You wish to borrow a book from the Göttingen State and University Library? Please check in our catalogue (GöDiscovery or Göttingen University Catalogue) to find information about its location, shelf mark and borrowing status.

Location

Depending on the shelving, you may either take the book yourself (browsing section) or order it from our closed stacks (stack requests). If you click on the marked location in our catalogue, a link will lead you to more detailed information.
Items you requested from the Central Library’s closed stacks („Location: SUB closed stacks. Please request“) can be checked out in the self-pick up area.

Shelf-mark

You will find books in browsing sections according to their specific shelf-mark. Please make sure to note down the complete shelf mark, including possible additional locations, and take into account that each library might have its own shelving system.

Borrowing status

The borrowing status tells you whether you may borrow the book and take it outside the library (lending collection) or if the book may only be used within the library premises (reference holdings).

Lending collections you find in the Central Library, but also in the Historical Building and in the Divisional Libraries. Please use your library card to check out these items at the self-checkout terminals.

At most locations, items from the reference collection may be taken out over night or at the week-ends – unless they are generally exempt from lending according to our user regulations.

Please request online in GöDiscovery or in the Göttingen University Catalogue those items with the location mark: SUB closed stacks.

• If available ‚for loan‘ (see ‘request info’) please select the copy, a new window will open after you clicked the ‘request’ button
• Enter number of your library card (e. g. 00071234567) and password.
• Please press ‘Send’ to validate your request. A text, confirming the respective lending desk will appear (e. g. the Self-Pickup Area on the ground floor of the Central Library).

Materials from the stacks you may also order directly into the Historical Building and into other Divisional Libraries (all but the Economics & Social Sciences Divisional Library). Please select the location accordingly.

Your requested item will be ready for pick up for a week at the selected location (usually within one working day). As soon as a circulation desk is noted in the ‚status‘ column in your user account your item is ready to be picked up.

Please have ready your library card and identification when you check out your items.

You will need your library password to borrow your items using the self-checkout terminals provided.

In this tutorial, we will explain how to find out if the book you’ve requested in ready for pick-up.

If a title is already on loan you will see for how long and you may also place a reservation on the item.

Please select ‚Reserve‘ at the catalogue entry, enter your user name and password then submit.

Should a reserved item be available for you it listed in your user account, also we notify you per email.

This video shows you how:

Should the item not be available in our libraries you may order it via inter-library loan or may have it send home to you via the document supply service ‘subito’.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further questions about literature search or document supply.

You may return borrowed media at the self-checkout terminals in the Central Library and the Cultural Studies Divisional Library. At the other library locations, please contact their service desks.

Please have a return receipt printed or handed out after each return, check it immediately and keep it carefully.

As a rule the lending period is:

• for monographs (books) 28 days
• for journals (bound volumes): 7 days

You may extend the loan period of the item up to eleven times in your user account, as long as it is not reserved by other users.
The renewal period date starts with the day you carry out the renewal and not after the initial due date.
We recommend you renew the items a few days before the expiry date.

This video shows you how:

Overdue fees:

Fees are charged in accordance with the Fee Regulations at the state of Lower Saxony:

• For the first reminder 2,00 Euro per item,
• for the 2nd reminder 5,00 Euro per item,
• for the 3rd reminder 10,00 Euro per item.

Reminder fees become due with the drawing up of the written reminder, not with the delivery of the written reminder.
The 1st and 2nd reminder will be sent by email to you. The 3rd reminder will be sent per post.
Please balance the sum at one of our service desks or transfer the amount due to the Göttingen State and University Library account.

In cases of loss or damage, the borrower must pay for the full replacement cost of the item, even if there has been no negligence on their part.

Please hand in promptly a notification of loss / damage (PDF 763 KB) at one of our service desks.