Loan Code, must be observed by the participating libraries. In contrast to commercial document delivery services, the interlibrary loan service is less cost effective. Borrowing libraries charge a processing fee for each interlibrary loan request, regardless of whether or not the request can be filled. The participating libraries mutually reimburse each other for their services.

Items not held by a Kaiserslautern library (University Library, Library of Applied Science, Palatinate Library) or Landau University library can be ordered through the Interlibrary Loan Service via internet from a participating service library. Patrons will be notified by e-mail when their request becomes available. Orders may be picked up at the Circulation Desk of the Central library (Bldg. 32) or Service Desk of the University Library in Landau (Bldg. D). University faculty members and staff with cost center privileges and a university address, may have ordered copies delivered directly to their office through the campus mail system.

A processing fee of EUR 1.50 is charged for each item ordered through the Interlibrary Loan Service. Payment is made by purchasing a "TAN" (transaction number ) and must be made prior to placing a request. TANs may be purchased in any Campus Library. The processing fee is non reimbursable even in the event of non availability or cancellation of order. The fee is in accordance with the Interlibrary Loan Code and Ministry decision of November 27, 2014.

The German and International Interlibrary Loan Service may involve additional fees for photocopies, insurance for rare items, postage and packaging as well as other handling fees.

To avoid processing delays we recommend you state the amount of additional costs you are willing to assume directly on the order form.

Please note: When requesting a copy of a journal article or book chapter a preset amount of € 5.00 appears on the order form to cover any further costs that may arise. This amount may be reduced or increased to meet your personal needs.

General Fees:

German Interlibrary Loan Service: Photocopies exceeding 20 pages: EUR 0.15 per pageThere now is an almost national agreement to supply 40 pages without additional feesFee for additional pages usually: EUR 2.00 / 20 pages followingInternational Interlibrary Loan Service:Photocopies: EUR 18.50 minimumBooks: EUR 26.00 minimum

TANs, transaction numbers, are required to place a interlibrary loan request. TANs can be purchased in the Central Library (Bldg. 32) and in all Campus Department Libraries. The fee includes the cost of the interlibrary loan. University faculty and staff members of the RPTU in Kaiserslautern charging the interlibrary loan fee to their cost center may have TANs sent directly to them per e-mail. Please use the transfer form.

Upon completion of the order form, you will be asked to enter your TAN number. The TAN is invalidated as soon as the order form is accepted. The status of your interlibrary loan request can be seen online in your personal DigiBib-ILL account.

Typically delivery occurs within a two to three week period. The University Library has however no influence on the time required for delivery. Information on the status of your loan request can be found under the tab "Interlibrary Loan", "ILL account".Should the requested item be on loan in all holding libraries, it is possible to have the item placed on reserved. Please indicate this on the order form if you wish to take advantage of this service.

Go to the DigiBib, Navigation mark „Inter-Library Loan“.

To submit an interlibrary loan request, enter a title, author's name or ISBN in the search form and click the "Start Search" button. Should your search produce no results, check your entry for spelling errors or enter a new search word. Choose a title from the search results and indicate whether the entire book or only a copy of specific pages is needed. Click the "Select" button.

If a book chapter is requested, specify the chapter you wish to request. If necessary, change the terms of delivery. Enter your TAN number and press "Order"

Important: Retain your TAN number should questions arise concerning your request.

Use the links "Book Order" and "Request for a Book Chapter" for detailed information.

Go to the DigiBib, Navigation mark „Inter-Library Loan“.

Select "Journals" from the menu on the left hand side. Enter the journal title, words from the title or the ISSN into the search form and click the "Start Search" button. Please avoid the use of abbreviations. Choose the title from the search results and enter the citation information (title of the article, author of the article, year of publication, volume, issue and beginning page number) in the form. Choose your preferred type of delivery, verify the personal use of the article, enter your TAN number by "Zahlungsart" and press "Bestellen".

Important: Retain your TAN number should questions arise concerning your request.

Use the link "Request for a Journal Article Copy" for detailed information.

