Help

Which books and how many can I borrow as a student?
You can borrow up to 20 books from the reading room stock if there is no red or yellow dot on the books; an additional 20 books from the textbook collection, 30 from the stacks, and 5 books with a yellow dot and 5 from semester collections as part of the weekend lending programme. Books with a red dot, newspapers, magazines, encyclopaedias and loose-leaf editions cannot be borrowed.

I am not studying at this university. Can I still borrow books from you?
If you live in Brandenburg or Berlin, you can register with us as a "third-party user". As such, you can borrow 20 books from the reading room stock (without a red or yellow dot) and 30 books from the stacks, but none from the textbook collection. If you are enrolled at the University of Poznań, the University of Hagen or the Administrative Academy Frankfurt (Oder), you will receive the same borrowing conditions as students at the Viadrina.
The following applies to students, professors and research assistants at the Collegium Polonicum (CP): You must complete the form "Applications for members of the Collegium Polonicum" and have it confirmed by the CP library. - Professors and research assistants who are employed exclusively in Poznań, but not at the CP, cannot borrow books; "only" reading, scanning and copying is possible.

For how long can I borrow books?
As a student, you can borrow books (without a red or yellow dot) from the reading room stock for 2 weeks, books from the textbook collection and from the stacks for 4 weeks, and books with a yellow dot and books from semester collections over the weekend. If you are a third-party user, we will lend you books from the general reading room stock for 2 weeks and from the stacks for 4 weeks. With the exception of books with a yellow dot, you can renew all books six times, unless a book has been reserved by someone who also wants to borrow it.

When can I borrow and return books?
You can borrow books (without a yellow or red dot) from Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm and on Saturdays from 9.00 am to 12.45 pm (books cannot be borrowed on Saturday afternoons and Sundays). You can return books during all opening hours. Books with a yellow dot and from term books can be borrowed on Fridays from 12:00 and must be returned by 11:00 on the following Monday. Temporary changes will be announced on notice boards and on our website under "News".

Where can I see which books I have borrowed and when?
The receipt you receive when you borrow the books shows both the title and the loan period of the books you have borrowed. If you no longer have this receipt: You can access your user account in the OPAC via "Account" or "Login"/"Account" at any time, even from off campus. You will need your user number and password to do this. Here you can not only see which books you have borrowed and when, but also your orders, reservations and fees.
You can also obtain an account statement at the circulation desk.

How can I extend the loan period of a book?
You can extend the loan period in the OPAC via "Account" or "Login" / "Account" in the last 5 days before the loan period ends. You will need your user number and password to do this. You have the choice of renewing individual books or all the books you have borrowed. You can see in the account information whether you can renew or not. You can also renew by telephone (0335/5534-3366) or at the lending desk. With the exception of books with a yellow dot, you can renew all books six times, unless a book has been reserved by someone who also wants to borrow it.

How can I place a hold on a book?
If you want to borrow a book that is currently on loan, you can place a hold on it so that it will be made available for you when someone else returns it.
To place a hold, you need to find the desired title in the OPAC and click on "How do I access the item?", then go to "Select" and enter your user number and password if necessary. You will see immediately whether your reservation was successful. We will inform you as soon as the book is available for you. Students will always receive an e-mail. External users will also receive an e-mail if you have provided us with your e-mail address (forms at the information desk on the ground floor); if we do not know your e-mail address, you will receive a letter requiring postage.
If you wish to cancel a hold, log in to the OPAC via "Account" or "Login"/"Account", select the sub-account "Holds" and click on "Cancel hold". You will receive a confirmation message and the item will be removed from the reserve list.

How do I recognise that a book is in the stacks and how can I get it?
First search for the book in the OPAC. If it has a local identifier at the beginning of the shelfmark, i.e. before the slash, that is not "10" or "31" or "40" etc., such as "aa5302/" or one that begins with "0", i.e. "01/", "02/" etc. and the status "available for order", the book is in the stacks and an order is required. To do this, please click on "How do I get the medium?" and enter your user number and password if necessary. You will immediately see whether your order was successful and when you can pick up the book.
Journals that are in the stacks must be ordered at the circulation desk. If you place your order by 13:00 on Mondays to Fridays, the book will be ready for you at the lending desk from 14:00. Books that you order after 13:00 can be collected the next day (Monday to Friday) from 14:00. They will be held for you for 7 opening days. If you have any problems with your order, please contact the library staff.

I have ordered or reserved a book. How will I be informed when I can pick it up?
If you have reserved a book or ordered it via interlibrary loan, we will inform you as soon as it is ready for you. Students will always receive an e-mail. External users will also receive an e-mail if you have provided us with your e-mail address (forms at the information desk on the ground floor); if we do not know your e-mail address, you will receive a letter requiring postage.

Where can I get a user card?
If you are a student or employee of the European University, your chip card is also your user card. Otherwise, if you live in Brandenburg, Berlin or Słubice, you can apply for your user card at the information desk on the ground floor. You can pick it up after approx. 2 weeks.

