Today’s opening hours: Universitätsbibliothek from 8:00 to 21:00 o’clock  ·   Teilbibliothek Mil from 9:00 to 16:00 o’clock  ·   Teilbibliothek Jura: now closed

Universitätsbibliothek from 8:00 to 21:00 o’clock

Getting started guide for researchers and lecturers

Welcome to the HSU library.

Registration

There are three library locations in building H1 (campus plan):

  • Universitätsbibliothek (University library)
    2nd floor (site map)

    The university library is the largest of the three locations and provides books in the fields of humanities (GeiSo), economics (WiSo), mechanical engineering and electrical engineering (MB/ET).

  • Teilbibliothek Jura (Law branch library)
    2nd floor (site map)

    The law branch library offers legal literature (JUR).

  • Teilbibliothek Mil (Military branch library)
    Ground floor (site mape)

    The military branch library has literature available on military affairs (MIL), general reference books (ALL) and other small shelfmark groups such as GER, LIT, SPO, and various languages.

Your chip card is also your library card but your account does not exist automatically.

Please come to the library to set up your library account or send an email to [email protected].

We need the following data to set up your library account

  • Your library number on the back of your chip card starting with 0705…
  • Your date of birth
  • Your HSU email address
  • The term of your employment contract at HSU

Um sich bei den folgenden Services anzumelden, verwenden Sie Ihre Rechenzentrumskennung (RZ-Kennung).

Library login (library account):
A list of your borrowed items including the loan periods can be displayed in your library account. You can also renew your loans and make reservations.

PC workstations in the library:
You can log in with your RZ-Kennung (Computing Centre ID) at the workstations in the library.
The Bundeswehr intranet can also be used via the workstations. For this purpose, also log in with your Computing Centre ID.

HSU login (Shibboleth):
To access our licenced products (e-media, Citavi, Anny), use your RZ-Kennung (Computing Centre ID).

Opening hours

Universitätsbibliothek

Monday – Friday8:00 – 21:00
Saturday – Sunday10:00 – 18:00

Servicezeiten Universitätsbibliothek

Monday – Friday8:00 – 17:00
Saturday – SundayClosed

Teilbibliothek Mil

Monday – Thursday9:00 – 16:00
Friday9:00 – 14:00
Saturday – SundayClosed

Teilbibliothek Jura

MondayClosed
Tuesday – Thursday9:00 – 16:00
Friday – SundayClosed
11. February12:00 – 16:00
10. March10:30 – 16:00
27. January – 29. January, 9. April – 16. April, 26. May – 3. JuneClosed

The library is closed on public holidays.
During lecture-free periods, the library has reduced opening hours. Please refer to the information on our startpage (news).

Borrowing

You can borrow print media (books and bound journals) with your chip card using the self-booking system. You will be responsible for the media from that time until you return them.

Loan periods

  • Books:  4 weeks (after that 11 months grace period*)
  • Journals: 3 days. Volumes of the current year cannot be borrowed
  • E-media: PDF download from the university network, no return required
  • Interlibrary loans: usually 4 weeks (depending on the delivering library)

*You may keep borrowed books after the 4 weeks for another 11 months, unless they are reserved. If a reservation has been made, you will receive an email notification asking you to return the book.

Return of items

You can return borrowed media via the self-booking system during the library opening hours. Outside the opening hours, you can put them in the book return boxes in building H1 (ground floor and 2nd floor, each at Roter Platz).

You do not need a library card for the return.

Use HSUfind to search the stocks of the HSU libraries (books, journals, e-media). To find printed items, you will need the following information:

  • In which branch library is the work located?
  • Which shelfmark?
  • Is it available or currently at loan?


Shelfmark

HSUfind shows a shelfmark for printed works, for example “JUR 285:YD0012”. Next to the shelfmark, you will find a note on whether the book is available or unavailable.

Click on the shelfmark to find information in which of the three libraries the book is to be found.

The shelfmark provides information on the exact location of the book in the shelf and also on the contents. For example in the JUR 285:YD0012 shelfmark,
JUR 285 designates the subject area “university legislation/law of research”. Books of the same subject area are sorted alphanumerically on the shelf by using letter and number codes such as YD0012.

