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German National Library closed during Easter

18 to 21 April 2025: The German National Library will be closed at both locations. The exhibitions of the German Museum of Books and Writing will open from 10:00 to 18:00.

Ordering procedures and lending periods

All the media in our collection must be searched in the German National Library’s catalogue. The Library’s holdings can only be used with a valid library card.

Placing orders

The majority of our holdings are stored in the stacks and must be ordered through the catalogue by clicking on the link “Issue in...” and the button “Order”.

Order limit

You can order up to ten media. Online publications can be used directly at the reading room computers without ordering them in advance

Lending period


You can use the media in our reading rooms for a period of 14 days from the order date. Before leaving the library, borrowed work must be returned via the media boxes or at the service desk, depending on where they were issued.

Renewing media

If the media have not been reserved, you can extend the lending period on two occasions by two weeks at a time through your “My Account” page in the catalogue.

Reserving media

Do you want to order a medium that is already being used by someone else? If so, you can reserve it. You will be notified by e-mail as soon as the medium is ready for your use.

Issue times and places of issue

The media will be available no later than the next working day (Monday – Friday). Orders received after 12:00 on a Friday will be available the following Monday. The media ordered will be ready for you in the media boxes or at the service desk as soon as you have received an email notification, or they can be found in our catalogue under “My account” in the loans.

Using the media boxes

Lending and issue

Scan your user ID on the screen installed in the info pedestal or one of the user panels in the media boxes area.

The media box segment containing the media you have ordered will be displayed.

Scan your user ID at the user panel of the corresponding media box segment and follow the instructions on the screen to open it.

Further use and returns

Select any media box segment and follow the instructions on the screen to store or return media.

Instruction video media boxes (subtitles available in English)


Further information for people with disabilities can be found on the pages On site in Leipzig or On site in Frankfurt am Main.

Print media, microforms

With a few exceptions, e.g. large-format media or media with special conservation requirements, the media ordered are made available to you in media boxes. You can collect the media from these boxes and use them in our reading rooms provided you have a valid library card.
Special items are placed at your disposal in the respective reading rooms.

Media on electronic data carriers (CD-ROMs, DVDs etc.)

We make these media available at specific computers in the reading rooms before the end of the processing period. If you have any questions, please contact the Multimedia/periodical reading room in Leipzig and the service desk in Frankfurt.

Online publications (e-papers, e-books, e-journals, digitised media)

These media can be accessed directly in the catalogue at the research workstations in the reading rooms. They do not have to be ordered in advance.

Reading room collections

You can take the media off the reading room shelves directly if you wish to work with them.

Information and tips on handling media

We attach the utmost importance to protecting the works in our collections while they are in use. The Conditions of Use therefore contain rules for handling our media.
This page also provides tips and explanations to show you that it is quite easy to treat media works carefully. Help preserve our media for the future!

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Contact

Leipzig

Submit enquiry

Phone +49 341 2271-453

Frankfurt am Main

Submit enquiry

Phone +49 69 1525-2500

Last changes: 08.04.2025

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