I have lost my user card. What now?
Please contact the information desk immediately (Tel.: 0335/5534-3366). We will then immediately block your library card so that it is not misused (e.g. borrowed in your name). If it is your chip card, please also report the loss to the Matriculation Office.

I don't have a password for the library yet. What now?
You need a library password for various functions in the OPAC (e.g. renewals, reservations) and for interlibrary loans. If you do not yet have one, please contact the information desk on the ground floor. By default, newly enrolled students receive their date of birth without the 19 as their password. Example: The birthday "1.5.1982" becomes the password "010582". You should change this password immediately.

I have forgotten my password. What do I do now?
Please contact the enquiry desk or the lending desk.

How can I get a book that is not available in the library?
If you cannot find a book in our OPAC, you can order it via interlibrary loan. However, this does not apply to books that are available in bookshops for less than 10.00 euros, as well as entertainment and hobby literature.

How do I place an interlibrary loan order?
If you cannot find the title in our OPAC, you can place an interlibrary loan order.

How long does it take to fulfil an interlibrary loan request?
It takes an average of 10 days to fulfil an interlibrary loan request for books and copies of articles. Document delivery services are faster, but more expensive.

What does an interlibrary loan order cost?
The interlibrary loan order costs 1.50 euros, plus postage costs for the pick-up notification, unless we have an e-mail address from you. There are usually additional costs for copies of articles over 20 pages.
International interlibrary loans in particular incur additional costs, which vary depending on the library.

For how long can I borrow an interlibrary loan and can I extend the loan period?
In general, you can borrow interlibrary loans that must be returned for one month. The loan period can be found on the collection notification. It begins when the book is made available (not when it is collected). However, the lending library may impose conditions, such as a shortened loan period, use only in the reading room or a ban on copying.
If you would like to extend the loan period, please contact the interlibrary loan staff in good time.
Copies of items are available for your reference.

Do I get my money back if the interlibrary loan order could not be realised?
No, unfortunately not. These are processing fees, which must be paid in any case.

How much do I have to pay for what?
You pay €1.00 per item (book, CD-ROM, etc.)
- up to one week (7 calendar days),
- up to two weeks €2.00,
- up to three weeks €5.00 and
- €5.00 for each additional week.
The maximum fee per item is €20.00. The late fee for weekend loans is 1.00 euro per item and day. You will also be charged the postage costs for the reminder letters.
If you lose a book, you must pay the replacement value plus an administration fee of 15.00 euros.
For an interlibrary loan order you pay at least 1.50 euros.
Students pay 20.00 euros if they lose their chip card (not at the University Library, but at the Division of Student Affairs).
For external users, the replacement of a user card costs 5.00 euros.

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When and where can I pay fees?
You can pay your fees in cash (not by EC or chip card) from Monday to Friday from 9:00 - 16:45 at the information desk on the ground floor of the library. You can also pay by bank transfer.

What happens if my fees have reached a certain amount?
If your fees have reached 10.00 euros, you will receive a reminder after thirty days. If you do not pay your fees within three weeks, your user card will be blocked.

How do I find books?
You can find books by searching in the OPAC. There you can search for authors, titles, keywords (individual terms that are contained in the title in the same spelling), subject headings (standardised vocabulary related to the content) or publisher names. You also have the option of abbreviating (truncating) terms or names with "* " after at least three letters. Upper and lower case are irrelevant, as are umlauts and accents. You can also restrict your search by selecting the language and/or the period of publication. For further information, please refer to the "OPAC Help". - You can find quite detailed OPAC help here (using economics as an example [especially point II], but also for other subjects).
If you are still unsuccessful with your search, you can contact the staff at the information desk at any time. Once you have determined the book title, please make a note of the shelfmark, as this defines the location of the book.

We also recommend our training courses.

How do I find essays and articles from journals or anthologies?
As a rule, you will not find essays directly in our OPAC, but under the title of the work in which the essay is contained ("... contained in: ...", "... In: ..." etc.). You can search for articles via ViaCat and specialised databases (e.g. BECK-online, wiso-net). Please note the preceding symbols that describe the availability of the databases.
In some cases you can find articles by searching in union catalogues (see KVK).
If you know the title of the journal, you can also access the article via the Electronic Journals Library (EZB). Please note the availability symbols here too.
If you cannot find the article you are looking for, you can order it via Interlibrary Loan.

How do I find newspapers and magazines?
You search in OPAC for the title, title abbreviation or title keywords of the magazine/newspaper and enter the specified "Magazine, newspaper..." in the "Publication form" section.
Or search directly in the Zeitschriftendatenbank (ZDB) and pay attention to the attached proof of ownership.
Electronic journals can be found, for example, in the Electronic Journals Library (EZB).

Where can you find newspapers and magazines?
The current week's daily and weekly newspapers can be found in a newspaper rack on the ground floor, older issues of the current month in the basement of the library. Newspapers are kept in the stacks for up to six months and must be ordered via the information desk on the ground floor.
Current journal issues can be found in the journal displays of the respective subject area: General Studies, Cultural Studies, Law (Law), Economics incl. Mathematics and Computer Science on the top floor.
Older volumes are usually bound and can be found on the shelves. You can find the shelfmark in the OPAC, but you can also find it on the copies of the title pages in the shelves.
We keep some journal volumes, but also individual issues, in the stacks. You must order these via OPAC. If this is not possible in individual cases, please contact the information desk on the ground floor.