It is possible to submit a request for an item not found in the library catalogue by entering the citation information in the "free entry" search field found below the list of search results.

Please note: Accurate and precise citation information is required to process an interlibrary loan request in the shortest possible time. Therefore enter all available information as well as any comments or remarks you may have in the search form. The citation information will then be verified and completed by our library staff before submitting your request to the Interlibrary Loan Service. As an in-depth search is often required to find the necessary citation information, the delivery of your request may take longer.

After your order has been submitted, an algorithm determines the order of the delivery libraries. There are various factors, such as spatial proximity to the RPTU - University Libraries and the delivery volume taken into account. If the first library can not deliver the medium you ordered, the order will be forwarded to the nearest library until your order can usually be completed successfully. The delivery then takes place directly to the University Library Kaiserslautern or Landau, where you can pick up your order.

Interlibrary loan items may be picked up at any time within the duration of the loan period.The due date is stated on the e-mail notification, informing you of the availability of the item. Book chapters and articles, delivered as photocopies, remain available for a four week period and then discarded.

The loan period is set by the lending library. The University observes the individual libraries lending policies and restrictions. The loan period is generally four weeks. Exact due dates are clearly noted on the loan slip attached to the item. The loan period begins the first day the item is available for loan, not the day it is picked up.

Some libraries restrict the loan materials to use within the library. Others prohibit the photocopying of loan materials. All restrictions must be honored by our library patrons.

All interlibrary loan materials which are borrowed via Library Location Kaiserslautern must be returned to the Circulation Desk in the Central Library (Bldg. 32).

The interlibrary loan materials which are borrowed via Library Location Landau must be returned to the Service Desk in the University Library (Bldg. D).

Requests for items available at the Kaiserslautern University Library are not accepted by the Interlibrary Loan Service.

Literature not needed for scientific purposes as well as typical reading room materials (encyclopedias, reference works) items held by other Kaiserslautern Libraries (Library of Applied Sciences, Palatinate Library) or University Library Landau low price items(EUR 15.00) available at a bookstore loose leaf material journal issues and volumes patents, DIN standards rare materials and early imprints (materials published in the 16th and 17th century - in many libraries in the 18th century) Copies or microforms are often possible. electronic resources (e-books, often CD-ROMs etc.) NEW according to §60e UrhWissG: copies of newspaper articles and articles from the tabloids (e. g.  Stern, Spiegel, Geo Magazin), sections of books with more than 10 % of the volume

Literature not needed for scientific purposes as well as typical reading room materials (encyclopedias, reference works) can normally not be obtained through the Interlibrary Loan Service.

Please note: Requests made for items as those listed above are not immediately automatically rejected by the Interlibrary Loan System. They are however rejected within the course of processing by the supplier library.

A foreign publication can be requested through the International Interlibrary Loan Service if it is not held by a German library. In rare cases (for example by foreign dissertations) a direct order abroad is possible. The cost (irrespectively of the basic fee) for an international library loan and the time needed for delivery vary greatly. Loan items may only be used in the Central Library.

Patrons cannot cancel interlibrary loan requests. Should you however no longer need the requested items or have mistakenly requested the same items twice, please contact the library staff of the Interlibrary Loan Department or at the Central Information Desk.

In general books from the RPTU University Libraries collections may be borrowed for a four week period. Extensions will not be granted.

Volumes of journals and periodicals are not lent by the library. Exceptions may be made on a case by case basis for a one week period (such as to complete yearly editions) These loans are restricted to use in the library.

Lending conditions are in accordance with those of the German Interlibrary Loan Service. Delivery is only made to other European countries, provided that customs regulations apply.

Requests for publications involve fees as listed below:

• lent items: EUR 9.00 or 1 IFLA voucher per volume/item
• photocopies: EUR 5.00 or 1/2 IFLA voucher per article.

International interlibrary loan request forms are completed by the Interlibrary Loan Department staff and sent by e-mail (Kaiserslautern ub-fernleihe-kl(at)rptu.de; Landau ub-fernleihe-ld(at)rptu.de) from the respective library.