Loans & Item Locations

Interesting facts about loans (loan periods, renewals, putting items on hold, requesting items, notifications, etc.) and the location of items within both library buildings.

Everything about loans

In order to borrow items or gain access to the electronic resources licensed by the University Library, you need a library card. 

Use the catalogs to determine if a desired item is available in the Library’s holdings.

At the bottom of the entry you will find

  • the link to the full text or abstract for electronic resources
  • information on the location and availability for printed items

Depending on the location it is possible to

  • request the item from the closed stacks
  • request the item for pick-up at the other library location
  • take the item directly from the shelf
  • put the item on hold if it is currently on loan
  • to borrow the item at the self-service terminals

Logging in to the Library Account of the University Library

  • students of the University of Stuttgart: generally st-account = st + password
  • employees of the University of Stuttgart: ac-account = ac + password
  • private individuals / external users (and employees of the University of Stuttgart without ac-account): ub-account = ub + password
  • initial password for private individuals / external users: ub + date of birth, in form of ubDD.MM.YYYY 

Loan Period for Regular Loans

  • checkout at the self-service terminals
  • 1 month
  • renewal of the loan period possible 5 times (10 days at the earliest before the expiry of the current loan period)
  • no renewal possible if the item has been put on hold
  • renewal requests by telephone cannot be accepted

Loan Period for Short-Term Loans of Items from the Reference Collection

  • checkout directly at the circulation desk during service hours (Monday to Friday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.)
  • the loan period ends at noon on the seventh day after the checkout day
  • return always at the checkout location
  • renewal of the loan period or immediate new checkout not possible
  • increased overdue fines in case of delayed return

Returning Borrowed Items During Opening Hours

  • items from the University Library’s holdings: at the self-service return stations
  • items from interlibrary loan: at the circulation desks

Notifications by the University Library

  • email reminder about expiry of loan periods (if an email address has been entered in the library account)
  • overdue notices: 1st and 2nd overdue notice via email (if an email address is available, otherwise via mail), 3rd and 4th overdue notice always via mail
  • notifications about items ready for pick-up

The University Library charges overdue fines for items whose loan period has expired. They are due after being registered in the charges account and are to be paid in cash at the circulation desks during service hours.

Standard Loan (also Interlibrary Loan)

1st overdue notice €1.50 per borrowed item
2nd overdue notice €5.00 additionally per borrowed item
3rd overdue notice €10.00 additionally per borrowed item
4th overdue notice €10.00 additionally per borrowed item

Therefore, in case of a 3rd overdue notice you will be charged €16.50 in total.

Short-Term Loan from the Reference Collection

In case of delayed return, short-term loans are subject to increased overdue fines.
The loan period for short-term loans ends at noon on the seventh day after the checkout day. They have to be returned at the library location where they have been checked out.
A renewal of the loan period or an immediate new checkout is not possible.

on the 1st day €3.00 per borrowed item
on each additional day €3.00 additionally per borrowed item

 

Please take note:

  • Your account will be blocked as soon as the overdue fines have added up to €6.00.
  • If your email address is entered in the library account, the 1st and 2nd overdue reminder will be sent to you as an email. You will receive all additional overdue reminders as letters.
  • You can find the library fee regulation here

Passwords must comply with the following rules:

  1. Length must be between 8 and 26 characters.
  2. Minimum number of character type rules that must be met: 3
  3. Minimum lowercase letters: 1
  4. Minimum numeric: 1
  5. Minimum special characters: 1
  6. Minimum uppercase letters: 1
  7. Must not contain: user code (short form) as well as parts of the name, if longer than 2 characters each

You can make further password changes at https://siam.uni-stuttgart.de/.

Students of the University of Stuttgart: please turn to the user helpdesk of the TIK.

Employees of the University of Stuttgart with an ac-account: please turn to their IT admin.

Private individuals / external users / employees of the University of Stuttgart without an ac-account: please turn to one of the circulation desks via telephone or the contact form. There your password will be reset to the initial password which is your date of birth with the prefix ub in the form ubDD.MM.YYYY. Afterwards you have to change it to a higher quality one again.

Contact:

Item Locations

There are different item locations with different main subjects within both library buildings.

At the City Center location you can find literature on Humanities, Social Sciences, Economics, and Architecture.

At the Vaihingen location you can find literature on Science, Technology, and Sports.

Textbooks and recent, well used literature.

  • sorted by subject and topic (the first letters of the shelfmark indicate the subject)
  • yellow and yellow-white shelfmark tags on the book spines
  • loan period: 1 month
  • renewal of the loan period possible 5 times by 1 month each (in the library account)
  • renewal of the loan period 10 days at the earliest before the expiry of the current loan period and only if the item hasn’t been put on hold
  • self-service and checkout at the self-service terminals
  • request for pick-up at the other library location possible

Literature published since 1990 for the subjects Geography, History, Education, Philosophy, Psychology, Law, Economics, Social Sciences and Literary Studies, not sorted by subjects and topics, however.