How can I tell exactly where a book should be located?
You can tell exactly where a book should be located by its shelfmark.
The location is determined, among other things, by the locality code that appears in the OPAC before the slash in the shelfmark (on the spine at the top).
A two-digit locality code means that the book is freely accessible in the reading room. If a book has a three-digit location code, it is in the reference collection of a professor and can be borrowed from the respective secretary's office or from the information desk. Books with local identifiers such as "aa5302" are in a closed stacks and must be ordered. Signatures beginning with "ua" indicate CD-ROMs that are kept on the ground floor and managed by the circulation desk.
The remaining part of the signature determines the exact location on the shelf.

How can I tell if a book is on loan?
In the OPAC in the full display of a title, you can see whether a book is on loan. Under "How can I access the item?" you will find information on how long a book has been on loan or whether it is in a semester reserve, for example, and whether additional copies are available in the library.

I can't find a book that should be in the reading room according to the OPAC. Where can it be?
There are several possibilities:
- Another student is currently working with this book - just look again later.
If you suspect or know what the book you are looking for looks like, you can look for it with a trained eye
among other users in the reading room.
- the book has been moved - look for it near the actual location
- it is in a semester reserve - you will find this information in the copy display
(in OPAC for the individual title in the copies section: "borrowed special location / SAP ...").
Of course, you can also ask the staff at the information desk at any time. We will be happy to help you!

How can I get a book that is not available in the library?
If you cannot find a book in our OPAC, you can order it via Interlibrary Loan. However, this does not apply to books that are available in bookshops for less than 10.00 euros as well as entertainment and hobby literature.

Which computer workstations does the library offer?
You will find multifunctional computer workstations in the entire reading room area: Research in the OPAC, on the Internet and in various databases; you can also process texts and tables here. You can also print, save to USB sticks (version 2.0) and edit your e-mails. A special computer workstation is available for the visually impaired.

Where can I edit my own texts?
Word processing is possible on all computers in the reading room (including carrels). It is also possible to send a print job to the printers in the reading room from all University Library devices. You can also use your laptop for word processing, but you cannot print the documents via WLAN, only via USB stick on the printers in the reading room: It is best not to insert the USB stick directly into the printer, but into the PC.

How and where can I print documents?
Two photocopiers in the law area and a photocopier in the corridor between the history and economics areas near the learning container are also printers; you can access these from all PCs in the reading room (instructions). A printed page costs five cents.

Is there WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) in the library?
Yes, you can use your notebook networked (see Eduroam).

Can I only use the databases on campus or also from outside?
Some databases are freely accessible, others are only available on campus (and accessible from outside via VPN). You can find an overview on our discipline databases DBIS.

I am not registered in the library. Can I still use the computers?
Yes, but please note that our computer workstations are primarily available to Viadrina students for research purposes.
Children and young people can use the computer workstations on the ground floor, subject to the above comments.

Is it possible to get a separate workstation in the library?
Yes, there are carrels in the reading room, which are lockable cubicles with PCs that are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Here, too, you can only use your laptop without a network. Please ask at the information desk on the ground floor whether there are any carrels available.

Where can I make copies in the library? How much does it cost? Can I also pay with coins?
There are four photocopiers on the top floor: two in the law section, one in the corridor between the history and economics sections near the learning container and one in the linguistics section. A black and white copy of a DIN A4 page costs five cents (no quantity discount). You can make colour copies at all devices (a colour copy costs 10 cents), and you can scan pages onto your USB stick at all devices. You can also pay with your chip card at all machines, provided you have sufficient credit on it (you can top it up at the terminal in the Gräfin-Dönhoff-Building and in the Main Building to the right of the main staircase). You can also pay with coins at all photocopier locations. You must insert at least one five-cent piece; coins will not be returned.

Can I also copy books that cannot be borrowed in the copy shop?
No, this is not possible. There are plenty of photocopiers available in the reading room. All four are colour copiers.

How and where can I print documents?
Two photocopiers in the law area and one in the corridor between the history and economics areas near the learning container also function as central printers, which you can access from all PCs in the reading room (instructions). You need to know the number of the PC and the time at which you sent the print job. - You can only print files on your laptop if you have saved them on a USB stick (PDF, TIFF or JPEG). You can send them directly to the printer, but this may result in errors (e.g. images may be displayed at a different size). You are safe if you take the USB stick to a PC and print from there. With this "diversions", the character set is automatically corrected.
Or you can print to any university printer using the follow-me-print system.
One DIN A4 print page (black and white) costs five cents.

Are there scanners in the library?
The University Library has three scanners on the 3rd floor: a black and white scanner (max. DIN A2) in area 31/PR; a colour scanner (max. DIN A3) is located near the semester machines. And a third scanner is located in the history area. The output is on USB stick.