Location Description
Textbook collection The textbook collection comprises media recommended in lectures or seminars, which are available in large numbers. It is located in the WiSo I area (Economic and Social Sciences).
Specific reference items/documents Specific reference items/documents are available in the respective professor’s office only and are therefore not accessible to you.
Special stack Please contact the information desk.
Trimester-specific reference items/documents Recommended literature for seminars and lectures is located in the entrance area of the university library on the 2nd floor and can only be viewed on site. Borrowing is not possible.
Special component Description
“S” after colon Books with a shelfmark that has an “S” after a colon in the textbook collection and are available in large numbers.
“Z” after colon The “Z” after a colon indicates that it is a journals. They have a separate location.
Person-related codes, e.g. SMI Person-related codes are assigned if the content focusses on a specific person, e.g. Helmut Schmidt
Country codes, e.g. 2AA Country codes are used if the content focusses on a specific country, e.g. Germany

E-Media

In addition to printed literature, you can also find e-media such as e-books or e-journals in HSUfind. They are marked “online”.

  • Follow the link “Full text Online” to open the media
  • You can download e-media from the HSU network or from outside via VPN or Shibboleth
  • Borrowing is unlimited, return is not necessary/possible


In the electronic journal library (EZB) you will find an overview of our range of licenced e-journals, which you can also search in HSUfind.

Within the campus network, you can access the library’s licenced stock without restrictions.

Off campus:
Access from outside requires a VPN connection. Information on setting up a VPN connection to the university network can be found on the intranet pages of the Computing Centre (Rechenzentrum).

If access via VPN is not possible, many publishers now offer access via Shibboleth. On the pages of the publishers, registration via Shibboleth is often possible under “Log in via Shibboleth” or “Institutional Login”. For registration use your Computing Centre ID (RZ-Kennung) and your password.

Additional login data are only required in exceptional cases. Before creating personal login data, please contact our service personnel.

You cannot open a licenced resource?

The database information system (DBIS) gives you access to our range of licenced and freely available databases for your subject area.
We have licenced both full-text databases and reference databases/technical bibliographies.

Access:

  • You can search the databases from the HSU network or from outside via VPN or Shibboleth.
  • Please note that only full-text databases provide access to complete papers.

You have access to standards and guidelines via the campus network or via VPN.

Access to the Bundeswehr standards portal is available at https://baainbw.norm-i.de. For this purpose, you will need login data that you must request directly from the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw).
Please contact [email protected] for a request form.

Upon request, the library may also make individual purchases for you ([email protected]).

How to obtain literature

Third parties can pick up your ordered books and interlibrary loans in the library. These persons require an informal written authorisation.

You can order literature that is not available in the HSU library from other libraries free of charge via interlibrary loan (see detailed information).

You are welcome to submit book suggestions for the library stock, your research project or your course.

Services for your courses

The trimester-specific reference items/documents portal allows you to make literature available to the students of your course both online and on site in the library.

The library offers courses for literature search. For this purpose, we offer to visit your course (more information).

Services for your research

You can publish your scientific documents online via the openHSU research information system. Further information on electronic publishing.

You can use our openHSU research information system to map and publish your research output (FAQ openHSU).

Find information on financial support options offered by the HSU library at “Funding your Open Access publication“.

Literature management programmes allow you to collect, sort, and use your literature information to create bibliographies.

The library has licenced the Citavi literature management programme for all HSU members. Information on possible uses can be found at „Managing literature with Citavi“.

The library also provides information and support regarding the Zotero open source literature management programme.

Are you leaving HSU?

When you leave HSU, please return all borrowed books. If you ask, we willprovide you with an advance overview of the books you have borrowed.

Do not hesitate to contact us by email ([email protected]) or by telephone (040/ 6541-2177).

Please note that we will not be able to sign your outprocessing checklist (Laufzettel) until all borrowed books have been returned.

Contact us

For questions use our contact form.

You can contact us personally Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., via chat or by telephone (040/6541-3701).

Do you have any questions about literature search, literature management, quoting or scientific work?

You are welcome to arrange a personal advice session or book a training course (advice and courses).