A prior search in the catalog is necessary.

  • only at the City Center location
  • white shelfmark tags on the book spines
  • loan period: 1 month
  • renewal of the loan period possible 5 times by 1 month each (in the library account)
  • renewal of the loan period 10 days at the earliest before the expiry of the current loan period and only if the item hasn’t been put on hold
  • self-service and checkout at the self-service terminals
  • request for pick-up at the Vaihingen location possible

Items available for request from the closed stacks in both City Center and Vaihingen location which are not accessible to you.

  • a prior search in the catalog is necessary
  • items always have to be requested via the catalog

Request from the closed stacks:

  • for the respective library location:
      • before 3:30 p.m.: items will be available within 20 minutes
      • after 3:30 p.m.: items will be available from 10 a.m. on the following day
  • for the other library location:
      • items will be available from approx. 1 p.m. on the following day
      • exception: if requested on Friday, items will be available from 1 p.m. on Monday 
  • white shelfmark tags on the book spines
  • loan period: 1 month
  • renewal of the loan period possible 5 times by 1 month each (in the library account)
  • renewal of the loan period 10 days at the earliest before the expiry of the current loan period and only if the item hasn’t been put on hold
  • available on the pick-up shelves
  • then self-service and checkout at the self-service terminals
  • Items from the rare books collection in the closed stacks (items older than 100 years) are only available for use in the reading room
  • request for pick-up at the other library location possible

Reference books, valuable photo books, frequently requested handbooks and textbooks, loose-leaf collections, microforms, items in course reserves and items with a special size or weight.

  • sorted by subject and topic (the first letters of the shelfmark indicate the subject)
  • red and red-white shelfmark tags on the book spines
  • partially available for short-term loan

Short-term Loan

  • checkout directly at the circulation desk during service hours (Monday to Friday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.)
  • return always at the checkout location
  • renewal of the loan period or immediate new checkout not possible
  • the loan period ends at noon on the seventh day after the checkout day
  • increased overdue fines in case of delayed return

Journals and other periodically published items.

  • sorted by subjects and alphabetically by title within the subject
  • yellow and red-white shelfmark tags on the book spines
  • the last 10 years of journals can be found in the reading room

Exception: Journals published since 1900 in following subjects 

  • City Center:
    V: Linguistics and Literary Studies
  • Vaihingen:
    E1: Mathematics
    G1: Physics
    G5: Astronomy
    H1 – H6: Chemistry
    J1 – J7: Chemical Technology
    N1: Biology
  • non-borrowable

Current unbound journal issues

  • available in separate journal boxes
  • non-borrowable

Older volumes of journals

  • located in the closed stacks and have to be requested via the online catalog
  • borrowable (exception: volumes that are older than 100 years or not bound may only be used in the reading room)

There are following departmental libraries within the reading room area of the Vaihingen location:

  • Biology Library
  • Chemistry Library
  • Mathematics Library
  • Physics Library

In these areas the holdings of the individual faculty libraries have been merged with those of the University Library.

The departmental libraries are reference libraries.
You can find the holdings for the individual subjects that are available for borrowing in the open shelves area.

Biology Library:
You can find here:

  • biological journals published since 1900 (journal shelf classification N1)
  • bibliographies on biology

Chemistry Library:
You can find here:

  • chemical journals published since 1900 (journal shelf classification H)
  • journals on chemical technology with related fields and chemical engineering published since 1900 (journal shelf classification J)
  • bibliographies on chemistry; Chemical Abstracts until 1997 (continued in the database SciFinder – access only for university members)
  • Gmelin (continued in the database Reaxys)
  • Beilstein (continued in the database Reaxys)
  • Houben-Weyl: Methoden der Organischen Chemie (4th ed.)

Mathematics Library:
You can find here:

  • mathematical journals published since 1900 (journal shelf classification E1)
  • mathematical reference works
  • essential mathematical literature
  • international mathematical abstracting journals and bibliographies
  • the course reserve collections on mathematics

Physics Library:
You can find here:

  • physical journals published since 1900 (journal shelf classification G1, G5)
  • physical reference works
  • essential physical literature
  • international physical abstracting journals and bibliographies

 

Exam-relevant literature and important items for courses which have been compiled at request of lecturers.

In the respective reading room of both library locations you can find

  • temporary course reserve collections = course reserve collections for one semester
  • permanent course reserve collections = for courses that are being offered in the same form during several semesters
  • items are marked with colored dots on the book spines
  • non-borrowable

You can access the list for the current course reserve collections in the online catalog under Course Reserve Collections City Center and Course Reserve Collections Vaihingen. Under the respective course name you can find a list of titles for the items available in the course reserve collection.

 

Ask a Librarian

 

Circulation Desk City Center

Holzgartenstr. 16, 70174 Stuttgart

 

Circulation Desk Vaihingen

Pfaffenwaldring 55, 70569 Stuttgart

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