We are a service of the University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt (ULB) and offer specialized literature that many libraries do not hold in their collections.
You can obtain books or article copies from us via interlibrary loan. This is a service arranged between libraries. In Germany, 1,581 public and academic libraries participate in the nationwide lending network (as of December 2016).
Procedure
To order a work via interlibrary loan, you must first contact a library in your area. Your local library will forward the request to the ULB. The requested materials are usually available within about 1.5 to 2 weeks.
You can also request individual articles from books or journals in our collection. These are usually scanned by us and sent to your library. Your library will then provide you with a printed copy (no scans can be forwarded for copyright reasons). This service only takes a few days on average.
Costs
Some libraries offer this service to their users free of charge. However, many charge a flat fee per request, which ranges from €1.50 to €6.00 depending on the library.
Exception
Interlibrary loan is not available for the following materials:
- E-Books
- Audio and video materials (available only in exceptional cases; please inquire)
- Loose-leaf collections (copies of individual articles possible)
- Older and fragile literature
- Recent journal volumes
- Large-format newspaper volumes
- Oversized works
Alternatives
Digitisation request
For titles whose copyright has expired, you can request digitization. This is especially an alternative for “older and fragile literature” that cannot be borrowed.
Digital holdings
Our open-access repository MENAdoc provides access to over 15,000 documents. These works can be accessed online at any time and are full-text searchable.
With our FID licenses, we enable nationwide access in Germany to licensed electronic products such as databases, e-books, and e-journals.
“Forschungsapparat” in interlibrary loan
A new service of the FID Middle East
A central focus of the work of the FID for Middle East, North Africa, and Islamic Studies is acquiring and providing scientifically relevant literature from and about the Middle East. To make these valuable resources accessible nationwide to researchers throughout Germany, a research apparatus in the form of a long-term interlibrary loan has been established. Further information can be found here.