Ordering and Borrowing

Loanable Materials

Most library materials can be borrowed for at-home use.

Items within the open stack areas can be taken directly from the shelves. All books with a yellow spine label may be borrowed. Books with a red spine label or a red dot/sticker above the spine label are non-borrowable and may only be used within the building. Other non-borrowable materials which can only be used within the library are:

  • Unbound works, newspapers and journals,
  • Loose-leaf collections,
  • Microforms,
  • Books on the course reserved reading shelves.

Certain materials might also be excluded from lending due to their size, weight or their conservation status.

Materials from the closed stack areas can be ordered directly from the SLUB catalogue. Requested items will be provided after a short time in the self pick-up area or at the service desk.

You can check out your items at the self-service terminals during the opening hours or at the service desk during the service period.

Loan Periods

The loan period for books and audio and video media is usually 28 calendar days. Special conditions apply for employees of the Dresden University of Technology.

Return of borrowed items

You can return library items to any SLUB library free of charge. During opening hours without service you can use our self-service return machines.

Reserving Checked-Out Items

In case you would like to borrow materials that are currently on loan, you can reserve them in SLUB catalogue. Free delivery of the item to one of our libraries is part of our service.

Notifications

Once your desired item is returned, you will receive an e-mail or letter (in this case, postage has to be payed). You can then pick up your items within the next five opening days.

Cancellation of reservations

If you cease to be interested in an item before the pick-up notification arrives, you can cancel your reservation at any time in your user account.

Ordering Digital Copies

TU Dresden Delivery Service

Employees of the Dresden University of Technology (TU) can order electronic copies of journal articles or partial copies of library books via our TU Delivery Service. These copies can be sent to them as a PDF file.

Depending on your user status you will be presented with the TU Delivery Service option in the SLUB catalog only after you have logged in to your user account.

eBooks on Demand

Titles from the SLUB catalog that have been published between 1500 and 1900 can be ordered for digitization via our service eBooks on Demand (EOD). By paying for the digitization, you take care that your title will be freely available on the Internet in the future. Additionally, you can order the digital facsimile at a reasonable price via Amazon.

Ordering Books from Other Libraries

Delivery From Other Libraries

If the SLUB Dresden or other libraries in Dresden do not hold a copy of your desired book or article, you can order it via Interlibrary Loan or the document delivery service subito from other libraries.

Acquisition Requests

We encourage you to place an acquisition request (PurchaseTip) to the responsible subject librarian if a desired title is not available at the SLUB Dresden, for example, if an interlibrary loan is not possible, or if the title is permanently out on loan.